Terrorism And Religion Essay

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary, terrorism is defined as “the use of violent acts to frighten the people as a way of trying to achieve a political goal.” Acts of terrorism are usually done with an ideological, political, or religious goal in mind, but more often than not, they end up killing harmless and defenseless civilians. If terrorism is not stopped, the whole world can look at conforming to ideals of an unstable leader and living in fear.
Although the true roots of terrorism date back to ancient times, the beginning of terrorism that later went on to greatly affect America and the world as a whole started during the Cold War era. The Cold War was the period of time shortly after World War II where the United States and the Soviet Union …show more content…
Terrorists tend to attack national symbols in order to show power and to attempt to rebel against the structure of the country or society they are opposed to. This may greatly damage a government, while increasing the notoriety of the terrorist group and idea behind the terrorist act. Terrorist acts frequently have a political purpose, causing the relationship between terrorism and religion to become blurred. When a political struggle is associated with a religious struggle, failing in the political goal becomes equated with spiritual failure, which, for the very religious, is worse than losing their own lives. The terms "terrorism" and "terrorist" carry strong negative connotations. These terms are often used as political labels, to condemn violence or the threat of violence by certain actors as immoral, indiscriminate, unjustified or to condemn an entire segment of a population. Those labeled "terrorists" by their opponents rarely identify themselves as such, since they believe their actions are for the greater good. Definitions and views on what makes a terrorist differs from person to person. It is common for both parties in a conflict to describe each other as