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Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 477 Terrorism Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali Terrorism: First Impressions.

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Presentation on theme: "Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 477 Terrorism Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali Terrorism: First Impressions."— Presentation transcript:

1 Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 477 Terrorism Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali Terrorism: First Impressions

2 In search of definition n Al Qaeda: Ideology 1. Symbolizing global terrorism in the 21 st century 2. Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri 3. The role of the media: Al Jazeera 4. Ideologies: clash of civilizations 5. Holy war as religious duty to defend the Muslim nation 6. Violence and enemies of the West

3 TERRORISM n Destruction and assassinations n The impact of Terrorism: media and democratization of Terrorism n Globalization of T: challenge to norm and status quo September 11 th, 2001 n Turning point n Political violence and mass destruction The Rise of Terrorist Attacks n History of T in human civilization n Rationalizations of T behavior n Rational choice theory

4 Extremism vs. Terrorism Extremism: n radical and intolerant n Justification of behavior n One’s beliefs and expression of these beliefs n How one acts upon his/her beliefs Terrorism: defined? n Politically motivated n Against “soft targets” n Terrorizing audience n Is it a crime? n Controversy of definition

5 Sources of Terrorism and the interdisciplinary / multidisciplinary approach u Sociology, psychology, political science, etc… Friedland’s framework 1 st : group phenomenon Clear identity: national Religious ideology 2 nd : political terrorism has its roots in intergroup conflict 3 rd : “insurgent” terrorism not “state” terrorism is strategy of the weak

6 Ideologies n Systems of belief n Derivations from theories Disagreements and the role of American government in regulating people’s lives n E.g. degrees of freedom and government intervention

7 The Morality of Terrorism/or is it Immorality n Mala prohibita acts made illegal by legislation. Society declared these acts as wrong n E.g. laws prohibiting prostitution n Mala in se acts that are “immoral or wrong in themselves” n Cannot be justified n E.g. forcible rape and premeditated murder will never be legalized

8 So how is Terrorism defined? Is it worth it for some? Is it relative? n “where you stand depends on where you sit” FOUR QUOTATIONS: 1. One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter 2. One man willing to throw away his life is enough to terrorize a thousand n Written by Chinese military philosopher Wu Ch’i n “kill one man terrorize 1000” attributed to leader of Chinese Revolution Mao Zedong and “military philosopher Sun Tzu n Note: Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

9 3. Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice… Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona 4. It became necessary to destroy the town to save it Attributed to a statement made by an American officer during the war in Vietnam: symbolic logic

10 FOCUS ON 3 CASES: 1) Richard Baumhammers: Pittsburg, Penn April 2000 u Racist immigration attorney u Neo Nazi views/ideologies u Victims: Jewish woman, 2 Indian men, 2 Asian men, 1 African American man u Minimal criminal sophistication “lone wolf” 2) Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski 1978 UNABOMBER u UNABOM u Medium criminal sophistication 3) Ramzi Yousef 1993 u High degree

11 Symbolization of T u Oklahoma City Bombing 1995 1. Timothy McVeigh 2. Children killed: collateral damage u September 11 th 2001 1. The aftermath 2. Patriot Act October 2001 3. Dept. Homeland Security

12 CONCLUSION n The importance of history in examining modern human behavior and T n Manifestation of extremist beliefs n The importance of ideology n The controversy of mala prohibita vs. mala in se n Rationality of criminal behavior


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