John Esposito on 'The Roots of Terrorism'
Released: October 24, 2006
On Monday, Oct. 23, John Esposito of Georgetown University spoke to the largest crowd in the history of the College of Letters and Sciences Contemporary Issues Lecture Series. His lecture dealt with the roots of terrorism.
Esposito is a professor of religion, international affairs and Islamic studies and the founding director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is also editor-in-chief of the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, The Oxford Dictionary of Islam, author of "Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam" and "The Islamic World: Past and Present," and former president of the Middle East Studies Association of North America.
According to Esposito, politics and religion are the main causes of terrorism. Both causes can have appeal to some. If it's because of politics or economics, there's often a set of values behind it. If it's for religion with a proclamation that God is the reason, then there's some sort of absolute authority. If someone dies in the name of God, then it's considered martyrdom and there will be a heavenly reward. Religion can be used along with politics, though. For example, Palestine's secular division has religious influences and forces to motivate people.
Recently, terrorism is seen in terms of individuals. Osama bin Laden, possibly the world's foremost terrorist, grew up in a wealthy and educated family. Esposito asked, "What turned him to terrorism?" His answer was the threat of a Western coalition in the Afghanistan war. Osama bin Laden saw Saudi Arabia and the United States as part of the problem and he felt that violence and terrorism were his only means.
The war with Afghanistan is considered the first global war in terms of global support and communication, according to Esposito. We can now watch war live on television, which reinforces Muslim and Islamic identities.
Esposito claimed that part of the difficulty of terrorism is distinguishing between what is a terrorist movement and what is not, what is legitimate violence and what is illegitimate
violence. He gave examples of abortion clinic bombers, Yasir Arafat, George W. Bush, Timothy McVeigh and Muslim terrorists as people to consider when asking what is legitimate and what is illegitimate violence.
According to Esposito, there was no real interest in the study of Islam in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was virtually invisible as far as demographics and it wasn't seen as a significant religion. The Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s turned that around. Then, the Islamic culture became judged because of a small minority.
He also brought up the fact that religion has resurfaced and grown in popularity in the last 20 or 30 years. While the popular trend was to be more Western and less religious, many nations around the world incorporate religion in areas that should be secular. Religion got carried over to public life. There may be a separation of church and state, but there is not a separation of religion and politics.
Esposito asked the audience to think about the true causes of terrorism. "There are political and economic reasons and there are religious reasons that often frame and legitimize the cause," he said. "Distinguish between and identify what is terrorism and what is not; terrorism is the act of terrorizing people to get what you want."
Freshman Jane Clark from Holmen, Wis., was glad she attended the lecture. "I thought that Esposito was a really knowledgeable man who had a lot to share. He presented his ideas with a very nice tone that made someone want to listen to him. I thought that overall it was a really good lecture and Esposito had many interesting theories behind terrorism in the modern day."- Abby Clark,clarkae12@uww.edu
