Essay On Why Do People Jihadists?

This paper will seek to understand what really motivates terrorists to commit the acts that make them so infamous. We are assuming that the chief motivating factor behind the decisions of terrorist organizations is the political outcome of their acts balanced against the risk and collateral damage inflicted to achieve this end. We will also weigh in the appeal of terrorism on potential recruits in weak states and determine how the motivations of the group become the motivation of the individual and how this benefits the decentralized organization of terrorist organizations like al Qaeda.

Some of the psychological factors behind martyrdom have been the fabrication of stories, or laying your life down for a higher power. In Japan in the 1940’s the Kamikaze’s would attack ships, and other strategic points to an idea that the emperor was god. This destruction of themselves transformed into a glory to the empire, and that idea was not uncommon. In the last several years, the Middle East has literally exploded with suicide bombers, and terrorists.

The depression and suicidal tendencies that they tend to hide from the public eye soon overwhelm them and drive the would-be suicide bomber to join a terrorist cell. In return if they were to commit suicide, it would have a meaning (for a cause). “Most telling of all, it later emerged that al-Bliss had suffered from mental health problems most of her life and had made two previous suicide attempts. Her case is far from unique. Consider Quari Sami, who blew himself up in a cafe in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2005. He walked in - and kept on walking, past crowded tables and into the bathroom at the back where he closed the door and detonated his belt. He killed himself and two others, but could easily have killed more. It later emerged that he was on antidepressants” (Lankford, Adam). In these lines, New Scientist Magazine adds evidence to the matter that some suicide bombers don’t blow themselves up and kill many other people for the terrorist cell’s beliefs, but instead to conceal the depression they have inside them. They only do this terrible deed just to add meaning to their death. People today tend not to accept the fact that suicide bombers would blow themselves up and fatally or non-fatally hurt so many people just because of their own depression. But the truth cannot be evaded, suicide bombers can be created by the concealment of inner demons. In addition, “Even Mohammad Atta, the 9/11 ringleader and the archetype of the “normal” suicide terrorist, was misunderstood. He struggled with social isolation, depression, guilt, shame and hopelessness for many years” (Lankford, Adam). In these lines, New Scientist Magazine adds another amount of evidence to the matter of suicide bombers blowing themselves up and killing other people just to conceal their own depression. It is stated that even Mohammad Atta, the 9/11 ringleader and the archetype of the “normal” suicide terrorist, suffered from

Since the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and “Burn our Bras” women have fought for their cause of equal rights. It should also be assumed that parallel ideas exist as it pertains to becoming a terrorist. If a woman holds the same extremist values as her male counterpart, she has the potential to be a more effective terrorist. Women are underestimated, misrepresented, and understudied. Historically, women have always been in the background of terrorist activities. The most substantial of their services is giving birth to future fighters. Women have progressed to become active participants in terrorism as a means to support their cause.

The United States is at risk of new terrorist organization. Resent attacks on parise shows the reach of this new terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Al Qaeda has evolved into something more serious ISIS. The United States has a moral responsibility to protect itself and others from the threat ISIS poses and the rules that ISIS inforce. The people of the world have the right to practice their religion in their own way and not live in fear of groups like ISIS.

Although there is no one single fingerprint that defines the psychological makeup of a terrorist, there are several broad characteristics that indicate a person’s vulnerability toward radicalization. Terrorists willing to carrying out a suicide operation, as a subset of the larger radicalized group, are certainly no exception. Indeed, dedication to the point of self-extermination requires a deeper degree of radicalization than to merely fight for one’s chosen cause.

Since the darkest day, September 11, 2001, the citizens of The United States of America are on alert and are weary of acts of terrorism. One can turn on the television and can easily find an act of terrorism. Most recent acts are the Boston bombings or the bombings in Volgograd, and most recently the two bombings in Sochi. What drives someone to complete the devastating acts of terrorism? How can on predict, based off of antisocial behaviors, who is more likely to become a terrorist? Regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or racial background, experts agree terrorists share one common link: their childhood. One tends to be more susceptible to becoming a terrorist because of a traumatic event in their childhood to cause antisocial behavior.

So, the thought of receiving a compensation gives young individuals the inspiration to pursue such actions in order to have recognition and repayment. Such as, getting immediate recognition in their countries, for instance, author Gregor Burce demonstrates that “A suicide trainee stated “My social status was greatly enhanced. I got a lot of respect from my acquaintances, and from the young people of my village (Burce, "Intrinsic and external factors and influences on the motivation of suicide attackers", 2016).” Doing such actions can bring the emotions of pride, satisfaction, respect, and acceptance from their community for doing something so heroic. Additionally, the attackers are treated as if they are role models so they are gifted with presents and celebrations held for them in their local communities. Although, these individuals choose to commit to suicide terrorism for substantial social status they also do it because of the financial gain their families could

"I know that a lot of people find appeal in the things Donald says because he says what people wish they could say. The problem is, presidents can't just say anything they want. It has consequences, here and around the world," he said.

One of the most increasing types of attacks that terrorists are utilizing is suicide bombings. Historically, this phenomenon is not new; however, reasoning behind becoming a martyr vary vastly. The ultimate ending goal of a suicide is to not only amass several casualties, but also to gain media coverage and to create a psychological disaster (Poland, 2011, p. 196).

With the noticeable increase in power of terrorist groups around the world, more people have become more and more attracted to them. These terrorist organizations sought out to recruit more members, and have surprisingly succeeded in gathering more people to join their groups. They persuade people to join and then facilitate these people’s travel from their homeland to the base of these terrorist groups. The people who are recruited and join these groups are called Foreign Fighters. This phenomenon is increasing and more people are being drawn to terrorist groups. Young people have especially become targets for terrorists, and constitute the majority of the foreign fighters. The government is concerned for the safety of their people, and especially for the young people who appear to be more vulnerable to these dangerous groups.

On the eleventh of September of 2001, 2993 people lost their lives in the destruction of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Both buildings collapsed within two hours of the initial events, destroying nearby buildings and damaging others. Al Qaida claimed responsibility of the attacks, declaring Jihad against the United States of America. Jihad is a religious duty of Muslims, the word Jihad means “struggle”. There are two general understanding of Jihad that can be found in the Quran. First, the greater Jihad is the struggle of each individual against their personal struggles of self development and maintenance of their standard of personal belief and daily routine. Muslims should concentrate in their everyday life

It was once a word unfamiliar to American ears. But in recent years it has become all too familiar. The actions of Muslim militants and terrorists have seared the word into American consciousness.

The concept of Jihad was not widely known in the western world before the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. Since then, the word has been woven into what our media and government feed us along with notions of Terrorism, Suicide Bombings, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, and now, Jihad. Our society hears exhortations resounding from the Middle East calling the people to rise up in Jihad and beat back the imperialist Americans. Yet, if we try to peel back all of these complex layers of information we can we attempt to find out what Jihad really means. Webster’s Dictionary defines Jihad as “a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty or a crusade for a principle or belief” (1). Often, media depicts

In light of recent events in the global community, one word that is used frequently but rarely truly understood is the Islamic word Jihad. Jihad has become a very volatile word, so it is necessary that those who use it should understand exactly what it means, what it entails, and what significance it has in current global events.