You Won, I Lost – Humanity to Religion

By Shambhavi Tiwari

Hate the crime and not the criminal is a well-preached philosophy. However, not everyone has the heart to sympathize with rapists and terrorists. Nevertheless, it is something to ponder, why do people from the same society, sometimes similar frameworks, become doctors and lawyers, and others end up as rapists and terrorists. Should poverty be blamed alone? Or is there also a psychological aspect to it that society has forgotten to consider?

Terrorist Psychology

Jason Burke, who has spent much time in Afghanistan, says that modern terrorists are made and not born. It must not have been easy to transform from a naive and vulnerable individual to someone who lives in constant terror of death and regular violence. One terrorist, Ajmal Amir Kasab, the 21-year-old boy who brought havoc in India by killing 166 people, came only for Rs.3000 ($40). He revealed in an interview that he had worked as a laborer for most of his life and only left for training with the terrorist organizations when his father pleaded poverty.

Poverty is undoubtedly the initial cause of such a transformation, but it is not the only one. His only alive and youngest eyewitness recounted that he smiled while he killed hundreds of people. Therefore, when it comes to taking lives mercilessly, criminologists waver between two theories: either it is just a subject of choice, or injustice and humiliation have affected them psychologically. However, the truth is that psychology can only explain general violence but is of no use in understanding terrorism. In fact, “the idea of terrorism as the product of mental disorder or psychopathy has been discredited.”[1] Nevertheless, our brain functions in a way that specific life incidents affect our behavior. Therefore, “it should not be surprising that young adolescents, who have themselves lived under terror, become terrorists, especially in a situation where their compatriots offer them social support.”[2] The ex-members of terrorist organizations, who had initially migrated to different countries, described marginalization and their difficulty fitting in to be one of the prominent reasons for their own criminal choices. In this connection, one collaborating terrorist, talking about his recruiter, stated: ′He would call me brother, and everyone understood that I was his friend and that I too had to be respected. ′[3]

In the past few years, Religion has been given unusual significance. It is no more a belief to give people hope and reflect on their humanity, but it has built an individuality of its own. When Kasab’s father introduced him to the militant group, he told him this job was an honor and an order from God, and It would give him standing in the society. His father’s words reflect Kasab’s plan after the attack in case he did not get caught, ‘we were going to die and find Jannat.’[4] In addition to this, the term ‘suicide terrorist’ has also come up on the surface due to the unquestionable faith in Religion. One terrorist, arrested right before he was about to blow himself with an explosive belt near the headquarters of PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan), stated that the reason for his choice as expounded to him by the organization that he was part of, ‘..was to make Jihad for the one Great God. It was a good deed to kill infidels, and one should be proud of being a suicide attacker. When someone dies taking infidels with him to death, God will pardon him.’[5] Therefore, the journey from a search for kinship has led to religious indoctrination[6], and this union is so strong that it is beyond life.

Terrorist leaders

“Many ‘foot soldiers’ in terrorist attacks likely have little idea of the political strategy of the group, and instead are just glad to be part of serving a cause that has one widespread adherence within their affinity group.”[7] But the recruiters and leaders have quite different motivations, unlike those they recruit. They are well-educated and from well-off households and certainly not have suffered from social marginalization. Nasir Abbas, a former terrorist, while narrating his past, states that he was recruited by one of the wise and Arabic-speaking Indonesian preachers at his school who “talked about Islam and the obligations of their Religion. Abbas thought that this was a ‘dream come true’ when they asked him to train in the Afghanistan forces. He understood that the conflict was about repelling the Russian invaders and helping the Afghans fight for their homeland. He did not see anything wrong about the fighting”.[8]

International Regime of Law 

One of the criticisms that the United Nations recently faced during the political resettlement in Afghanistan in 2021 was inaction, even in terms of a voice towards the militant political party. An international regime of law is well-ascertained but lacks enforcement. Moreover, the illusion that “one community’s terrorist is another community’s savior” is seen, on some levels, to hold them back. However, they keep forgetting that violent dominating tactics will always detonate. One of the recent examples is US intervention in Afghanistan that started in the early ‘70s to depower Daoud Khan supported by the then Soviet Union. It was then that the Central Intelligence Agency funded Afghan Mujahideen and formed the Taliban, and eventually trained the Afghan troops in the hope of making them independent. Therefore, there is a need to change strategies to deal with militant organizations that could focus first on the citizens of a terrorized country before political supremacy.

Can terrorists be rehabilitated?

Hating any community is not rewarding as, in the long run, more vulnerable youth will succumb to the temptation of either money or saving a purpose they do not fully understand. Therefore, the United Nations and other countries must change strategies and form a single voice. For example, in 2005, “the Indonesian National Police realized they responded to terrorist incidents in a ‘fire brigade’ style and needed to change mindsets to contain terrorist violence.”[9] They convinced Nasir Abbas to assist in the deradicalization program. With his help, they arrested 64 individuals and seized 135 weapons, homemade bombs, and bomb making materials within the following year.

The potential employed in killing terrorists can be considered to prevent the vulnerable youth from joining such organizations as ‘terrorist tactics are also a way to enslave a population, and enslaved populations can be trained in terrorism.’[10]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] Randy Borum, Psychology of Terrorism, To what extent Psychopathology relevant for understanding and preventing Terrorism? (2004),

Click to access 208552.pdf

[2]Ibid.

[3] Armando Spataro, Why do people become terrorists? Journal of International Criminal Justice (July 1, 2008),

https://plus.lexis.com/api/permalink/9b5f02ac-b135-4976-a4ad-c6eb4be1336c/?context=1530671

[4] The term Jannat refers to heaven. To terrorist groups, killing the non-believer and infidels is considered a heroic act of sacrifice for fighting for their Religion. Therefore, God will grant them a place in heaven for that service.

[5] Ibid 3.

[6] Socialists emphasized that most youths who join militant organizations are migrants and minorities who were not even mindful of their Religion’s strict rules.

[7] Wayne McCormack, International Crime and Punishment: the gap through which to drive a mafia, Arizona journal of International and Comparative Law (2014).

https://plus.lexis.com/api/permalink/dd243e2e-a5d1-4974-87f8-a5845a0a019d/?context=1530671

 

[8] Nick O’Brien, Interview with a Former Terrorist: Nasir Abbas’ Deradicalization Work in Indonesia, CSR Sentinel (Nov. 2008).

Click to access Vol1Iss12-Art7.pdf

 

 

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid 7.