ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that religious terrorism, just like secular terrorism, has political ends. Secular terrorists are motivated by political ideologies or widely accepted principles, such as the right to self-determination or to equality. Religious terrorists are motivated by their strong desire to live according to their religion’s teachings and follow God’s will, but they also have political grievances and goals. The chapter presents a case studies which demonstrates how strongly many religious terrorists believe that divine guidance gives them the strength to commit violence for what they consider to be just causes on earth and in heaven. Once terrorists reach this psychological stage, they are convinced they must fight “satanic” enemies in a “cosmic war.” Religious terrorists draw strength from their conviction that they are totally right, good, and moral and that their enemy is totally wrong, evil, and immoral. As Jessica Stern has pointed out, “religious terrorism attempts to destroy moral ambiguities.”
