ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how the construction of Islamist terrorism, as a non-secular religiously inspired form of terrorism, has amplified the constructed risk of Islamist terrorism and how the construction of far-right terrorism and extreme nationalism, as secular non-religious ideologies, have contributed to minimising and reducing the threat associated with these ideologies. It is argued that the ideological construction of religious terrorism has contributed to Islamophobia and the introduction of draconian national and international policies within the ‘war on terror’. In contrast, it is demonstrated how the construction of non-religious-inspired terrorism and extreme nationalism, as secular ideologies continue to not only mask the threat posed by these ideologies, but also underplay their ability to radicalise individuals. Through exposing how religion obscures the construction, risk and policy responses to terrorism, the chapter demonstrates the equally pervasive ability of religious and non-religious terrorism to gain support for ideologies premised on replacing existing social and political structures.
