Terrorism by religious groups is used as a basis of political violence. Nationalism and ideology also play a huge role in extremist behavior. Religious extremism has created awareness around the world due to the rates at which terror acts are being carried out. It has called for a combined effort from governments and agencies such as the FBI and CIA to determine ways in which intelligence can be collected to reduce terror activities.
Religious militancy is the formation of religious groups that use force and violence as a way of passing their message or ideology. These groups usually use religious books such as the Bible and Quran to defend their actions. Religious militancy started with the disagreements between the Church of England the Catholic Church. Protestants were killed in the process, and since then, religious groups have used violence against people that do not concur with their ideology. Religious terrorism has become sophisticated, with the current groups are using media to recruit members and to scare people. Religious militancy has changed from the past to present, especially with the media being used as weapon.
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Religious Militancy
Religion can be used in mobilizing and uniting people, thus has been used and misused from the past to present in two ways. Religious militancy has evolved as a response to historical events, mostly by the groups that feel threatened. Religious extremism has grown due to the distinctiveness in beliefs. There are also differences in ideologies in culture, economic or political factors ( Dawson, 2018) . The religious groups usually respond with violence or threats to the challenges facing them. Religious extremism is observed throughout the world, but most extremist groups are found in the Middle East ( Mahsud & Aman, 2018).
Conflicts between the Arab and the Israelites have largely contributed to extremist responses. On both sides of the conflict, there are religious militants and secular nationalist militants that are ready to engage in war at any time in defense of their side. Hamas is works closely with other Jewish extremist groups which argue that the Palestine land belongs to them as given by God, and thus cannot give up their right to the land. The difference in thoughts has led to war against the two regions with the Israeli army killing large numbers of Palestinians that were opposed to the land perceptions ( Mahsud & Aman, 2018) . The Israel government has not done anything to stop wars between the two nations. Israel government indicates that their military force is preserved for protection of the nation against Islamic attacks ( Mahsud & Aman, 2018).
Political conflicts play a large role in the development of religious militancy. The conflicts result in the division of communities by their religious affiliation. In Lebanon, for example, political power is fought along religious lines of the people; therefore aligning with a certain religion determines political affiliation. Religion may also experience conflicts within, where a group may be in support of government policies, where another is opposed to the policies, for example, the division seen in Islam religion. Religion can be used in threatening a repressive regime if the two political parties have differing opinions about an issue. Culture crush is another issue which may result in the development of religious extremist groups. The Islamists, for example, reject the western moral and the cultural practices advocated in the American movies, the recreational methods such as the use of drugs and women fashion, as they threaten the moral fabric of society. The Islam extremists are known to conduct violent activities to the extent of killing people, without care or concern about the moral fabric of the society.
Religious militancy has made it possible for the extremist to conduct terror activities. The terrorist groups in the Middle East justify their actions through religion. They combine tools of terror, which are fear and influence to others with religion, which helps to attract potential followers in trying to change the political ideology. Islam has been largely blamed for terrorist activities around the world. Nations have been working together to stop the religious militants such as Al Qaeda and ISIS ( Rubaltelli, Scrimin, Moscardino, Priolo, & Buodo, 2018) . Religious militancy is possible through the extremists' groups accumulating weapons such as bombs, which they use against unsuspecting people. These groups have also brainwashed their followers such that they are willing to die in the process of war, due to promises of heavenly rewards.
Religious Militancy: Then and Now
Religious terrorism is deeply rooted in the history of people. History shows that terrorism existed in empires, civilizations, and nations with extremist true believers using violence as a way of promoting their belief system ( Saiya, 2018). The factors which inspire the religious extremists' groups are different. Some of these factors are defensive motives, promoting predominance of faith or a blend of the two factors. Religious terrorism can be for supporting a revolutionary idea, to eliminate a group of people, or due to communal differences. Religious violence can be carried out by a government, individuals, or larger organized movements. However, the groups developed in use of technology and being digitalized ( Saiya, 2018) . The modern terrorist groups are able to use the internet in communicating with each other.
Religious militancy started in the past during the periods where crusades w ere formed. The crusades were created as a way of representing the teachings of Christ as authorized by the Pope. Those that took part in the crusades were protected at home and during their indulgences. The crusades were involved in a war where they were to resist aggression and recover Christian property. The crusaders that died in the process were considered as martyrs and were believed to enter paradise immediately. In the 16th century, the number of crusades grew in numbers and was engaged in a rivalry with the Muslims, indicating that they were not following the Christian religious beliefs.
The Salem witch trials were cases of religious militancy in the 17th century. There were hearing and prosecutions held during their period of people accused of witchcraft. It was believed that the witches were conspiring against the political organizations at that time and killing them, even those accused were the only way to avoid resistance. At that time, New England was seeking to establish a pure society, which was based on the Bible. Therefore, any supernatural activities such as witchcraft were considered to be a threat ( Mahsud & Aman, 2018).
Fox’s Book of Martyrs also describes religious militancy in the past. The book narrates how the Protestants suffered under the Catholic Church. The Church of England and Catholics had differing views about Christianity, and the Catholics thought that the Church of England was abandoning the way of Christ due to the modern innovation activities. The Catholics retaliated by killing the Protestants as they were considered as a threat to the religious beliefs established in society.
