Terrorism motivated by spiritual belief is every bit old as clip, and several illustrations can be found in all major faiths throughout the history of the universe. Religious terrorist act can be traced back to the first century, to narratives in the bible. In my 30 some old ages of experience I have found that faith is a het topic ; it brings about feelings of all sorts and can take people to kill or even decease for. This paper will discourse spiritual terrorist act and some of its fables throughout history.

Terrorism is specifically designed to hold far-reaching psychological effects beyond the immediate victims or object of the terrorist onslaught. It is meant to transfuse fright within, and thereby intimidate, a wider mark audience that might include a rival cultural or spiritual group, an full state, a national authorities or political party, or public sentiment in general. Terrorism is designed to make power where there is none or to fall in power where there is really small.

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Looking through history of terrorist act through spiritual agencies, I have found three original sorts of spiritual groups that can be considered spiritual terrorist act: the hoods, bravos and Zealots.

The hoods cult may be the lone illustration of a terrorist group motivated wholly by a spiritual demand. Thugs ceremonially strangled their victims as an offering to the Hindu goddess of panic and devastation Kali. They sought to protract their victim ‘s panic every bit long as possible an of import consideration in their sacrificial rite ( Burgess, 2004 ) .

The bravos were motivated by both political relations and faith. Their name literally means hashish feeder and referred to the ritualistic drug taking they were rumored to indulge in before missions. These missions normally involved knifing to decease politicians or churchmans who refused to change over to the bravo ‘s version of Islam. The bravos differed from the hoods in that they played to an audience, frequently transporting out violent deaths at spiritual sites on holy yearss, a tactic intended to publicise their cause and incite others to it ( Burgess, 2004 ) .

Active for over 25 old ages a Judaic religious order called the Zealot ‘s who took their inspiration from Phineas, an old testament priest who used the caput of his lance to kill an Israelite and his kept woman who were openly withstanding an jurisprudence from God. The priest ‘s actions were attributed with debaring a pestilence among the Israelites and fixing them for a God ordained war against the Canaanites for ownership of the Promised Land ( Burgess, 2004 ) .

The term Zealot, in Hebrew means one who is avid on behalf of God. The most radical groups of Zealots were called Sicarii. The Sicarii, under their cloaks concealed a little sticker which they used violent stealing tactics against the Romans. In one history in Talmud, the Sacarii destroyed the metropolis ‘s nutrient supply so that the people would be forced to contend against the Roman besieging alternatively of negociating peace. They were besides known to prosecute in force against fellow Jews ( Judaic Religion Wikipedia, 2010 ) .

The Zealot ‘s had several interesting narratives to include the devastation of the temple at Jerusalem, the mass self-destruction at Masada and the practical extinction of big Judaic population in Cyprus and Egypt culminating in the expatriate itself. In 614 the devastation of the temple at Jerusalem the 2nd, by the Persians and the Zealots was a slaughter of Christians. Historians noted that there were Jerusalem Christians that survived the onslaught and they were taken confined, but was offered get awaying decease if they became Jews and deny Christ. But they refused and the Jews in choler purchased the Christians from Persians and massacred them on the topographic point ( Judaic Religion Wikipedia, 2010 ) .

After Rome destroyed Jerusalem, in 70 the great rebellion ended except for the lasting Zealots who fled Jerusalem to the fortress of Masada near the Dead Sea, they held out for three old ages. Once it became evident that Rome ‘s banging random-access memories and slingshots would shortly win in transgressing the walls, the Zealots leader decided that all the Judaic guardians should perpetrate self-destruction. They did non desire their married womans and kids to go slaves, so they forced 10 work forces to kill all the adult females and kids and one by one putting to death each other taking to 960 dead ( Telushkin, 1991 ) .

Some recent onslaughts: In September 1984, 750 people became ill after eating in eating houses in Oregon. Research workers subsequently learned that a leader of the nearby spiritual group had ordered his followings to distribute the salmonella bacterium in eating houses in order to act upon local elections. The event was thought to be a test tally for a larger onslaught. There were besides plots for poisoning the municipal H2O supplies to two major American metropoliss. And in March 1995, the Aum gas onslaught on Tokyo ‘s metros killed 12 and injured more than 5,000 the Aum onslaught has the differentiation of being the universe ‘s first mass-scale chemical terrorist onslaught ( Religious Terrorism Religious cults, religious orders and motions, 2002 ) .

Not every new spiritual group or motion should be considered a domestic terrorist menace, but they do necessitate to be looked at closely. There are a turning figure of millenary cults who believe the old ages of 2000 ‘s could be the terminal of the Earth and should be the terminal of the Earth, and are actively prosecuting ways to convey that about.

