Would it be correct to say that religious fundamentalism is the root cause of terrorism?

Question

Should the menace of terrorism be tackled by religious leaders who should talk about the universatility of all religious beliefs rather than being dogmatic?

Answer 1

u are generalising a concept which should not be generalised.if religion alone is d root cause of terrorism then wat do you call d naxalites of india. maoists of nepal. ku klux klan of USA. LTTE of srilanka. khyber rouge of cambodia.shining path of columbia.......of course religious fanaticism spawns terrorism but as i see it misunderstanding.apathy towards an unfamiliar culture.loss of faith in d process of debate an greed leads men to terror.not only d religious leaders but any man or woman who calls himself a leader should strive to abolish hatred and misunderstanding.

Answer 2

Well Jessica the beautiful,as usual,you ask a good question! I've read all the answers,and they are all damn good ones too! Now let me weigh in on something that so far everybody has missed. America has a military, that has a budget about as large as some terrorist nations whole GNP, am I correct? This "Terrorist Problem ",has only really kicked into high gear since the Berlin wall fell down right?So Russia was out of the picture. You have to have a "Bad Guy",to warrent such an expenditure of Tax dollars! When the "Shrub" said that we were going to fight a war on terrorism until there were no more terrorists,what he was really saying was America will be in a war with no end! There is a book called "The rise and fall of the 3rd Reich, by William Shirer,where Hitler said the very same thing over 60 years ago! What I am trying to say is The NEOCON'S ARE the TERRORIST! If we didn't have a terrorist problem before we invaded Iraq,we got them now! What would we Americans do if Saddam had invaded us because we had weapons of Mass destruction! And guess what, we got 'em! Nobody likes an invader,we don't and they don't! The "Shrub" has made us look like the Bad guys in this stupid war,that's why we need to get out!NOW! But,I've gotten off the topic again,...er..wha...Well,that's just me ranting again....

Answer 3

Probably, but it's also a misinterpretation of Fundamentalism that causes terrorism. Very few, if any, religious leaders would "talk about the universality of all religious beliefs", because dogmatism is the basis of all religions.

Answer 4

Actually its political economic discontent in large groups of people that is the root cause of terrorism. People who live in their comforts rarely are the ones that are willing to perform in these extreme operations. Please take my meaning, the individuals involved aren't the ones who have the lives that Im talking about but its more their empathy to those around them. They see their friends and family members pushed out by employers that dont care and put into tough situations by goverment factions that dont care. It's hard to look at how arbitrary and pointless many things in life are and some people just cant take it. Then comes along this charismatic leader who gives these people peace and promises them a greater purpose in live. A recognition that they haven't had evidence of before and for most thats a very enticing temptation. Its not surprising that religion finds its way within the context of a greater purpose in a world of winners and losers. If you were so distressed it really wouldnt take much to make you do things that might be deemed as terrorist activity. You may justify it by saying something to the effect of "if this oppourtunity were more perfect I wouldnt have to do these things that I do".

Answer 5

I would broaden this concept and say that belief (but not necessarily belief in God).

You cannot argue with belief. But when belief is wrong the believer is blind to the error because there is no premise.

Therefore the problem is that people are believing in things instead of God. Things like they are right about some issue. But people are imperfect and make errors so the number of things it is safe to believe in is quite small.

Ask yourself, do I need to be perfect in judgment to believe in something?

Religion is a human practice. The practice of religion is often misused. But without religion, something else would be used. Recent times have seen religion not used, Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, and Pol Pot used other methods.

Answer 6

I think that religion is only one of the causes of terrorism. I think that terrorism is caused by a number of factors, which often are exploited by religious extremists in an attempt to garner more power. Poverty, injustice, inequity - these all find initiates, and in turn they help to fuel terrorism.

Answer 7

The Middle East will never be peaceful without ending the Israeli occupation. This is the conclusion of the UN, EU, Backer-Hamilton report, and President Carter new book.

Answer 8

No. Terrorism is a tactic. Specifically, it is what you call the tactic of your enemy. The things that cause "terrorism" are just the things that cause war: injustice, inequality, and intolerance.

Answer 9

nooo it is the largest part however. Terrorisim is even in the school yard... as in the bully. So is it the root of ALL terrorism? No

Answer 10

It certainly is the cause of a lot of wars and bloodshed.