ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the types of brutal leisure, but not without a preamble bearing on the differences between it and deviant leisure as seen through the prism of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It is devoted to adducing evidence in support of the observation that brutal serious pursuits are still sometimes pursued within the MENA, as well as by Arabs and Iranians operating outside their home region. Terrorist activities are intimidating and at times downright brutal, often being driven by the goal of coercing a government or community to accede to particular ideological demands. In some contemporary terrorist acts, however, the demands are vague, even nonexistent, being designed primarily to sow fear and unease in the target population. The brutality perpetrated during revolutions is intended to further the desire of the revolutionaries to provoke major governmental changes in the target society.
