The Link Between Terrorism and Religion? (1)
April 5th 2010 23:36
In recent years terrorist attacks have been carried out by organisations in the name of Islam, a major world religion with over one billion adherents (Welch 1997, p.229). The most notable of these were the 9/11 World Trade Centre attack in 2001, and closer to home the Bali nightclub bombing in 2002. The extremist organisations linked to this terrorism, Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya respectively, spout jihadist rhetoric in an attempt to justify such acts of atrocity against innocent civilians. An examination of the reasoning behind this rhetoric will by way of association, lead this essay to the other underlying elements that link modern day terrorism to religion, namely media, politics, culture, war, and economic globalization.
In the twenty-first century one could be forgiven for thinking that the world had but two major religions, Christianity and Islam. The reason for this can be broadly attributed to media exposure of the extremist rhetoric from Islamic leaders like Bakar Bashir and bin Laden and counter rhetoric of Western leaders like G.W. Bush and Tony Blair, coupled with the no-holds-barred coverage of terror attacks and conflicts in America, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Citizens may insulate themselves by refusing to watch television and the internet, however sooner or later the inextricable link between terrorism and religion will make itself known. The new century has seen a polarisation of attitudes, culture, and faith: peace vs. war, East vs. West, Muslim vs. Christian. (Cont.)
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