ABSTRACT
Despite political rhetoric, the war against the al-Qaeda organization is not a war or religion,although religion plays a part of the terrorist's motivations. Christianity and Islam have both long had extremists in their ranks out of fervor in belief or corruption in ideology. However, the modern day clash between al-Qaeda and the West is neither about religious dominance, invasion and conversion, nor about murder for murder's sake. Like all terrorist actions, the AQ operational philosophy is to create a climate of political change in which the selection of asymmetric power, in this case terrorism, favors the weaker of the two combatant parties. The al-Qaeda organization views itself as a global insurgent force. They are effecting political change and recruiting new followers, one man at a time, by popularizing terrific inspirational acts of "self-sacrifice" against their enemies, which the West sees through suicide bombings. The al-Qaeda Global Insurgency - al-Qaeda-ism
In Chapter 6 we have seen that the history of terrorism has had its share of religious extremists conducting murderous political acts. All of their deadly activities were alleged to have been divinely inspired and blessed. One group has managed to eclipse its status as a religious extremist faction and transform itself into a global terror enterprise.
