terrorism!!

Question 1

the koran

Answer 1

islamic holy scripture, distorted by extreme islamists

Question 2

interpretations

jihad

key term

Answer 2

a term from the koran that means holy war. interpreted by extreme islamists as a war against all non-believers and non-conformers, but originally refers to the internal struggle with oneself to maintain faith

Question 3

martyr

Answer 3

extremists believe that committing suicide through an act of terrorism is honourable, and accepts one into martyrdom

this is not upheld by traditional islamic beliefs

Question 4

main goal of islamic state

Answer 4

to establish an islamic caliphate (kingdom) in the middle east, and return to the ‘golden age’ of islamism

Question 5

islamic state

Answer 5

a terrorist group that rose to prominence in 2014, motivated by the religious ideology of extreme islamism

(iraq and syria)

Question 6

justification of violence

Answer 6

extremist islamic groups justify their violence and killing through their scripture, the koran, and the holy war against non-believers and non-conformers

(the vast majority of muslims reject this interpretation)

Question 7

traditional vs extremist views

Answer 7

• forbidding suicide/committing suicide makes one a martyr
• killing only in self-defence/killing any civillians regarded as non-believers
• jihad is the struggle to maintain faith/is a holy war against islam
• tolerance for other religions/intolerance for any that are ‘impure’

Question 8

assad regime

key term

Answer 8

governing body in syria, majorly composed of shiite muslims

Question 9

iraq sectarian divisions

Answer 9

sunni and shi’ite muslims have the same fundamental beliefs but their interpretations of the religion differ slightly, causing conflict

Question 10

contribution of war in syria to IS

Answer 10

radical muslims travelled from other countries to fight with the sunni rebels against assad, and many were absorbed into the ranks of IS

Question 11

contribution of government in iraq to IS

Answer 11

following the 2003 invasion of the united states, the government in iraq was ineffectual and weak. policies created by the majorly shi’ite government ‘discriminated’ against sunni muslims, fueling their anger & causing more men to join IS

Question 12

origins of IS

Answer 12

came to prominence in 2014 following its establishment during the war in syria, and gained significant terroritory, including capturing the second largest city in iraq (mosul)

Question 13

conditions in areas under IS control

Answer 13

brutally implemented extreme islamist law; committed executions by beheading, performed public whippings, and took non-muslim girls as sex slaves

Question 14

extent of IS success

Answer 14

were ultimately unable to establish an islamic caliphate in the middle east, which was their major aim

Question 15

collapse of IS

Answer 15

from 2016 to 2018, IS progressively lost territory as the iraqi military regrouped and pushed back with aid from the US

(IS no longer controls any territory as of 2019)

Question 16

impact of IS despite their downfall

Answer 16

they were able to incite fear and violence globally, proving their influence. people from other countries, especially young and influenceable, were radicalised through the internet and convinced to commit terrorist acts

Question 17

example of radicalisation

Answer 17

a 15 year old boy who shot dead a civilian employee of a nsw police station in october 2015. the boy had been radicalized by online material, and given a gun by older men he had met through the internet

Question 18

boko haram

Answer 18

an extremist islamic group from nigeria, seeking to establish an islamic state in nigeria and end ‘western education’. the group abducted over 200 schoolgirls in april 2014

Question 19

challenges states face in responding to terrorism

Answer 19

ineffectual air strikes, modern communication technology, balancing security and civil liberties

Question 20

why airstrikes are often ineffectual

Answer 20

not effective against enemies that are difficult to locate, and ground troops are still often needed to expel groups from their occupied territory

(such as the removal of IS from iraq and syria)

Question 21

why modern communication technology poses a threat

Answer 21

states can’t stop online radicalisation through youtube and blogs, and can’t stop the spread of ideologies such as extreme islamism

Question 22

the balance between security and civil liberties

Answer 22

states must tackle the challenge of striking a balance between laws that protect the security of civilians against terrorist attacks without undermining principles of liberal democracy

Question 23

patriot act

Answer 23

a unilateral response made by the US government following the 9/11 bombing which allows indefinite detention in Guantanamo Bay without a trial for terrorist suspects captured overseas

Question 24

victoria’s counter terrorism legislation

Answer 24

the Justice Legislation Amendment (Terrorism) Act introduced in 2018 allows for preventative detention of terror suspects by police for up to 4 days for an adult and 36 hours for a child

Question 25

jake bilardi

Answer 25

was an 18 year old from craigieburn that converted to islam and ran away from home to join IS, then died in a suicide attack in 2015 in ramadi, iraq

Question 26

overturning laws to protect against terrorism

Answer 26

a state’s response to terrorist threats confirm that their actions are proving successfull in unsettling the population, which may be considered a victory for terrorists

Question 27

multilateral resolutions

Answer 27

involve multiple states cooperating to resolve an issue, for example: the coordinated airstrike on Iraq and Syria by Iraqi, U.S, French and Australian air forces intended to drive IS out of their occupied territory

Question 28

effectiveness of military power in countering terrorism

Answer 28

the airstrikes performed on iraq and syria alone were not sufficient in destroying IS, but combined with the use of ground troops, IS was dispelled from their occupied territory and essentially defeated

Question 29

lone wolf terrorism

Answer 29

‘lone wolf’ or ‘home grown’ terrorists are individuals that carry out terrorist attacks against states that they are citizens in

Question 30

example of lone wolf terrorism

Answer 30

in 2011, anders brevik enacted a large scale massacre of young members of the Labour Party in Norway, as he blamed the party for the increase in Muslim population due to the party’s immigration policies

Question 31

justification of white supremacist terrorism

Answer 31

the belief that ‘white’ people have superiority over ‘people of colour’, and that ‘people of colour’ living in predominantly ‘white’ countries are undermining the ‘racial purity’ and culture. this ideology is used to justify committing acts of terror, due to the perceived injustice of a threat to white populations

Question 32

example of white supremacist terrorist attack

Answer 32

in 2019, a gunman targeting Mexican immigrants fatally shot 23 people at a walmart store in El Paso, Texas