Identification of Most Dangerous Terrorists, Essay Example

Faith-based terrorism is considered to be the most dangerous form of terrorism. Individuals involved in these terrorist communities are taught from an early age to hate individuals with other religious beliefs, which contributes to a wide held belief in their communities that it is appropriate to do harm to others on the basis of these differences. Faith-based terrorism is problematic, because even groups with similar beliefs can come into conflict with one another. For example, both Sunni and Shiite Muslims both look towards the prophet Mohammed for guidance and follow many of the same cultural expectations that are dictated by the Quran. Sunni Muslims follow the word of Mohammed as ultimate law, while Shiite Muslims consider that Mohammed’s son-in-law, Ali, should also be followed as a prophet. These differences contribute to war and disagreements between these two groups. Since terrorists in both groups believe that violence has the potential to make their beliefs more prevalent and that they are responsible for punishing those who do not believe the same, they will continue to act in this manner because according to their own cultural understandings, these actions are ethically allowable.

“Religious terrorism is typically characterized as acts of unrestrained, irrational and indiscriminate violence, thus offering few if any policy options for counterterrorism measures” (Gregg, 2014). Thus, it is apparent that religious terrorism is the most dangerous because there are very few solutions available with regards to actions that other governments can take to counteract this violence. In particular, it is important to consider that many of the individuals that inhabit countries that are taken over by terrorist groups are not responsible for any of the damage caused. Furthermore, these terrorists do not take the form of armies, making it challenging for the military to determine which individuals should be fought and which are innocent. Due to these factors and because terrorists attempt to hide their identities, it is challenging to fight their actions. Even when the identities of terrorist leaders are known, it is difficult to determine their location and successfully attack them without causing unnecessary damage to those around them. Thus, in fighting terrorism, we are often required to stoop to their level of violence.

In the modern world, religious terrorism is rampant in the Middle East. A variety of different Muslim extremist groups are involved in the fighting over territory and power. Not only are these groups impacting the security of their own countries, many democratic nations are worried about the consequences of these attacks as well. Overall, it is important to consider that even allied action against these groups may not garner success. Religious terrorist organizations are able to take advantage of the innocent for their own gain. As long as these groups use women and children as shields or weapons, it will be nearly impossible to take action to protect the people that are suffering harm at the hand of these terrorist organizations. It is therefore important to find ways to help protect the public against these extremist groups.