Comparison of patterns of terrorism in two or more civilizations



Comparison of patterns of terrorism in two or more civilizations

Thesis Statement

“Drawing Comparison of patterns of terrorism between Al-Qaida and Hamas on the basis of their terrorism patterns, norms regarding terrorism, engagement in state terrorism, goals in using power/force in terroristic actions, and their interests and resources, along with their culture.”

Introduction

Terrorism is a term, which is defined differently according to different legal systems all across the world. “We define terrorism as a signaling game in which terrorist attacks are used to communicate a group's character and objectives to a set of target audiences,” (Hoffman, p. 1). Similarly, various authorities have their own views on terrorism. According to the U.S, code 22 U.S.C Section 265 f (d) “the term 'terrorism' means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub national groups or clandestine agents.” Every authority defines terrorism differently according to their code. As far as the perception of masses across the world is, concerned people think terrorism as an act of atrocity to harm or even kill innocent people for fulfilling their personal or community's objective.

The most notable terrorist organization across the world is Al-Qaida, which was started by Osama Bin Laden, and is still active after he was killed by U.S Special Forces in a secret operation in Pakistan's city Abbotabad. The terror created by Al-Qaida in the early nineties is still active with the change in leadership from Bin Laden to Ayman Al Zawahiri.

Another terrorist organization, which is considered as the pioneer in the recent trends of suicide bombings, is Hamas. Hamas is a socio political party from Palestine, which has been involved in various militant attacks over the citizens and military forces of Israel. They have been using females for the suicide attacks and majorly have attacked buses in Israel. United States and many other countries around the world have taken a strong stance against this militant organization. United States is of the view that this terrorist organization getting monetary and military assistance from Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah to destabilize Israel.

Both of these organizations have a strong background on terrorism with Al-Qaida's unforgettable and most brutal act of the bombings on September 9, 2001. For that matter, the discussion will comprise of the patterns that both of these organizations use to conduct their terrorist activities.

Discussion

Patterns and Norms

Al-Qaida and Hamas both are widely regarded as terrorist organization across the world and both of them have strong backgrounds in their terrorist activities. Al-Qaida is an organization scattered around the world with its own governing body and self-controlled military. Their agenda and pattern of conducting its activities are a bit different from Hamas as it is a global organization, which has involvements in many terrorist activities across the world. It aims at targeting every individual and communities who is not aligned with its own agendas. They belong to the Sunni Islamic Clan, but hold fundamentalist approach to move along with its ...