But finally the September 11 2001 Al Qaeda onslaughts highlighted merely how unsafe a mix terrorist act and faith is. This perceptual experience has been solidified by the series of terrorist work stoppages that have been launched since. After researching on spiritual terrorist act and its history I have found a new manner looking at terrorist act, non merely from what I have learned from 911, but a different manner of specifying the enemy.

The enemy can outdo be identified through a description of the assorted degrees of committedness among trusters there are three get downing with the Revolutionary Islamic Vanguard. This is the most unsafe group they are the 1s willing to transport out the onslaughts on U.S. Embassies, spiritual purists who believe they are following illustrations set by Muhammad and his comrades ( The Rand Corporation for League of adult females electors, 2007 ) .

The 2nd group is larger than the Vanguard and much harder to place. Unlike the Vanguard, they are non every bit committed to the ideological cause and have non crossed the line into violent action. However, they are willing to back up, both financially and morally, the ends of the Vanguard ( The Rand Corporation for League of adult females electors, 2007 ) .

The 3rd and last group that can be considered portion of the enemy cantonment is made up of nation-states and big organisations that either supports the Vanguard or its aims. Saudi Arabia is the largest protagonist of Sunni groups Pre-Islamic Arabia was a violent and helter-skelter environment, but it besides extended unprecedented single rights and freedoms to its people ( The Rand Corporation for League of adult females electors, 2007 ) .

Another manner I was able to understand and look at terrorist act in a different manner, I took a expression at the yesteryear of Islam. Islam encourages a return to the basicss of Islam as revealed in the Quran ( their Bible ) and in the life of the Prophet Muhammad ( sort of like our Jesus ) . What is alone about Al-Qaida is that it advocates Takhirsim- a philosophy that requires the riddance of disbelievers, no affair their background or faith ( Gary, 2001 ) .

Why the Quran? Why Muhammad? Well back before Muhammad the people believed in all types of Gods and cults, they even demanded human forfeits. It was pure aloha. Muhammad began to have disclosures from God through the angel Gabriel. He was finally able to convey order and peace to a helter-skelter Mecca through combat, by coercing the dwellers to subject to the will of his one true God. So now they want to travel back to the clip of Muhammad and coerce everyone to subject to their God ( Gary, 2001 ) .

What makes these fiends so unsafe? They believed that Allah had already determined their decease. If they died in a struggle for Allah, they would hold instant entree to paradise. Second, should they survive ; they would have both the religious virtues of workss accomplished for Allah and the spoils of war.

Why do they experience that the US or the West is against them? They tend to believe that the West is seeking to command, oppress, and work their people and resources. They feel that the net incomes of the land should be equally distributed, but the West is avaricious and wants to maintain them hapless. Bin Laden was able to utilize these onslaughts as a cardinal constituent of a recruiting run to construct support for the attainment of his ultimate end: reestablishment of the Caliphate, the old Islam under Muhammad ( Hoffman, 1998 ) .

I have found that the US has two ends to antagonize these onslaughts of terrorist. The near-term end is to destruct the larger Al-Qaida web. Indeed, the United States and its alliance spouses have been comparatively successful at killing, capturing, and significantly degrading the Al-Qaida web. Unfortunately, Al-Qaida resembles the Hydra threat of Greek Mythology. For every Al-Qaida member removed from the web, two more take his topographic point. The 2nd and long-run end of the U.S. scheme is to make a planetary environment inhospitable to violent extremists and all who support the Vanguard ( The Rand Corporation for League of adult females electors, 2007 ) .

For the spiritual terrorist, force is first and foremost a sacramental act or divine responsibility executed in direct response to some theological demand or imperative. Religious and secular terrorists besides have starkly different perceptual experiences of themselves and their violent Acts of the Apostless. Where secular terrorists regard force either as a manner of inciting the rectification of a defect in a system that is fundamentally good or doing it new. Religious terrorists see themselves non as constituents of a system deserving preserving, but as foreigners seeking cardinal alterations in the bing order ( Cline, 2005 ) .

In Conclusion, faith and terrorist act is a deathly combination. Throughout history there is narratives upon narratives of terrorist act based on a spiritual motivation and we still have n’t learned how to cover with it, they are go oning to coming up with new ways to do history / or to destruct people, topographic points and things because of a belief that they may hold. It is a chilling thing to believe of that there are several fiends that feel that they can kill because their God says so and what they will make for their God.

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