Dark Christianity
dark_christian
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May 2008
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Why does someone become a terrorist?

LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY [info]lasarina)

Note: This was originally posted in my journal in July 2005. I was reading through old posts, and decided that this one was appropriate to share with this community. Bear with me a moment, the relevance will soon become clear.

   Why does someone become a terrorist? I have seen discussions of economic disparity, cultural clashes and a host of other, less credible reasons. After what I saw last Saturday, during an innocuous trip to our local Supercenter, I think I have an insight as to why.
(There is a compilation of 3 articles that I found on the internet (if you would like to read it in its entirety.)

"The relationship between the phenomenon of terrorism in our society and culture is like the relationship between the cause and consequence."

"The phenomenon of terrorism and violence we are facing can be classified as religious violence carried out by a group of brain-washed youth influenced by glamorous slogans."

   Erin (my daughter) and I were heading to our car after leaving the store. As we neared our parking place, a mother and her maybe 4 or 5-year-old approached us. I was charmed - the daughter was absolutely beautiful - blonde curls, a smiling face, the whole works. The mother said "She has something to give you." Since I was riding on one of the electric carts, I looked into the child's eyes. She was a happy child, full of exuberance. She shyly handed me a pamphlet, mumbled something, then began jumping up and down, because "She had done it." The mother then asked for a donation, which I was not able to give (I had no cash at the time.) Little did I know how fortuitous this would be.

   I climbed in the car, gratefully turned the air conditioner on, and began reading the pamphlet. One paragraph in, I was stunned. The sheet talked about Revelations, the coming of the new world order, how we needed to protect ourselves from the machinations of the Beast and the Anti-Christ, and giving your life over to Jesus and various other bible-thumping, right-winged Christian drivel.

   I was stunned. I don't remember getting home, but I found myself there, counting the heartbeats in my pounding head, trying to explain this to [info]wyldraven. How could a mother use her child this way? How base, how low it is to use her gods-given gift of a child as an "in" to push her religious agenda? Didn't she understand what this fear-based, sanctimonious, exclusionistic propaganda would do to her baby? The little girl was so proud of herself. How will she ever learn that what she was doing was nothing to be proud of?

   I know what that poor child is in for. I was raised that way. Luckily, I turned away from it, and chose a different path. Suddenly, I had an understanding of just what makes a terrorist.

"In an article in the United Arab Emirates daily Al-Itihad, columnist Abdallah Rashid stated that the reason for terrorism is not the socio-economic situation in the Arab countries, but the religious brainwashing of Arab youth."


   How are we to fight terrorism from other places, when we use the same method to brainwash our own children? Goddess help, what happens when our terrorists take on their terrorists?

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