Studies in Critical Social Sciences

Series EditorDavid Fasenfest

Wayne State University

Editorial BoardChris Chase-Dunn, University of California-Riverside

G. William Domhofff, University of California-Santa CruzColette Fagan, Manchester University

Martha Gimenez, University of Colorado, BoulderHeidi Gottfried, Wayne State UniversityKarin Gottschall, University of Bremen

Bob Jessop, Lancaster UniversityRhonda Levine, Colgate University

Jacqueline O’Reilly, University of BrightonMary Romero, Arizona State University

Chizuko Ueno, University of Tokyo

VOLUME 52

The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/scss

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Modernity and Terrorism

From Anti-Modernity to Modern Global Terror

By

Milan ZafirovskiDaniel G. Rodeheaver

2013

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Cover illustration: by Dave Wattley.

This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characterscovering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in thehumanities. For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface.

ISSN 1573-4234ISBN 978-90-04-24287-6 (hardback)ISBN 978-90-04-24288-3 (e-book)

Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers and Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.

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This book is printed on acid-free paper.

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Dedicated to the past and present victims of counter-state and especially state terrorism

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CONTENTS

Introduction ...............................................................................................................1

1 The Concept of Modern Terrorism .................................................................9Defining Modern Terrorism .........................................................................9Official Definitions of Terrorism ..............................................................16Scholarly Definitions of Terrorism...........................................................28Redefining Terrorism ...................................................................................32

2 Classification of Modern Terrorism ..............................................................43Typologies of Modern Terrorism ..............................................................43State and Counter-State Terrorism ..........................................................51

Forms of State Terrorism........................................................................51Instances of Counter-State Terrorism ................................................83

Other Types of Terrorism ...........................................................................85

3 Anti-Modernity and Modern Terrorism ................................................... 101What Causes and Justifies Terrorism in Western and

non-Western Societies? ...................................................................... 101A Sociological Framework for Analyzing Modern Terrorism ........ 106

Modernity, Anti-Modernity, and Pre-Modernity Revisited ....... 114Anti-Modernity and Modern Terrorism .............................................. 120

Societal and Historical Conditions of Anti-Modernity and Terrorism .................................................................................. 122

Dimensions of Anti-Modernity and Modern Terrorism ................. 127Appendix

3.1  A Simple Model of Anti-Modernity and Modern Terror ............................................................................... 133

3.2 Defining Terrorism and Government ...................................... 136

4 Anti-Liberalism and Modern Terrorism ................................................... 161Antagonism toward Liberal-Democratic Modernity

as the Factor of Modern Terrorism ................................................. 161Conservative Anti-Liberalism and Terrorism .................................... 171Fascism and Terrorism ............................................................................. 190Religious Fundamentalism and Terrorism ......................................... 195

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viii contents

Opposition to Liberal Democracy and Terrorism ............................. 199Antagonism to Political Pluralism and Culture Diversity

and Terrorism .................................................................................. 203Summary: Anti-Liberalism and Modern Terrorism ..................... 205

5 Anti-Secularism and Modern Terrorism ................................................... 209Antagonism toward Secular Modernity as the Factor

of Modern Terrorism .......................................................................... 209Theocratic Revolt and Terrorism ........................................................... 219From Theological Orthodoxy to Terrorism through

Theocratic Revolt ................................................................................. 235World Religions and Terrorism Revisited............................................ 240

6 Anti-Rationalism and Modern Terrorism ................................................. 253Antagonism toward Rationalistic Modernity as the Factor

of Modern Terrorism .......................................................................... 253Irrationalism and Terrorism ................................................................... 259

Superstition, Fanaticism and Terrorism ......................................... 262The Anti-Enlightenment and Terrorism ......................................... 264

Religious Anti-Rationalism and Terrorism–Factors of “Holy” Terror ......................................................................................... 268

Total and Unconditional Submission of Humans to “God’s Kingdom on Earth” ....................................................... 269

