Causes of terrorism

Question 1

Religion

Answer 1

• Many theorist attacks are suggested to have religion behind their motivation
• The Manchester Arena bombing, carried out by Salman Abedi, is argued to be linked to religious views, identifying non believers as targets
• The ISIS flag is often used as a way to justify terrorism for religious motivations
• ISIL justified terrorism against Yazidi people in Syria as a religious motivation
• Both of these cases suggest that religion is being exaggerated as a factor
• Salman Abedi led a non religious life and his sister explained that his motivations were an act of revenge for the bombing of Syria
• The western media is keen to simplify the issue yet 75% of people killed by terrorism are Muslim

Question 2

Poverty

Answer 2

• There is a known connection between impoverished countries and terrorism
• ISIS will offer families aspects that can help to support their family such as money and a job
• The literacy rates in the countries most impacted by terrorism are significantly lower than many other countries
• There is a contrast between poverty being the cause of terrorism in Haiti and Glasgow
• Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world yet has one of the lowest levels of terrorism
• On the opposite side, the Glasgow Airport attack was carried out by doctors that were incredibly wealthy

Question 3

Individual isolation

Answer 3

• In Norway July 2011, Anders Breivik openly admitted to killing 77 people after he went on a mass killing spree
• Before he attacked, he was displaying a range of unusual behaviours
• When arrested, it was revealed to the public that Breivik had a variety of different mental illnesses that caused him to commit these crimes
• He did not have many peers and spent an entire year only playing World of Warcraft
• This is seen to have played a part on fuelling his crime as it could have distorted his view of the world
• A lack of social interaction is seen to make isolated individuals more susceptible to radicalisation

Question 4

Political motivation

Answer 4

• Terra sancta, which means sacred land, is considered to be a cause of terrorism, especially in regards to the Israel and Palestine conflict
• The view for some people is that territory, that is believed to belong to a group of people, is their homeland or the site of an important event, must be protected and not shared
• Since negotiation is not possible, individuals will begin to take extreme measures
• The State of Palestine is recognised by 71% of UN members but their actions are still getting classes as terroristic whereas Israel are not
• The Abu Gharib prison was well known for the torture the inmates suffered
• Incidents of torture techniques such as prolonged isolation, water boating and sleep deprivation were reported happening in the prison
  The humiliating treatment that many of the inmates suffered at the hands of US prison guards spurred many of them on to seek revenge