Terrorism
The following are excepts from Terror in the Name
of God: Why Religious Militants Kill by Jessica Stern New York:
Harper Collins, 2003 August. The purpose is for students to understand
some of the important factors in making sense of terrorist activity and how
that relates to race and ethnic relations in the United States, especially
in terms of religious affiliation.
I. The Sources
1. Terrorism can be seen as a response to pain and suffering
of the individual or others and a desire to ease that pain and a sensitivity
to grievances and a desire to redress them.
“Religious terrorism arises from pain and loss and from impatience with a
God who is slow to respond to our plight, who doesn’t answer. Its converts
often long for a simpler time, when right and wrong were clear, when there
were heroes and martyrs, when the story was simple, when the neighborhood
was small, when we knew one another. When the outside world, with its
vulgar cosmopolitanism, didn’t humiliate us or threaten our children. When
we did not envy these others or even know about them. It is about finding
a clear purpose in a confusing world with too many choices. It is about purifying
the world. The way forward is clear: kill or be killed. Kill and be
rewarded in heaven. Kill and the Messiah will come. It is about seeing the
word in black and white. About projecting all one’s fears and inadequacies
on the Other. Why is my life not going as well as it should? The answer
is America. The answer is affirmative action. The answer is the Jews. The
answer is the Dome of the rock. A devilish cabal controls the banking system
and the press through globalization and world government, through the Council
on Foreign Relations, or the Arab oil sheiks. My people are in the
majority. This is the temple’s wall. The wall where his horse stood tied.
It is clear from the Bible that this land is legitimately ours. Archeologists
show. History proves. My ancestor’s bones. My people are suffering. My people
are not whole. We are spiritually dead. We are dry bones cast about the earth.
This is where our Messiah will rule. This is where our prophets walked.
This is the furthermost place of his nocturnal ride, where miracles happened,
where He made us the chosen people, where loaves became fishes, where He
comforted the afflicted, where he rose to heaven, where the angel Gabriel’s
handprints remain. This, in short, is where bloodbaths begin. “ (frontpiece)
Must be able to “completely empathize with the pain and suffering that cause”
terrorism. (p. xvi)
“Over time I began to see that these grievances often mask a deeper kind
of angst and a deeper kind of fear. Fear of a godless universe, of chaos,
of loose rules, and of loneliness – fears that we all have to one degree
or another. The religious extremists’ angst is familiar, as is the
fear. What surprised me most was my discovery that the slogans sometimes
mask no only fear and humiliation, but also greed – greed for political power,
land, money. Often the slogans seem to mask wounded masculinity. This
books is about those deeper feelings – alienation, humiliation, the greed
that fuel terrorism. And it is about how leaders deliberately intensify these
feelings to ignite holy wars. (p. xix)
“The villain may be a seductive hateful idea about Us versus Them rather
than an individual” (p. 238)
Grievances
1. Leaders exploit feelings of alienation and humiliation to create
holy warriors; demographic shifts, selective reading of history, and territorial
disputes are used to justify holy wars. (p. 3)
Multiple grievances: alienation, humiliation, demographic shifts, historical
wrongs, and claims over territory, all play a role in the religious conflicts.
(p. 6)
Alienation: “leaders develop a story about imminent danger to an ‘in
group,’ foster group identity, dehumanize the group’s purported enemies,
and encourage the creation of a ‘killer self’ capable of murdering large
numbers of innocent people.” (p. 9)
humiliation: “real or perceived national humiliation …..has given
rise to desperation and uncontrollable rage.” (p. 32)
The importance of selective interpretation of texts to justify violence.
“leaders can harness perceived humiliation to create support for a terrorist
movement.” (p. 31)
2. The role of the terrorist in dealing with pain and grievance is
to re-interpret actions that would other wise not be acceptable as necessary
to this process.
Interview with Kerry Noble (save the child) “I had to suspend judgment, to
try to understand his view that killing mixed race couples, homosexuals,
blacks, and Jews was a way of worshipping God.” (p. xvi)
History
“Ancient history…can be a powerful weapon in extremists hands, including
in their efforts to expand national boundaries and to seek redemption.” (p.
85)
“Selective reading of history is a powerful tool for mobilizing terrorists
seeking to settle conflicting claims to the same territory. “(p. 106)
Territory
“These groups (Lashkar e Taiba, e.g.) represent jihad in an advanced stage
, in which the original, purported motivation – to help Kashmiri people-
has become less important that the organizations themselves and the political
or financial interests of their leaders. “ (p. 108)
come to understand that “purifying the world through holy war is addictive.
