The rise of religious terrorism

In the 19th century the majority of terrorist activities were politically based against a certain political party. The anarchists in Europe dominated the terrorist headlines. Russian, Serbian and Irish terrorist organization conducted much of the terrorist activities during this time. Terrorists in the 19th century focused their attention on their political targets and as a rule did not attack the civilian population.

After WWI and the mandate system, terrorism built into a new area. The signers of the Versailles treaty separated the world into spheres of influence and established mandates and colonies. The Middle Eastern countries started to build hatred towards the western countries. The French were famous for their abuse of the natives of Algeria and Vietnam. The British abused the Syrian and Palestinian natives. The western countries became an abusive occupying force in their countries and the natives resented it.

However, still the majority of terrorism still did occur in Europe between the periods of WWI to the end of WWII. The Nazi party created a whole new level of terrorism by their attempt at genocide on the Jews. The Turks attempted genocide on the Armenians, while many say the British attempted on the Tasmanians. This brought terrorism to a new level of hatred.

After WWII, the European countries lost control of many of their older colonies. France tried to maintain control of Algeria and Vietnam, and England tried to maintain control in the Middle East and India. However, these European countries were weak and high with war debt. The European countries had to rebuild themselves from the devastation of the war. Many of the foreign colonies under European rule took this opportunity to their advantage.

The Middle Eastern countries started to strike back after the United Nations created the Nation of Israel. Israel had a strong history of Terrorism against England they became successful in establishing themselves, so why not try to fight the invaders (Israel) with their own tactics? The Middle Eastern countries, already with a deep rooted hatred for western society and culture, now these countries had the Palestinian refugees to deal with. Refugees create an unwanted financial obligation to the host countries, something they did not want to deal with. It would appear to these countries that most of their problems in the Middle Eastern countries stem from actions of foreign western countries.

This hatred for western societies allowed a belief to grow that the westerners were evil. Westerners are visibly different, displayed no concern for the cultures of the Middle East, and invaded their sphere of influence by inserting Israel. In an area of extreme religious conviction, our liberal society of Strippers, Howard Stern, and Adult films must seem like we truly are the “Great Satan”. (Once I was on a beach in Turkey where I observed a Muslim family at the beach, fully robed going in the water, next to a topless Russian lady in a thong. This is a great culture clash). Even people in the United States, many people are deeply concerned about what they consider a loss of morals in western countries.

Due to the change from an economic global society (which every country is benefiting from) terrorism has turned from an anarchist political movement into a religious battle of cultures rooted in religious battles. Terrorist do not want to feel the economic sanctions and the financial burden of their actions, they just want to turn world opinion to their cause. In a tape recorded by Osama Bin Laden after the 9/11 attack, he stated he was very happy about the growth of Islam after the attacks. He furthered his religious ideology.