by Rosemary Redfern

Created on: August 27, 2009

Terrorism can be caused by a group of people or individuals making an unpleasant statement that they disagree with others. Their reasons may vary from dissatisfaction with a political situation which seems to be far from their personal ideals; religious reasons; a distorted perception of the world; or they wish to form an independent state and break away from their current country.

Committing acts of terrorism requires that the recipients of the violence are non persons to the perpetrators. It's difficult to blow up your neighbors that you have grown up with, or people you know personally because these are people and seen as such. So the first requirement is to believe that any harm you do is valid because the targets disagree with you - whether this is true or not. Terrorism is bullying in an extreme form. The statement made by the acts is 'do what I want or I shall kill or maim you'.

Sometimes a group may have made strenuous efforts to negotiate a political solution. This has to be two sided and requires understanding not only the words the other side uses but the conception and meaning applied by those words; in other words a common language. When this does not happen, no negotiation can take place. At the same time protracted discussions can create feelings of frustration and that nothing will be done.

When there are strong religious feelings, at the extreme range of belief, someone with different views will be considered unworthy to live. Add powerful rhetoric by religious leaders that their beliefs are right, and have right, and there is no room for mercy or tolerance. The religious divisions in England during the times of the Tudors in the 1500's is an example. This is a time when alternately Roman Catholics and Protestants burned and destroyed each other in the name of religious belief.

There are periods in time when groups of activists get together with an unrealistic ideal which they consider gives them the right to use bombs to destroy an establishment which their perception tells them is corrupt. The Bader Meinhoff gang is an example. Their distorted view of the world does not allow them to have the tolerance to see others have a right to their views, nor does it occur to them that they could negotiate with political leaders to make the improvements they want.

Then there is a large list of national groups who want to secede from the country they belong to now. The Basques in Spain and France have been prepared to use explosives to make their point.

The groups we belong to hold a powerful influence over our perceptions of what is right; these can sometimes become distorted and they can be manipulated by unscrupulous leaders who have a 'vision' of their own.

Learn more about this author, Rosemary Redfern.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.