Holy war intensifies the boundaries between Us and Them, satisfying the inherently
human longing for a clear identity and a definitive purpose in life, creating
a seductive state of bliss.” (p. 137)
Evil
Hannah Arendt’s conception of evil is the unthinking evil of a person who
follows rules that are morally wrong. (p. xxiii)
Evil arises from trauma (p. xxiv)
For Jung evil is inherent in every individual (p. xxiv)
“perhaps the most truly evil aspect of religious terrorism is that it aims
at destroying moral distinctions themselves” (p. 296)
II. What is Terrorism?
Terrorism is an act or threat of violence against non-combatants with the
objective of exacting revenge, intimidating, or otherwise influencing an
audience. (p. xx)
1. Terrorism is aimed at non-combatants.
2. Terrorists use violence for dramatic purpose: instilling
fear in the target audience is often more important than the physical result.
Terrorism accepts the idea that “apocalyptic violence intended to ‘cleanse’
the world of ‘impurities’ can create a transcendent state. All the
terrorist groups believe or started out believing that they are creating
a more perfect world.” (p. 281)
“They are purifying the world of injustice, cruelty, and all that is antihuman.”
(p. 281) spiritually intoxicated
“They ‘describe themselves as responding to a spiritual calling, and many
report a kind of spiritual high or addiction related to its fulfillment.”
(p. 281)
Terrorism’s attraction is for “people join religious terrorist groups partly
to transform themselves and to simplify life. They start out felling
humiliated, enraged that they are viewed by some Other as second class they
take on new identities as martyrs on behalf of a purported spiritual cause.
The spiritually perplexed learn to focus on action. The weak become strong.
The selfish become altruists, ready to make the ultimate sacrifice of their
lives in the belief that their deeds will serve the public good. Rage turns
to conviction. What seems to happen is that they enter a kind of trance,
where the world is divided neatly between good and evil, victim and oppressor.
Uncertainty and ambivalence, always painful to experience, are banished.
There is no room for the other side’s point of view. Because they believe
their cause is just, and because the population they hope to protect is purportedly
so deprived, abused, and helpless, they persuade themselves that any action
–even a heinous crime – is justified. They know hey are right, no just politically,
but morally. They believe God is on their side.” (p. 281-2)
It is in response to a ‘God-shaped hole’ in modern culture about which Sartre
wrote, and to values like tolerance and equal rights for women that are supremely
irritating to those who feel left behind by modernity.” (p. 283)
“ In their view, arrogant ‘one-worlders’, humanists and promoters of human
rights have created an engine of modernity that is stealing the identity
of the oppressed. The greatest rage – the greatest danger – stems from those
who feel they can’t keep up, even as they claim to be superior to those who
can.” (p. 283)
“terrorism… is a seductive idea not a military target” (p. 283)
III. Who is a Terrorist?
Terrorists are those who claim to be seeking religious goals, i.e. religious
terrorism. It is limited to three monotheistic religions: Christianity, Islam,
and Judaism.
Most religious terrorists promote a mixture of religious and material objectives,
for example acquiring political power to impose a particular interpretation
of religious laws or appealing to religious texts to justify acquisition
of contested territory. (p. xx)
“The terrorist begins to mimic his perception of the oppressor: he turns
to violence. His goal is to win at any cost. Over time, in some cases,
cynicism takes hold. Terrorism becomes a career as much as a passion. What
starts out as m oral fervor becomes a sophisticated organization. Grievance
can end up as greed – for money, political power, or attention. (p. 282)
“some terrorists experience a different kind of high: they like weapons and
they like to skill and they would do so for nearly any reason.’ (p. 286)
Profile of the typical Palestinian suicide bomber:
“Young, often a teenager.
He is mentally immature.
There is pressure on him to work.
He can’t find a job.
He has no options, and there is no social safety net to help him.
He would try to work for the PA (Palestinian Authority) but he doesn’t get
a job because he has no connection.
He tries to get into Arafat’s army, but again, he doesn’t have the right
connections. He doesn’t have “Vitamin W.” (Vitamin W is an expression for
wasta in Arabic, which refers to political, social, and personal connections)
He has no girlfriend or fiancée.
On the days he’s off, he has no money to go to the disco and pick up girls
(even if it were acceptable)
No means for him to enjoy life in any way.
Life has no meaning but pain.
Marriage is not an option – its expensive and he can’t even take care of
his own family.
He feels he has lost everything.
The only way to find refuge is God.
He goes to the local mosque.
It’s not like in the United Stares where they just go to church on Sundays.
