The Religion of Islam

Fundamentalism: The Roots of Terrorism

Bryce KelleyMedford Area Senior High School

Islamic Fundamentalism

• Radical Utopian Movement• Qur’an is the bases for all

(Political, Economic, Social, etc.)

• Every government is corrupt and must be replaced with a Islamic Religious Government.

• Do not believe in Democracy– Some cases ok Democracy vs. Dictatorship Islam vs. Democracy

Islamic Fundamentalism

• Anti-Semitic (Jewish)• Believe in myths

– Jewish organization controls the world– No Jews died in Holocaust or World

Trade Center.– Zionist groups kidnap Muslim babies

and use blood for sacrifices.

• Anti-Western Establishment– Crusades are an example of West

trying to kill off Muslims• A farce…More Christians died of disease

and starvation. Some murder, but not a lot.

Islamic Fundamentalism

• Biggest threat is not U.S. Military.– Western Corporations

• Ayatollah Khomeini (Iran)– We are not afraid of the U.S. military,

intervention, or economic sanctions. We are afraid of western universities (ideas)

• Taliban (Afghanistan) calls for arrest of Madonna / Michael Jackson

• Blue Jeans– Prohibitive

• Temptation is the fundamental problem

Islamic Fundamentalism

• Americans are perceived as a threat.– Fundamentalists feel embattled– Threatened by the west

• Ultimately struggling against the dramatic changes brought about by secularism and modernism.

• Very difficult for peace to win out– Confident in victory

Terrorism

Terrorist

What Comes To Mind?

Terrorism Defined

• Webster’s: the use of threats or force to demoralize, intimidate, and subjugate, especially as a political weapon.

• World Book: the use of threat or violence to create fear and alarm.

What is Terrorism

• A complicated phenomenon.

• Form of political violence.

• Species of psychological warfare.

• Symbolism• Publicity for change

Criminal

Classification of Terrorism

Political Psychological

Sub-stateState State

Supported

1. Social Revolutionary2. National Separatist3. Religious Fundamentalist4. New Religions5. Right Wing6. Single Issue

Social RevolutionistNationalist Separatist

Fidel Castro, Cuba

Irish Republican Army

Religious Fundamentalist New Relgion

Osama Bin Laden

David Koresh, Branch DavidiansWaco, Texas

Right Wing Single Issue

Neo-Nazi’s and Ku Klux KlanEric Rudolph, 1998 BirminghamAlabama, Abortion Clinic bombing.

The Goal of Terrorism• Terrorists are convinced

they are acting on behalf of the moral character of the group.

• “Agents of Righteousness” in the battle between darkness and “truth.”

• The cause is justification for violence.

• The cause is an outlet for anger.

• Oulet for anger.• Convenient vehicle for

change.• Stirs up enthusiasm and

excitement.• Sources of hope for the

future.• Provides a sense of

power• A sense of importance• Overcome feeling of

incompetence (STRONG!)

Characteristics of Terrorist Organizations

• Most are small with 100 members or less• Tight knit, radical organizations• Relatively little training and use unsophisticated

equipment• Today, we see more loosely knit groups with

branches in other countries (Taliban)• Ethnically and politically homogenous• Often made up of friends and relatives, so difficult to

infiltrate• Seldom operate from one location• Funded by crime / drugs

Why become a Terrorist?• Often caused by:

– Poverty– Lack of education– Environment– Entitlement– Perceived importance of

standard of living– Anger– Lack of Alternative– Protection from threat (Real or

perceived)– Anger

What draws them in?

• What we need to understand is not why bombers do it, but how they are recruited and trained.

• Bottom Line: A meaningful death is better than a pointless life.

• “His life is not cheap because he is fearless or brave. He offers the only thing he has.”

» Muslim Engineering Student

Motivation• Keys to paradise• Direct path to heaven• Promise of no pain and an

end to suffering• Rewards to family

– You are a martyr– Family is taken care of

financially• Fame and Glory

“This is not suicide. Suicide is selfish, reflects mental weakness. This is “itishad” (martyrdom or self-sacfrice in the service of Allah.” - Interviewed Terrorist

Terrorist Profile: Old vs. New

Israel Bombers• 17 -22 years old• Male, single, young• Uneducated• Unemployed• Dispirited youth• Bleak future• Recruited hours before• “Brainwashed” for honor and

family status• Not left alone until act

complete

New Terrorists• 28 -35 years old• Male, married, older• Have higher education• Financially comfortable• From middle class families• Lived in west exposed to

opportunity• Blended in with society• Ignore the dress, customs,

and grooming of traditional Muslims

• Left alone “far away” for years

• Not “brainwashed,” but rather “true believers.”

The Goal of Jihad

• “Jihad:” “holy war,” “righteous struggle” against the Western world.– To endeavor, to strive, to struggle

• Fundamentalist Islamic hatred for the West.

“And what is wrong with you that you not fight in the cause of Allah, and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed young men, women, and children, who’s cry is, “Our Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors; and raise us from You one who will protect, and raise us from You one who will help.”(Soorah an-Nissan’(4):75)

The Goal of Jihad

• Bin Laden: “The mission is to fight the Pagans all together, and fight them until there is no more turmoil or oppression.”

• Bin Laden, 1998: “In compliance with God’s order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims: The ruling to kill Americans and their allies – civilians and military – is an individual duty for every Muslim…This is in accordance with the words of the Almighty God.”