INTRODUCTION :
Religious terrorism involves individuals or groups who commit act of violence in the name of their religious beliefs. The vast majority of people who follow a religion do so peacefully and promote love, compassion and understanding.
However there are individuals or groups who interpret their religious texts in a radical and violent manner, using it as a justification for their actions. They target innocent people, places of worship, educational institutions.
Religious terrorism can have devastating consequences, leading to loss of life, destruction of property. It creates fear among the people in the society. It is a serious issue influenced by many circumstances such as political, economic and social. Terrorists manipulate innocent people in the name of religion for their own purposes. People need to be aware of such terrorists and must be aware of their particular religion as no religion teaches us to destroy people’s lives by killing them in the name of religious beliefs.
It effects people in many ways not only physically but also mentally and it involves addressing root causes such as poverty, inequality and political grievances that can contribute to radicalization. Promoting religious tolerance interfaith dialogue and education can also play a significant role in fostering understanding and countering extremists ideologies.
Few examples of religious terrorism :
26/11 attack in Mumbai – On 26 November, 2008 a total of 10 heavily armed terrorists from Pakistan Let based rocked the financial capital of the country in which around 166 people lost their lives and over 300 were injured.
URI attack (2016) – heavily armed militant who were from Pakistan stormed an army base in Uri in Kashmir where 17 jawans were killed. More than army personnel were injured and after around three hour of gun battle four terrorists were killed.
Blast in train in Mumbai (2006) – A series of blasts took place over a period of 11 minutes on July, 2006 during evening rush hour on the suburban railway in Mumbai. 209 people lost their lives and 700 were injured.
Parliament attack ( 2001) – Terrorists from Let attacked the parliament complex in which nine people were killed.
Pulwama attack (2019) – Pulwama attack was one of the deadliest attacks every carried out in Jammu & Kashmir. In the attack at least 40 CRPF personne were killed.
CONCLUSION :
Religious terrorism involves act of violence committed in the name of a particular religion but it is important to recognize that it does not represent the beliefs or values of the entire religious community. By promoting understanding and tolerance, addressing root causes we can work towards a more peaceful and harmonious world.
Author : Ruqaiyah Rashid, student at Sultan-Ul-Uloom College of Law.