Terrorism has often been considered as work propagated and supported by Islam. The main issue supporting this theory arises from the reason that most of the terror acts are committed by people who are either Muslims or associated to Muslim cell groups. This assumption leads to the belief that only Muslims are capable of perpetrating such acts. The belief has led to the discrimination against Muslims on the assumption that all are terrorists (Kibble, 1996). This both violates the rights of the Muslims and denies them a fair chance as the rest of the people in the world. This paper evaluates the basis of whether terrorism is advanced by religion or culture.
Terrorism is defined as the use of violence to propagate ideologies to a population that is somehow unresponsive when approached using other means. The majority of the acts of terror committed have a political backing or status behind them. Most of the terror acts committed revolve around a political situation and a certain foreign policy that the victim country holds. The acts are meant to destabilize the government to change the views on that specific stand. Those who perpetrate the acts are often victims of radicalization (Pratt, 2010). The majority of these people, most of whom are youths, are fed selective material making them more susceptible to committing inhumane crimes.
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The primary reason promoting the disbelief that Islam supports terrorism is the fact that most of the terrorists, who happen to be on suicidal missions, call themselves Jihadists. Jihad is the Islam term referring to holy war. This war was promoted as a last resort when the Muslims back in the day were oppressed and had no other alternative. The Warriors were then dedicated in service to Allah, the name Muslims use for God, and as such, those who died during the war were considered martyrs whose payment in the afterlife was extensive.
This aspect is one of the most exploited aspects by the terrorists. Convincing the youths that killing for ‘unavoidable circumstances and beliefs’ is a divine call advances the extents to which the terrorists would go for the sake of religion (Rapoport, 1991). In the real setting, the terrorist often avoids any optional means of supporting their agenda and as such, they misuse this provision of the Quran. A key reason why they avoid tabling peaceful resolutions when they are aggrieved by the countries where they perpetrate their inhumane acts is the lack of genuine agendas whose violation they consider unacceptable.
The other reason making Islam be considered as a supporter of terrorism is the support that terrorists promote for Islam. It is common for people who believe in a certain ideology, religion included, to try and gain multiple followers of the same and as such the people who promote terrorism misuse this aspect. They promote the ideology that Islam is the only true religion and that spreading it is a divine calling. The rejection of Islam, by the people to whom they promote it, amounts to becoming kaffirs, disbelievers, whose chance at life is diminished by their very acts of rejecting Allah. This is the kind of ideology promoted by the terrorists promoting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a key terror organization in the world (Shaffer, 2015).
Culture, on the other hand, has some elements which promote or indirectly facilitate terrorism. Although no single culture is responsible for allowing terrorism, the majority of the cultures in the world differ and as such create the platform for terror and related attacks. Culture is the aspect of people’s lives that detail their day to day life, beliefs, and religions. Cultures differ due to the differences in beliefs and geographical locations (Wiktorowicz, 2005). Communities living in common neighborhoods tend to borrow aspects from one another leading to similar cultures.
Culture is one of the causes of conflict between the Western States, which are the majority of the victims, and the Islamic states, where main perpetrators hide. The terrorists develop the theories that the West is responsible for promoting their culture upon the Eastern States. This promotion of culture is attributed to the degradation and lack of moral competence among the youths and the population in general. The contrasting cultures provide the citizens of the Islamic countries a change in their culture. They are given a chance to change from that which they hold dear and adapt to other methods and beliefs which were formerly unacceptable. Some of the states affected still use their culture to govern and as such eroding their cultures amount to the rejection of the authority in place (Yo, 2005). The states, therefore, feel the need to reject and impact the people responsible for infiltrating their countries supporting contradictory cultures.
A key aspect of terrorism is the use of suicidal ‘soldiers’ who are ready to give their lives so as to allow the remaining people a better chance at life. This aspect is a sharp contradiction to Islam, which is the religion of peace. While Islam does not promote murder and related acts, culture supports the death of soldiers if the remaining people get a better chance from the same. Soldiers who die in war, as do terrorists, are honored and awarded medals in their home countries while those who desert duty in the face of death are labeled defectors who are guilty of treason.
The debate regarding what promotes terrorism between culture and religion is a difficult one to conclude. This is because different people have different cultures and religions. A basic analysis of Islam and diverse cultures results in the conclusion that culture has more contribution as compared to religion regarding propagating terrorism either directly or indirectly.
References
Kibble, D. (1996). The threat of militant Islam: A fundamental reappraisal. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 19(4), 353-364. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10576109608436015
Pratt, D. (2010). Religion and Terrorism: Christian Fundamentalism and Extremism. Terrorism and Political Violence, 22(3), 438-456. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546551003689399
Rapoport, D. (1991). Some general observations on religion and violence. Terrorism and Political Violence, 3(3), 118-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546559108427119
Shaffer, R. (2015). Unconventional Views of Terrorism: Culture, Objectives, and the Future. Terrorism and Political Violence, 27(5), 970-975. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2015.1090262
WIKTOROWICZ, Q. (2005). A Genealogy of Radical Islam. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 28(2), 75-97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10576100590905057
Yo, M. (2005). Seeking the Roots of Terrorism: An Islamic Traditional Perspective. Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, 10(1), 2-2. http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jrpc.10.1.002