“True Believers” Versus “Infidels” ...................................................... 274Denial and Suppression of Individual Liberties ........................... 277Religious Revolution and “Holy” War .............................................. 281Anti-Modernism and Anti-Progressivism ...................................... 291Religious Irrationalism—Fanaticism and “Holy”

Madness ............................................................................................ 293

7 Anti-Globalism and Modern Terrorism .................................................... 299Antagonism toward Global-Cosmopolitan Modernity

as the Factor of Modern Terrorism ................................................. 299Global-Cosmopolitan “Utopia”, Anti-Globalism,

and Terrorism .................................................................................. 300Anti-Cosmopolitanism and Terrorism ................................................ 313Global-Cosmopolitan Society and Its Enemies

and Global Terror ................................................................................. 323Societal Closure and Terrorism .............................................................. 333

Nationalism and Terrorism ................................................................ 335

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contents ix

Conclusions ........................................................................................................... 347Modernism, Anti-Modernism, and Modern Terrorism ................... 347Summary ...................................................................................................... 354The Present/Future Vicious Circle of Anti-Liberalism and

Terrorism and How to Break It......................................................... 361

References .............................................................................................................. 373

Index ........................................................................................................................ 387

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INTRODUCTION

This is bound to be a fairly controversial work in at least four respects, not by intent but because of the nature, operation, and factors of the problem under examination, modern terrorism. First, the book will likely be seen as controversial in virtue of defining and considering terrorism in more comprehensive terms than usually. It defines and considers terrorism in terms of violent repression and physical coercion with certain specified attributes, and not only sheer violence or use of force as in most of the previous literature. This redefinition has the virtue or promise of being comprehensive enough to incorporate virtually all agents and actions of terrorism, as well as its functional equivalents, including inter-state wars of aggression prohibited by international rules, Draconian punishments for sins-as-crimes by certain, particularly Islamic and Puritan-rooted, governments, hate crimes, and genocidal acts by individuals, groups, and states, etc. Consequently, no relevant type and instance of modern terror-ism is left out of consideration. Alternatively, the redefinition is also sufficiently specific and precise to exclude those social agents and actions that are not terrorist in the strict sense. This holds true despite the tendency of certain states and societies to brand these agents and actions as terrorist, for example, non-violent moral sins and peaceful oppositional political activities often defined and punished as anti-government “ter-ror” or “crimes” by contemporary moralistic and repressive, especially Islamic and Puritan-based theocratic, governments.

Second, the book is likely to be controversial in respect of considering both counter-state and state terrorism in contrast to the prevalent empha-sis on the first type in the previous literature. By giving due consideration and doing justice to state terrorism, the book attempts to correct the prior imbalance in the literature between, by and large, de-centering on the latter and centering on counter-state terrorism. Moreover, this is a rela-tively original, novel, and rare sociological work in that it centers equally and often more on state terrorism such as systematic government coer-cion and violent repression, including executions and other Draconian punishments of sins-crimes within society and aggressive wars against other societies, than on counter-state terrorism like anti-government violence. This is done on the grounds that state terrorism thus understood is as sociologically and historically relevant as, or even more so than,

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2 introduction

counter-state terrorism. Such relevance is in terms of magnitude of terror-ism, for example, numbers of people killed, abused, and tortured for their moral sins and political dissent cum “crimes” by governments compared with non-governmental forces. It is also in terms of scope and intensity of terrorism, as witnessed in fascist and neo-fascist official and other totalitarian terrorism, as well as its persistence, as demonstrated by strikingly persistent theocratic or religiously grounded, especially Islamic and Puritan-grounded theocratic, “holy” terror, oppression, revolutions, and wars.

Alternatively, this book goes beyond just ritually condemning, though reaffirming the lethal, destructive gravity, of counter-state terrorism in the service of a government strategy and practice of counter-terrorism and consequently adopting a criminal justice or police perspective on counter-state terrorism (detecting, monitoring, apprehending, punishing terrorists, etc.) as too a limited stance for sociological and generally scien-tific purposes. Notably, it goes beyond paying only lip service to state terrorism as supposedly irrelevant compared to its counter-state form and even, as virtually all states claim about their actions, non-existent or irrelevant. This is an approach prevalent in the sociological and related literature and especially political discourse since at least September 11, 2001, yet hardly justified given the historical and continuing presence, salience, intensity, and expansion of governments as agents of terror.

