Why do we pretend that religion beliefs have nothing to do with terrorism?

Question

It seems to me that religion is the one area of the human experience that is off limits to critical analysis. We have a benign view of religion, especially in the US, where it is unacceptable to draw any conclusions implying that; to effectively ward off terrorist aggression, we may need to also combat an ideology born of a religion. Can we really pretend that when I guy blows himself up to kill others and become a “Martyr” that his decision has nothing to do with his religious ideology?

Answer 1

Terrorism is a political act: while individual terrorists may blow themselves up because they have been convinced by fanatics that it is a religious act, the goal of most of these attacks is to achieve a political aim such as US Out of Iraq, Israel out of the Occupied Territories, or India out of Kashmir.

Their are many terrorist organizations besides the Muslim groups that have been making the news lately. Others include the ecoterrorists such as the ELF who burn down buildings in order to save the environment (thus sending more pollution into the air), the Irish Republican Army (while the majority of their members are Catholic their goal is self determination for Northern Ireland not a more Catholic Ireland), and of course the worst terrorist attack in US history before 9/11 was the Oklahoma City bombing which was motivated by right-wing political beliefs not religious beliefs (Tim McVeigh was agnostic at best).

Other religions of the world are not immune to fanatics and terrorism. There have been Christian terrorists such as Paul Hill the anti-abortion fanatic who shot an abortion doctor, and Eric Robert Rudolph who carried out the Centennial Olympic Park bombing as well as bombings of abortion clinics and a lesbian night club. Both of them are associated with the fanatical Army of God. When the movie the Last Temptation of Christ was released in Paris one of the theaters where it was showing was bombed by Catholic fanatics.

There are also Jewish groups which have been classified as terrorist organizations such as Kach and Kahane Chai which the US State Department claims carried out activities such as:using explosives or fire arms with intent to endanger the safety of individuals or cause substantial damage to property; threatening and conspiring to carry out assassinations; soliciting funds and members for a terrorist organization
The State Department also says that the group is suspected of involvement in a number of low-level attacks since the start of the Second Intifada in 2000. While some of these Christian and Jewish groups may have, like their Muslim counterparts, cloaked their causes in religious symbolism their actions had primarily political goals such as ending abortion or promoting Israeli nationalism.

Answer 2

As always, primoa is wrong.

There is no difference between fundamentalisms. The only thing that changes is the value of "X." The reason Islamic fundamentalists are more aggressive terrorists at this stage in history is primarily cultural and political; certainly it has nothing to do with the choice of mythologies. Our "Christian" society happens to be capitalistic and democratic and prosperous (and secular, in spite of the Christian fundies' best efforts to turn America into Afghanistan). Hence our people are less likely to want to rock the status quo, regardless of their religious convictions. It's basically that simple. (There are, of course, a few Christian fundies who DO indulge in such passtimes as bombing abortion clinics, but fortunately they're more of a lunatic fringe than Al-Qaida is in Iraq.)

To claim that Islam is inherently any more "violent" than Christianity is absurd. A glance at the history books ought to dispel that myth once and for all.

We absolutely DO need to combat this mentality - on ALL fronts. Read "Letter to a Christian Nation" - because Christian "moderates" in America fulfill the same function as their counterparts in Iraq - they allow the really insane zealots to operate under the veil of the presumed respectability of religion.

Answer 3

I love your question and completely agree. Part of the answer, in my opinion, may have to do with the golden rule. Person A does not want others to attack his/her religious beliefs, so he/she ignores the danger(s) within the religious beliefs of Person B.

I'm well aware that it is much more complicated than a matter of common courtesy. Unfortunately, the act of getting people to actually wake up and realize this to the point of taking action is quite difficult. You cannot convince someone of something if they have already made up their mind to not believe you. It doesn't matter how right you are or what kind of proof or evidence you can provide. That's one of the greatest dangers or threats posed by fundamentalists. It's either their way or death.

Answer 4

In this case, it does, simply because there is no fear of death, only a reward for them. In my eyes this person is not a martyr but a murderer.
Not all terrorists though have religious reasoning behind their actions. Bader Meinhof was simply evil.

Answer 5

I agree with you. The war on terror is religious based and the fight between the Sunnis and the Shiites is purely based on religious disagreements over the heir to Mohammad--and that's been going on 1300 years.

Answer 6

Because the causality doesn't fit. For every muslim terrorist you find, you'll find many more muslim non-terrorist. Your assumption that religion causes terrorism or vice versa is faulty.

Why don't we just have a battle against bullys since there were a few kids who got bullied in school and shot up a whole lunch room?

Answer 7

You sound a lot like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris...

I agree, by the way. Stop tip-toeing around the facts, folks. Religious faith is the cause. Religious faith empowers those who would be extremists by allowing blind dogmatic certainty in the absence of and sometimes in spite of reason and rationality.

We really do need an End Of Faith.

Answer 8

Following that logic we should suspect all christians of being potential terrorists because of the actions of those who kill abortion doctors (not to mention the Crusades and the Inquisition). Surely it was their religious beliefs that caused them to act.

Answer 9

our leaders are Christian, and it's a religious war.
To say religion leads to terrorism (when you are the underdog technology wise) is the same as a group of Cannibals saying cannibalism leads to eating humans.

Answer 10

It has everything to do with it...agreed.

And it's mostly from Islam.

The Muslim extreemists motto: Convert or die.
The Christian motto: Get saved or you're going to hell (but if you don't....don't worry, I'm not going to behead you)

Big difference