RELIGION AND TERRORISM

• (Relevant for Sociology Syllabus: Paper 1- Religion and Society  & Paper 2 – Religion and Society )
• (Relevant for GS Syllabus: Paper1- communalism)

IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RELIGION AND TERRORISM

• Since the spread of the INFECTIOUS DISEASE called terrorism throughout the world, terrorism has been repeatedly linked to Islam. But this opinion has always been severely criticized.
• There has been a long debate on whether it is justified to associate terrorism with a particular religion? In response to this, people have believed that it is wrong to do so and blaming the entire Islam religion because of people who have lost only a handful of ways is an attempt to reduce this religion.
• These days, all possible efforts are being made to link religion to terrorism. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, global imperialist forces are attempting to seize the world’s crude oil resources in the name of combating Islamic terrorism.
• The term global terrorism coined by the US media is the worst example of the use of religious identity to promote a specific political agenda. Terrorists around the world have been from different religions.
• Irish Republican Army, LTTE, Khalistan Liberation Front, ULFA etc. are examples of this. Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Talduve Somarama Thero killed the Prime Minister and Anders Behring Breivik killed 86 youths in Norway in 2011.
• We can say that terrorists are from all religions and they do not become terrorists because of their religion. There are political motives behind terrorist incidents.
• Recently, France carried out surgical strikes in Mali and killed 30 bike riders. France claims that it was a terrorist associated with Al Qaeda. Actually, France took this action at a time when President Macron’s statement was being condemned by Muslims in France.
• Earlier, the President had supported the display of a controversial cartoon of Prophet Hazrat Mohammed by a teacher in the country. Two other incidents of violence occurred after the murder of the teacher.
• Muslims around the world condemned President Macron’s statement. After all, Macron warned against not tolerating violence by saying that he would not support religion-based cartoons under the new strategy.
• Even though Macron again regretted hurting the religious sentiments of any person, but by then the matter had gone much further.
• Actually, the whole matter is about making a difference between terrorism and religion. Terrorism cannot be tolerated in any way. Terrorism has no religion. Misuse of religion links terrorism with religion.
• In the US, the World Trade Center, the Indian Parliament and the Mumbai terror attacks are the black faces of terrorism. In such a situation, it is the duty of all countries to define terrorism and religion separately.
• In this case, it is also necessary to mention the policies and strategies of George W. Bush. Bush campaigned for a month after the attack on the World Trade Center that he did not consider terrorism and religion to be in any form.
• After all, the Bush administration also took vigorous action against Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Terrorist organizations were greatly weakened due to US action.
• As far as the events in France are concerned, France could not fight a war against terrorism as strongly as the US. The whole world is with France against terrorism but this battle has to be careful against the forces that misinterpret it.
• Terrorism is the enemy of humanity and seeks the protection of religion and humanity. In the name of religion, terrorist organizations not only misled innocent people but also violently uplifted youth, including engineers.
• Under these circumstances, the war against terrorism needs to be fought with vigilance so that action against terrorism does not prove to be against any religion. We should also not forget that terrorism is the result of a jihadi ideology.
• Therefore, curbing that ideology is as important as arresting a terrorist. Only then the country and society will be safe from this terrorism and can move forward on the path of development.