Especially the book reconsiders and emphasizes state terrorism, because those very governments that are most vociferous and sanctimo-nious in condemning and countering “terror” tend to perpetrate multiple and serial acts of such terror. They do so through systematic government coercion and violent repression, including executions, long imprison-ment, and other Draconian punishments, often of innocent persons, for sins-cum-crimes and aggressive inter-state wars, as witnessed in Islamic and Puritan-founded theocratic states, during the “war on terror” and before (the Cold War, WW II, interwar times, etc.). By focusing on state terrorism equally as, or even more than, on counter-state terrorism the book transcends such governmental biased definitions and conceptions of “terror.” They follow the pattern of branding attacks on them as “terror”, yet their tyranny or violent repression, including executions and mass imprisonment of innocent or sinful persons, and wars against other states, is extoled and believed, as in Nazism, Islamic countries, and America dur-ing neo-conservatism, at least its regions under revived Puritan-rooted fundamentalism, as “law and order” and “rule of law”. Instead, the book sociologically reveals the proverbial tyrannical emperor as without democratic and with terror “cloths”.

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introduction 3

Third, the book will probably generate controversy, if not more, in respect of assuming, identifying, and anticipating the major and over-arching determinant and predictor of modern terrorism. The crucial factor and predictor of most modern terrorism is assumed, identified, and designated as anti-modernity. Anti-modernity consists in the adverse reaction to liberal Western modernity, i.e., antagonism to modern liberal-ism in the sense and form of liberal ideology, democracy, civil society, and culture. This is likely to be greatly controversial, disputed, or rejected, especially in contemporary America. In America, liberal modernity or modern liberalism has become since the 1980s through 2010s virtually condemned, defamed, and stigmatized by anti-liberalism such as neo-conservatism as “un-American” (“liberal” as the pejorative “L word”). And it is despite or perhaps because of liberalism’s historical projection, creation, and sociological consolidation of the “new nation” as the “land of freedom” with “liberty and justice for all” from Jefferson and other Enlightenment-inspired liberal founders to the New Deal, the political democratization and cultural liberalization of the 1960s, and beyond.

Conversely, anti-liberalism has been defined and glorified as “all- American” as the “apple pie” involving an anti-liberal ideology, politics, society, and culture in the form of reactionary and repressive, notably theocratic, religious-political conservatism perpetually resurrected from “death”. Conservative anti-liberalism therefore reproduces and celebrates triumphant “American exceptionalism” in relation to the “old” liberal Europe condemned and despised, and yet feared to change America– just as Islamic theocracies–beyond recognition through Western liberal-ism and modernism generally. In doing so, however, conservative anti-liberalism’s outcome is seemingly “shocking” but ultimately almost predictable with proxy mathematical precision or high statistical proba-bility—Islamic-like “American exceptionalism” or deviation from modern liberal Western civilization. For American conservatism and Islamic theocracies represent, each with national “pride and joy”, the most intense, persistent, and radical forces of anti-liberalism and anti-modernism in recent times and thus the major, extreme forms of “exceptionalism” or deviation from Western liberalism as their shared main enemy. In sum, the authors expect denial and perhaps more among anti-modern and anti-liberal conservative forces and governments, especially in America and Islamic countries, in arguing, demonstrating, and predicting that anti-modernity, notably anti-liberalism in the specific sense and face of religious-political conservatism, is the prime societal source, explanation, and predictor of most (though not all) modern terrorism at the time of writing these lines.