Technology and digitalization have made the current religious extremist groups to grow. The movements can mobilize interested people of the benefits they will gain by joining such terror groups. The Islamic groups, for example, have sites which are used in recruiting people from different parts of the world. After recruitment, these individuals are encouraged to attack their home nations. It explains the reasons nations such as America are attacked by locally based individuals. Such individuals have been recruited in groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS, but they do not need to move to the Middle East. They are used to attack the nations internationally. In the case of the Boston Marathon Bombing, for example, when the suspect was caught, he indicated that he learned how to make a bomb from an Islamic group website. Therefore, the internet has made it possible for current religious militant groups to get more followers and incite people against their governments ( Saiya, 2019) . Some of the earliest religious terror acts were between the Middle East before they began advancing their acts to western nations. The Saudi states, for example, were the first to form religious movement known as Wahhabi in 1932 and it was meant to ensure that the Islamic law was being followed. The Saudi government started facing opposition and was accused of not being religious enough. The Saudi government is facing the same opposition in the present from the religious extremist groups. In both the past and present, fighting religious militancy is a common thing but the methods used in the present are more sophisticated, concentrating at the heads of the terror groups to weaken the groups.
Weaponized Media
Social media has increasingly gained recognition among terrorist groups. Different platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and others have made it easy for terrorist groups to send messages to each other as well as create threats to their targets. Governments and agencies dedicated at fighting terrorism try to curb the use of social media by terror groups and also use social media to pass messages. The use of social media by the terror groups is attributed by its cost-effective, accessibility as well as getting large numbers of people ( Pfefferbaum, et.al , 2018). A terrorist group can engage with their networks in different parts of the world. In the past, the terrorist members’ experienced a hard time in communicating but now social media does not only allow communication but also recruiting new members. The groups are able to market themselves by spreading their ideology as well as the beliefs they hold on. Such methods assist in gaining new members as well as inspire others to conduct terror acts individually.
Terrorist groups use social media to release their violent videos as a way of warning the governments, what might befall them and their capabilities. ISIS, for example, is known for taking videos in action, where they are beheading people and share them on the internet. There are also audio messages of the plans they have for killing people. Such tactics scare people due to the fear of where the terrorist groups will attack. Al-Qaeda group is known to use the internet extensively. The group has different websites, which they use, some even creating a guide on how to make weapons such as bombs. Such information is used to motivate people that share the same ideas as the terrorist groups. In the Boston Marathon Bombing, the suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev exonerated himself by proving that he was not affiliated with any terrorist group. However, Dzhokhar learned to make bombs he used for bombing, from a terrorist group website. It indicates the effects of using social media by terrorist groups. The extensive use of social media by these terror groups has called for the government to take actions against them to promote security ( Dawson, 2018).
The government of United States and other agencies such as the CIA and FBI are involved in media surveillance. The surveillance is meant to monitor where the terrorist groups are sending any messages to each other concerning their terrorist activities. Such intelligence is essential to guide the agencies on the next steps they should take on preventing the terrorists’ activities ( Rubaltelli, Scrimin, Moscardino, Priolo, & Buodo, 2018) . Surveillance is also done on suspected terrorist individuals as the internet information can lead the agencies to the terrorist groups. The governments have also been looking for ways in which they can limit the terrorist organizations from using social media to spread their ideas and information, which scares citizens and creates insecurity.
Terrorist groups use social media as a psychological weaponry tool. They use messages to get into the minds and hearts of people to show them how their governments are incompetent. After attacking a place, the terrorist organization collects all the videos and show how they have the power of killing people, yet the government cannot offer protection ( Dawson, 2018).T he inciting messages can make people turn against the government as they feel that it is incompetent and cannot accomplish its purpose. The terrorist groups will have accomplished its purpose of turning people against the government thus creating chaos in a nation.
Conclusion
Religious militancy can be traced back from the past, from the time when Protestants and witches were burnt due to the threat of religious beliefs. Changes have been noted with more religious terrorist groups such as ISIS being formed. The development of media has made it possible for modern terrorist groups to attract members and pass messages of violence. The government and other agencies have been working to curb terrorist groups through media surveillance as a way of promoting peace internationally.
References
Dawson, L. L. (2018). Debating the Role of Religion in the Motivation of Religious Terrorism. Nordic Journal of Religion and Society , 31 (02), 98-117.
Mahsud, M. I., & Aman, S. (2018). History of Religious Militancy in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Criminology , 10 (4).
Pfefferbaum, B., Tucker, P., Pfefferbaum, R. L., Nelson, S. D., Niti éma, P., & Newman, E. (2018). Media effects in youth exposed to terrorist incidents: a historical perspective. Current psychiatry reports , 20 (2), 11.
Rubaltelli, E., Scrimin, S., Moscardino, U., Priolo, G., & Buodo, G. (2018). Media exposure to terrorism and people's risk perception: The role of environmental sensitivity and psychophysiological response to stress. British Journal of Psychology , 109 (4), 656-673.
Saiya, N. (2018). Weapon of Peace: How Religious Liberty Combats Terrorism . Cambridge University Press.
Saiya, N. (2019). Religion, state, and terrorism: A global analysis. Terrorism and Political Violence , 31 (2), 204-223.