He begins going to the mosque five times a day – even for the 4 am pryers.
(An average devout Muslim will not attend the early morning-prayer.)
Hamas members are there and notice him looking anxious, worried, and depressed
and that he’s coming every day. It’s a small society here- people tend to
know each other. They will ask about him, discover his situation.
Gradually they will begin to recruit him.
They talk to h im about the afterlife and tell him that paradise awaits him
if he dies in jihad. They explain to him that if he volunteers for
a suicide bombing, his family name will be held in the highest respect. He’ll
be remembered as a shaheed (martyr, hero). He’ll become a martyr and Hamas
will give his family about $5000., wheat flour, sugar, other staples, and
clothing. The most important thing is that his family’s status will be raised
significantly – they too will be treated as heroes. The condition for
all this: he is not allowed to tell anyone.
How to make a terrorist
They will take him away from home forty-eight hours before the operation
so there is no chance for him to reconsider. During this period he
will write his last letters and sign his will, making it difficult to turn
back.” (p. 50-1)`
“It is not the violence; it is the pernicious effect of repeated, small humiliations
that add up to a feeling of nearly unbearable despair and frustration, a
willingness on the part of some to do anything – even commit atrocities –
in the belief that attaching the oppressor will restore their sense of dignity.”
(p. 62)
Governments promote religious militias to use them as mercenaries but this
can be a dangerous game. (p. 84)
The benefits they (those who join) receive are partly spiritual, partly emotional,
and partly material. (p. 3)
Participation in terrorist violence can be seen as kind of tax paid to redress
the collectives’ grievances. Those who contribute their lives, their money,
or their support are paying their taxes; those who do not are free riders.”
(p. 4)
We have a much harder time seeing failing states where terrorists thrive
as a source of danger.
IV. Holy War Organization
“Holy wars persist only when organizations and individuals profit from them-
psychologically and financially.” (p. 236)
Several types: virtual network, lone-wolf avengers, terrorist armies, commander-cadre
organizations
“The most important aspect of the organization is the mission. The mission
is the story about Us versus Them. It distinguishes the pure from the impure
and creates group identity. The organization’s mission statement – the story
about its raison d’etre – is the glue that holds even the most tenuous organizations
together. Without this mission statement, the organization is little
different from an organized criminal ring.” ( p. 142)
“The mission is not static. It can change over time. Its function is not
only to attract recruits but also to raise cash, a critically important requirement
for running a commander-cadre organization.” (p. 42)
‘The requirements for running terrorist organizations are similar to those
of running a firm or a non-government organization. Today’s multinational
terrorist leader is an entrepreneur who brings together mission, money and
market share. He hires skilled and unskilled labor and often pays competitive
rates. Money is more important for commander and cadre-style organizations
that carry out large scale attacks than for virtual networks, in which participants
are expected to fund themselves or raise money on their own initiative.”
(p. 142)
“Terrorist organizations face a trade off between resilience and capacity…
resilience refers to an organization’s ability to withstand the loss of part
of its workforce, and capacity refers to its ability to optimize the scale
of attack.” (p. 143)
The leaders “develop an hybrid organization that is a network if various
types; leaderless resisters, lone-wolf avengers, commanders, cadres, freelancers,
and franchises. (p. 145) sleepers
‘inspirational leaders create a narrative and a secret language, which they
use to create a community of like-minded believers, very much like a ‘normal’
religion or church community. But unlike most churches, the aim is
to inspire followers to take violent action on behalf of the in-group in
opposition to an out-group.” (p. 171)
Lone-wolf Avengers
“Lone-wolves often come up with their own ideologies that combine personal
vendettas with religious or political grievances.” (p. 172)
Commanders and their Cadres
“rewards for participating in the organization include regular salaries for
managers, cash bonuses for successful operations and payments to the families
of ‘martyrs,” various levels of training, ‘glamour”, the opportunity to be
part of the tight-knit community and to serve the group, and, from the operative’s
perspective, to serve God. Penalties for disobedience can include corporal
punishment or death.” (p. 189)
“A skilled terrorist leader can strengthen and harness feelings of betrayal
and the desire for revenge.” (p. 236)
sleeper “This is exactly the kind of operative that Americans are beginning
to fear – a confused young man who thinks he is helping Muslims but serving
as a sleeper for a terrorist group, whose principal value to the terrorists
is his country of residence.” (p. 238)
The selections of ideas from the book Terror in the Name of God, presented
above is to help you see the various aspects to the situation and the difficulty
in responding to it without becoming paranoid and fearful of everyone who
is different or who disagrees with those in authority.
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