Today I stumbled across some texts that had motivated grown men to acts of violence. Terrorism is an ugly thing and scars us all for the worse. Those of us who have been affected by it will forever remember it. Those amongst us who are tainted by its murky tinge will be affected by it for a long time. It is difficult to change the mind of one who has been convinced by the arguments of terrorism. How can acts of physical violence ultimately bring about peace? Should not peace be commenced by negotiations and laws?
Terrorist can be defined simply as the act of compelling compliance with demands by means of inducing fear or terror. It usually applies to groups, not to individuals. These groups must be ideologically motivated -- there is no meaning in terrorism if there is no underlying ideology. And finally the fear or terror is induced by physical violence. The definition may be unnecessarily long but imagine the confusion if an innocent organization such as PETA is to be labelled a terrorist group, having induced fear and/or terror to compel compliance with their demands.
The texts which have caught my eye are the manual of the Al-Qaeda. You can view them directly at the following:
Basically the first link is for the "clean" version (2 mb) and the second link is for the scanned version (8 mb). They are one and the same text. The text was found in a computer file in Manchester, England, during the search / raid of a house. It was an exhibit in a trial in New York.
You can access the rest of the list at the webpage known as Para-States - Liberation Movements, Terrorist Organizations, and Others. You can access the main site at the Federation of American Scientists website.
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