Terrorism Around the World
Introduction
The problem of international terrorism first came to world attention during the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. Members of a Palestinian terrorist group killed two Israeli athletes and took none other hostage, later killing them. Since then, few regions have been spared from terrorist attacks.
Radical Islamic Fundamentalism
Some Muslims believe that society’s laws should be based on what they hold is God’s law as written in the Qur’an. In the mid to late 20th century, some Islamic scholars turned to a very strict interpretation of the Qur’an. These scholars felt that Western influences were corrupting Muslim countries and called for all true Muslims to join a global jihad, or struggle, against western societies and governments.
Many young men radicalized by these fundamentalist teachings answered that call. These men and some women became involved in organizations such as al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Taliban. They have been responsible for many acts of terrorism.
What, or who, is Isisor ISIL?
ISIS (also known as ISIL or IS) is a Sunni Islamic militant group seeking to create its own state, governed by their interpretation of the Laws of the Qur’an, and todestroy all other branches of Islam as well as convert or destroy allnon-Muslims.
Islam has undergone much evolutionand many splits since its founding 1400 years ago. The biggest branches are Sunni and Shia, but within each there have been many further splits. ISIS is part of a Sunni branch known as Salafists, who reject modern Islam and prefer to return to itsearly teachings.
The initials stand for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria -- or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Levant being a geographic term referring to the area that includes Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, western Syria, Palestine, easternEgypt, and southern Turkey) or just the Islamic State, hence the three different abbreviations. They have been called a terrorist group by a number of governing bodiesincluding the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations
ISIS is a successor to al-Qaeda in Iraq so in a sense they've only been around for a decade. They have been building a support base and taking control of Sunni-majority areas in Iraq for several years, but they've really hit their growth spurt in the 3 years since the Syrian civil war by spilling into Syria and rallying extreme Sunnis to take up arms with them. At first ISIS had small weapons but as they've grown in numbers, they've taken over more land in both Syria and Iraq. This land has provided valuable resources, such asoil and wheat, which ISIS sells to buy more powerful weapons. They have also benefited from acquisitions of American weapons following their victories over Iraqi government forces.As they've increased their numbers and acquired stronger military resources, the scale and scope of their brutality has grown, commanding the world's attention.
(Sources: Article excerpt by Jarrett Moreno, September 11, 2014 and excerpt from World History, HMH Publishers, 2016. 1088.))
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