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4 introduction

Fourth, the present work will be likely controversial in respect of casting doubt on the ideas and practices of pacifying the main agents of modern counter-state terrorism, namely religious extremists like Islamic, “Christian”, typically Protestant or evangelical, and other fundamentalists, by meeting their seemingly harmless and sensible demands for the “greater role of religion” in politics and society. The book contends and predicts that the pacification of social extremism, notably religious fundamentalism, never has worked, does not, and likely will not work dur-ing the long durée of centuries and even shorter periods (Kondratieff waves of 50–60 years and less). This was witnessed in a historical sequence of, for instance, pacifying tyrannical Calvinist Puritanism in England, totalitarian Nazism and other fascism in Europe, despotic fundamentalist Islam in Islamic and other countries, and theocratic primitive evangelical-ism in American history and society. Extremism, notably theocratic fun-damentalism and sectarianism, like fascism, can be “pacified” and made “happy” only at the price of instituting “holy” state terror and tyranny by extreme fundamentalist and sectarian forces once seizing power or critical influence through government systematic coercion and violent repression, including executions and mass imprisonment of “enemies” (the “ungodly” and “sinful”) and aggressive wars against “evil” societies. Short of this “point of no return” to liberty and choice, democracy and inclusion, and human welfare, dignity and life, extreme religious, like fascist, forces will never be pacified, “satisfied”, or “happy” with conces-sions to their demands for the “greater public role” of religion in modern society.

Hence, this work considers and envisions such seemingly “spiritual” demands for “faith-based” society as ultimately imposing or generating anti-democratic values, institutions, and practices denying and destroy-ing democracy, liberty, and life. These negations and destructions are predictably in the guise of, as in Islamic countries and America, a “holy” war on liberalism and modernism as anti-Islamic and anti-American, and in the form of systematic government coercion and violent repression and to that extent state terror as defined in this book. In cost-benefit terms, the costs of meeting “greater public role of religion” demands con-sist in ultimately relapsing into religiously sanctified, “godly” state terror through theocratic coercion and violent repression in the manner of what Weber calls the “unexampled tyranny of Puritanism” in England and early America, and Islamic anachronistic despotism after the image of Taliban rule, as well as Nazi totalitarian terror. In turn, the “benefits”, if any, involve ending counter-state terrorism by these forces once seizing political

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introduction 5

power either through violence or election, “bullet or ballot”. Yet, the book suggests and predicts that the cost may well be greater than the benefit in this respect, given that state terror, especially its religious or theocratic form, has historically been, is presently, and likely will be in the foreseeable future more total, severe, and enduring than counter-state terrorism. This holds true in virtue of ‘holy” theocratic and other tyranni-cal governments murdering, severely punishing, torturing, and coercing and repressing generally more individuals and groups, as well as attacking and destroying more societies and cultures, than do non-governmental forces. To that extent, the benefit does not seem worth the cost from the perspective of modern democracy, liberty, human well-being and ultimately life. For state terror is the magnified and expanded system of violent repression, severe coercion, war, destruction, torture, and death perpetrated by government in relation to counter-state terrorism commit-ted by anti-governmental forces.

The point is that while counter-state terrorism by anti-government, especially religious, forces is a serious and growing danger for modern democratic societies, state terror in the form of government systematic coercion and violent repression never has been and likely will be underes-timated with impunity. This specifically includes widespread executions and mass imprisonment of sinners-criminals and even innocent people within society and global aggressive wars against other societies. The latter was witnessed, for example, in Puritan “holy terror” once tyrannical sectarian Puritanism capturing political power in England and early America, Nazi and other fascist terrorist regimes seizing the state in inter-war Europe, Islamic fundamentalists ruling Iran and other Muslim coun-tries, including extreme Taliban rule even by Islamic theocratic standards, and the evangelical capture or dominance of Southern politics and soci-ety (the “Bible Belt”) and seemingly or conceivably all America. In light of the above, the authors write this book keeping in mind the victims of both counter-state and especially state terrorism. For example, these victims include thousands killed in the 1995 Oklahoma and 1996 Atlanta Olympic bombings, on September 11, 2001 and other anti-government violence. They also involve millions of others executed, often innocent and/or sinful, imprisoned, and tortured by, for instance, Puritan theocrats at Salem and New England, Nazi and other fascist totalitarians, Iranian, Taliban, and other fundamentalist Islamic states, as well as by the evan-gelical, religiously open or covert “original sin” grounded and sanctified death penalty and penal system in America, especially the Southern and other “Bible Belt”.

