What is the Connection Between Religion and Terrorism?

Recalling the last twenty years, what is observed is the resurfacing of the drive for
terrorism all due to ones religious belief. One can accept that there is a logical link between
religion and terrorism. The link being complicated in nature, aims attention to the role religion
plays in violence being legitimized.
Religious terrorism is considered to be a type of political violence that is driven by the
outright faith that a deity has authorized the act of terrorism for a much greater triumph in that
faith. Gus Martin defines religious terrorism as a religion legalizing violence as long as such
violence is the desire of an individuals deity. In todays society, religion has become the
dominant cause of political violence. However, nationalism and ideology arent the only great
stimulants for extremist behavior. For the first time, dominating the international community are
religious extremists. There is acceleration in the repetitiveness, magnitude and the far-reaching
spectrum of religious terrorist acts which is encouraged by globalization.
One's religious belief can be used as the main reason behind terrorism, whether it may be
a primary or a secondary motive. The fine points of the political and the cultural environment are
the main factors which these motives can be relied upon, significant to a particular terrorist act.
Religion can be seen as the main motive behind a terrorist behavior; on the other hand, it can be
involved in culturally identifying politically violent movements, which it then would be
considered as a secondary motive. As a primary motive, religion would be the main focus of an
extremist organization's political and revolutionary plan. Religion acts as a stimulant for die-hard
individuals. These individuals are all around the world but they can notably be seen within the
Middle East with the Jihad Islamic group and also within the United States with Christian antiabortionists who are quite brutal.
It was in the 1980s that the surfacing of religious terrorism took place. Other decades
however has seen a development of secular motivation ethnonationalists. In 1979, the
sovereignty of Shah Muhammed Reza Pahlavi was overthrown; this was one of the significant
points in history. In addition to that, a Theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran was created by The
Revolution. Throughout the 1980s terrorist development in many countries was sponsored by
Iran. Its primary goal was to institute an Islamic regime identical to the one found in Iran. Its

own revolution gave affirmation to what could be achieved. It showed the world how powerful
the driven force of religion is in the period of a decrease of ideologies.
Its alliance with Hezbollah, the Islamic political body currently in power in Lebanon, can
be used as a good example for Iranian support. The Shia movement Hezbollah (Party of God) in
Lebanon was an advocate for the population of Shia. It was during the Israels 1982 invasion
and the Lebanese civil war that the organization emerged being a great advocate for the
independence of Lebanese and with justice for the population of Shia. The actions of Hezbollah
provide great support for the profound link between terrorism and religion. Their actions derived
from extreme religious motives merge with the rigid political environment in which it functions.
The Lebanons Shia population makes up about half of the Muslims in Lebanon. Under the
rulership of Sunnis, Maronite Christians and Druze, they became less politically affected and
historically inferior. Hezbollah have previously been operated as Revolutionary Justice
Organization or Islamic Jihad and in the last twenty years, was responsible for many acts of
political and argumentally, religious violence. These acts involved suicide bombings, in South
Lebanon constant attacks towards Israeli interest and kidnappings. Hezbollahs involvements in
international terrorism with the addition of being a surrogate for state sponsored terrorism are
reasons in which they are a successful case study. The members of Hezbollah specialize in
religious dissident terrorism in which they use asymmetrical methods such as suicide bombings
and high profile kidnappings. Along with Hezbollah being an established capable terrorist force,
it has a diverse social organization in place which endorses its religious movement. It assists in
the provision of hospitals and schools for its followers and other business interests. These actions
can be seen as secondary motives and to an extent fund their first terrorist movement which is
inflamed by religion, its primary motive. However, a good argument could be that bringing
Palestine to freedom is Hezbollahs primary motive. In the task of aiming to accomplish this
goal, they would be using religion as a mechanism of attraction and communication.
There is another Islamic resistance movement known as Hamas which regulates both the
organization of its own social services along with its armed conflict that promotes jihad. It has
been deemed competent for Irans Fund for the Martyrs due to its key social service factor. It has
been reported that Hamas has received millions of dollars from the fund. The Hamas movement
has received immense support from Iran. Hamas associates have been trained in Iran also in

