Religion and Terrorism Religiously-oriented Terrorist Groups

“Religion “deals with spiritual or ultimate human concerns, such as life or death, our highest values and selves, the roots of evil, the existence of God, the nature of divinity and goodness . . .” – John Mack

Violence as necessary to protect or defend

Faith and devotion will be rewarded by God

True believers are superior over non-believers

Chosen people vs. ‘infidel’, ‘apostate’ and ‘godless’ (a deeper level of “othering”)

“Violence is first and foremost a sacramental act or divine duty . . . in direct response to some theological demand or imperative.” – Bruce Hoffman

The religious extremist seems to “enter into a kind of trance, where the world is divided neatly between good and evil, victim and oppressor. Uncertainty and ambiguity . . . are banished. God is on their side.” – Jessica Stern

Superiority of God’s rules provides justification for violating man-made rules Easier to kill if you think you’re doing God’s will

Enormous power for “interpreters” (priests, imams, rabbis), who can exploit the need among many people for religious guidance. Use interpretation of Torah, Bible, Koran, etc. to justify

terrorist violence as God’s will

Epic battle of good versus evil

Many different kinds of religious terrorism worldwide

Rabbi Meir Kahane; political activist; founded Jewish Defense League (1968), advocated violent attacks against perceived enemies

Immigrated to Israel, founded “Kach” political party; argued for expulsion of all non-Jews from Israel, by force if necessary Preached that entirely Jewish theocratic “Kingdom of Israel”

was needed to create the conditions for the coming of the Jewish Messiah.

Increasingly racist messages led to assassination in 1990

Son launches Meir Kahane (“Kahane Lives”), advocating attacks on Palestinians and Arab Israelis

Baruch Goldstein (1994); Eden Natan-Zada (2005)

“Leaderless resistance”-style Christian group that targets abortion clinics and doctors Biblical passages used to justify violence as “defense of the

unborn child”

Prominent figures include Michael Bray, Paul Hill and James Kopp “An individual who kills to save a life has not committed

murder, but has in fact prevented it.”

Started in 1970s, increased attacks in 1980s, then pause, then increasing attacks during 1990s (180 arsons and bombings in 1995)

Recent attacks in Louisiana, Virginia, Minnesota, and Florida

Japanese religious cult (“Supreme Truth”) established in 1984 by Shoko Asahara Portrayed himself as an enlightened man, on a

mission from Buddha to build a utopian society of people who had achieved psychological enlightenment

Attracted thousands of followers; estimated $1 billion in assets

WMD attacks in Matsumoto (1994), Tokyo (1995)

Founded in 1992 by self-proclaimed “prophet” Joseph Kony

Known for kidnapping young children, forced to join LRA (boys as militants, girls as sex slaves)

Until recently, state sponsorship from Sudan

Main areas of operation include CAR, DRC and Uganda

October 2011, U.S. troops deployed to help Uganda apprehend Kony and his followers

Many religious-oriented terrorist groups are seeking to bring about changes that are aligned with the values and doctrines of a particular religion

Adopted terrorist activity in pursuit of the power to achieve their ideological goals

Believe that God has sanctioned them to do so

Founded 1987 by former members of Muslim Brotherhood

Does not recognize Israel as a legitimate state; considers it an illegal occupier of Palestinian land Negotiated compromise is unlikely

Seeks the destruction of Israel through violence; ambushing both Israeli soldiers and civilians alike, suicide bombings, kidnappings and rocket attacks

Provides social and welfare services; gained support, was elected to majority of seats in 2006 parliamentary elections Armed conflict; split between Gaza (Hamas) and West Bank (PA)

Currently (2012) trying new power sharing arrangement

Shiite Muslim militia (Hizb’Allah - “Party of God”), founded 1982 in response to Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon

Stated aims are to establish a Shiite theocracy in Lebanon, destroy Israel, and eliminate Western influence in the Middle East

Several suicide car and truck bombings U.S. Marine Barracks (241 killed)

2006 full-scale military conflict with Israel; negotiated ceasefire Seen as only Muslim entity that has stood up to the far superior

military of Israel and was not defeated Significant arsenal of weapons, electronic capabilities, al-Manar tv

station

Originally part of Islamic Courts Union; preaches an extremist brand of Sunni Islam (Arabic for “the youth”)

Most attacks against Somali Transitional Government, but have also conducted suicide attacks (including in Uganda) and have intimidated, kidnapped and killed aid workers

Possibly split into 2 factions, one focused on local conflict, the other claiming affiliate with al Qaeda Has recruited several foreigners, including some

Americans

Islamist group in northern Nigeria (Hausa term for “Western education is forbidden”)

Grievances include political, economic and religious insecurities E.g., unemployment, corruption, lack of infrastructure Perceived threat to traditional culture from western globalization Also appears to be trying to spark sectarian violence among

Christian communities as way to destabilize goverment

Has attacked police stations and patrols, politicians (including village chiefs and a member of parliament), religious leaders (both Christian and Muslim), and individuals whom they deem to be engaged in un-Islamic activities

First militant group in Nigeria to use suicide bombing June 2011 attack on the Nigeria Police Headquarters in Abuja August 2011 attack on United Nations building in Abuja

the Philippines: Abu Sayyaf Group

Pakistan: Lashkar-e-Taiba

Indonesia: Jemaah Islamiyah

Morocco: Salafia Jihadia, Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group , Takfir wal Hijra–Martyrs for Morocco

Religious groups have emerged in many kinds of environments

Religious insecurities as central motivator They see themselves as defenders of the faithful, or

defenders of those whom God wants them to defend

Violence as means of obtaining power to shape the future

For more, see: Global Terrorism Database Profiles

http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/ National Counterterrorism Center Profiles

http://www.nctc.gov/site/profiles/index.html