Terrorism has risen to the top of global politics ever since 9/11. Organizations ranging from Maoist militants to religious extremists have made themselves known through horrifying bloodshed, all so they can manipulate the political mechanisms at work around the world to their favor. Terrorism is no minor issue—according to Statista, thousands upon thousands have died at the hands of terrorist and extremist groups like Boko Haram and Al-Qaeda— 25,082 fatalities in 2019, to be exact. As of late, Afghanistan has topped the global terrorism index. The Taliban and ISIL (ISIS) ended 2019 as the most active terrorist groups, devastating the world with over 2,600 attacks combined. So, how does terrorism vary around the world?
In the West, everyone remembers 9/11, the devastating attack on the Twin Towers in New York which killed thousands. The 9/11 attack gave Americans a taste of the destruction terrorist groups could inflict. The terrible event was intended to strike fear into those it targeted, and the irrational and often unpredictable emotion could wreak havoc on delicate harmony and rationality that those unaffected by terrorist tactics typically hold. This fear forced former US president George W. Bush to declare war on Al-Qaeda a1 violence can sway the opinion and actions of the general population. Muslims and other ethnic/religious groups became known for the extremist groups associated with them, causing some to believe that they were traitorous to patriotic ideals—and enraging self-righteous citizens who thought all Iranians, Afghans, and multitudes more were all the same as the violent fraction of their population. Despite the despicable actions of said terrorist groups, though, it is imperative that everyone maintains a fair opinion of those whose religion or ethnicity may be related to a terrorist organization—people should not be discriminated upon or insulted because their faith or ethnicity may have extremist and terrorist offshoots.
While the potential threat that terrorism poses in Latin America is relatively lower than the rest of the world, South Americans and Central Americans suffer just as North Americans do—from the utilization of newspapers and the press by guerrilla groups to armed robberies and armed assaults by leftist groups in rural areas, no one was spared from the effects and after-math of political turbulence and infighting in South America. From the Bandas Criminales, a network of criminal gangs from all around Colombia and have no political motivation (instead, they are the successors of a major terrorist group), to The Shining Path, a Peruvian guerrilla group.
Asian nations are also no stranger to terrorism and politics-based violence—incidents like the 2013 mass stabbing in Xinjiang by separatists or the 1994 Matsumoto sarin gas attacks by Aleph have caused much unrest. The largest and most prominent terrorist organizations include the Philippine Communist Party (also known as the New People’s Army), who seek to overthrow the Philippine government and expel US influence, Abu Sayyaf—a “small, violent, faction-ridden Muslim group” that “has records of killings and kidnappings and has had links to Al Qaeda,” MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) that aim to separate the Muslim region of the Philippines, and the Jemaah Ismayah network. In the wake of 9/11, Jemaah Ismayah, a pan-Asian terrorist network, was revealed to have extensive connections with Al Qaeda. Jemaah Ismayah began as a group of clerics who founded a boarding school to teach a
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Fear and Tyranny: Terrorism Around the World
By Sarah W.
“Terrorism flourishes on the bones of politics. It is the delusion of those who have lost the capacity i nto distinguish between hope and death.”
—Irving Howe, “The Price of Random Terror"