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6 introduction

The book is organized as follows. The first chapter reconsiders and redefines the concept of contemporary terrorism. It first registers the difficulty and complexity in defining terrorism and presents its various official and scholarly definitions. Then it proposes redefining modern terrorism by certain attributes, notably in terms of illegitimate, indiscrim-inate, methodical, and strategic physical coercion, and violent repression in general, and violence or force, war, and destruction in particular. The second chapter deals with the classification of modern terrorism. In particular, it elaborates on the prevalent typology into state and coun-ter-state terrorisms, with an emphasis on the various forms of state terror, in conjunction with other types. The third chapter explores the social causes of modern terrorism. It outlines a sociological conception of ter-rorism revolving around the concepts modernity, anti-modernity, and pre-modernity. Specifically, it identifies anti-modernity as the primary and overarching cause, explanation, and predictor of most contemporary terrorism. In this context it identifies certain, four dimensions of anti-modernity as the particular explanatory and predictive mutually related and reinforcing factors of contemporary terrorism, first, anti-liberalism and anti-democracy, second, anti-secularism, third, anti-rationalism, and fourth, anti-globalism, anti-cosmopolitanism, and anti-universalism.

The fourth chapter analyzes the first specific dimension of anti- modernity, namely anti-liberalism and anti-democracy through the antagonism to liberal-democratic modernity, as the effective or potential cause and explanation of modern terrorism. Specifically, it rediscovers conservative anti-liberalism as the crucial determinant and predictor of modern terrorism, with special emphasis on fascism and religious funda-mentalism as such particular factors. In this context, it reveals that the opposition to liberal democracy, in particular to political pluralism and culture diversity, operates as the potent factor and predictor of contempo-rary terrorism. The fifth chapter focuses on the second dimension of anti-modernity, such as anti-secularism expressed in the antagonism toward secular modernity, as the actual or likely cause and predictor of contem-porary terrorism. In particular, it posits and identifies theocratic revolt as the special source and path of terrorism and theological orthodoxy as its sacred ground and justification. At this juncture, the relations between world religions and terrorism are reconsidered.

The sixth chapter centers on the third dimension of anti-modernity, anti-rationalism in the form of antagonism toward rationalistic moder-nity, as the real or probable cause and rationale of modern terrorism. In particular, it detects and investigates religious and related irrationalism

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introduction 7

as causing and justifying modern terrorism, including superstition and fanaticism in religion as well as the anti-Enlightenment as such causes and justifications. The chapter also identifies and examines the reasons why religious anti-rationalism generates and operates as terrorism, i.e., factors of “holy” terror and warfare. The seventh chapter investi-gates  the fourth dimension of anti-modernity, anti-globalism, anti- cosmopolitanism, and anti-universalism involving antagonism toward global, cosmopolitan and universalistic modernity, as the effective or pro-spective cause and explanation of modern terrorism. In particular, this includes investigating the antagonism to globalization, notably global lib-eralization and democratization, secularization, rationalization, and modernization, as the actual or potential source and predictor of terror-ism. In this connection, modern terrorism is analyzed, explained, and pre-dicted within the framework of what is termed global-cosmopolitan liberal-democratic society and its enemies. Alternatively, the chapter ana-lyzes whether and how social closure tends to generate and rationalize terrorism, particularly emphasizing aggressive nationalism or nativism as a strong cause and rationalization of terrorist agents and actions against “foreign” enemies and influences within society and across societies, including militarism and imperialism. The eighth chapter provides con-clusions as well as tentative predictions and expectations concerning the “fatal attraction” between anti-modernity, especially anti-liberalism in the most intense, pernicious, and persistent form of religious-political con-servatism, and modern terrorism.

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