Hezbollah training camps which the Gaza strip, which is fully supplied with logistical support
and military instruction can be viewed from there. This is a prime example of sponsorship by the
state of external aid. This sponsorship may be prized and vital to its current success but it is not
crucial. These groups arent controlled by foreign government which provides support. . They
have their own political plans however with movements in similar regions. Consultation may
take place with their foreign allies, they may consider their interests but they are not subjected to
their commands. Hezbollah and Hamas are prime examples which will make an effective case
for a link between religion and terrorism. A religious terrorist, devout in the practice of their
religion is insubstantial. This is because a key factor is determining whether they are using
religious texts or liturgy as a means to justify or give an explanation to the violence or captivate
recruits. In addition, whether there are clerical individuals who have positions in authority. In the
past, there were terrorist acts which could partly be justified by a religious belief. There were
issues within Northern Ireland which arose to a Catholic-Protestant split. The Irish Republican
Army fought for a united Ireland and for freedom. Majority of Catholics are within the South, the
issue with the North is that on the island, Protestants are a minority as a whole but in The
Northern Province, Catholics are a minority. There is a battle between both to uphold the
majority status. The major difference between Islamic extremism and the Protestant vs. Catholic
battle in Northern Ireland is that they dont consider themselves as terrorists but rather as
paramilitaries. They address each other as nationists or unionists rather than as religious groups.
A religious connection isnt made, in addition, as for the IRA; religion would be considered a
secondary motive.
There isnt a use of liturgy or the Bible for justification of their violence even if they
should attend church. They dont involve clerics in its justification of legitimization. Theres a
significant difference between then and the contemporary religious terrorism seen today. Unlike
the IRAs victory against the British with non-lethal terrorism, Bin Laden made a distinction
between which Muslim was good and who was bad. Within secular groups, there is often some
hesitation in extorting casualties amongst members who share their same ethnicity. There is
evidence of a twisted usage of logic and religion as a means of justification, making a distinction
between good and bad Muslims. Thus, the bad ones are fair game. According to Bruce Hoffman,
the connection between contemporary terrorism and religion is critical as a way of
communication. He uses Osama Bin Laden as an example, the case in which he has issued two

fatwas with the lack of theoretical credentials. He however knows fully well that people will
listen to them. In knowing this, he has improved Al Qaedas message in attracting new support.
Clerical figures in Islam, Judaism, and white supremacist Christian Churches within the United
States are using liturgy as a justification for violence.
Bin Laden is no exception; he cites the Quran and gives his interpretation of it. Hoffman
believes that religion is becoming replaced by ideology due to the lack of it. The fight against
Bin Laden is one of non-religious humanism against very counterrevolutionary, retrograde
perception of religion, of religious tradition. Bin Laden mixes religion with the values of
ideology. He combines an anti-US view and an anti-Western view that both the United States and
the West are predominant powers. His main message isnt quite religious; however he uses
religion as a way of communicating it. The link between terrorism and religion is getting much
stronger. This is so due to the observations made among varies terrorist groups, widening their
constituency by the usage of religion. Al Qaeda has no top down structure and therefore can be
considered a totally different network. It isnt situated in any specific area neither does it have a
declaration of state sponsorship. According to reports made, there is an approximated range of
35,000 50,000 operatives with possibly 5,000 recruits taking part in training camps in either
Afghanistan or Sudan. Also estimated is Al Qaedas presence in 50-60 countries. Pakistani group
are deviating towards Muslims of like mind in Indonesia. They are deliberately using religion to
spread their revolution much further than their borders, in doing this will create something in
which the sum is greater than the parts. Benefits of affiliating with a major religion overshadows
the advantages of affiliating with a particular ethnic group. There is traditionally very little
support for ethnic groups that arent within their regions. One the other hand, affiliating with the
Islam will provide a large constituency pool to attract support. In addition, there is a potential for
mosques to become key communication vehicles. The opportunity for a large amount of
individuals meeting at a particular time offers the possibility slot for those to change Muslim
faith into extremist.
Religious violence is more corrupt than non-religious violence and possibly more
irrational; this is definitely a worrying thought. This could be due to religion being naturally
violent as evident by history showing us more so than non-religious ideologies. September 11
had raised the bar by the criteria for judging terrorism jumping from 440 victims to 70 times as

the amount. This slightly split terrorism into two categories. Terrorist acts similar to this one
have brought inspiration upon other terrorist organizations. In addition, it gave a wake-up call to
the United States, stating that they arent untouchable.
In conclusion, there is always an evolution within the terrorist scene. Since the end of the
Cold War, religion has become the drive for terrorism. Failing doctrine from the Soviet Union
along with failing the creation of liberal democracies to emerge across the world, have allowed
means to be gotten by the use of religion as a tool. Clearly, beliefs dont guide a terrorist groups
plan. Severe fundamentalism however, occurs whenever beliefs are consciously manipulated to
suit their plans. The key link between terrorism and religion would be the function of religion for
extremist groups which legalizes certain violent actions to achieve a goal. Religion isnt the
direct problem; it is when used by the wrong people with added support by populations
supporting religious violence for the betterment of them and their household.