[Cross-posted at www.mideastyouth.com]
Much of the world and its resources are consumed with issues surrounding terrorism, which is a political as well as philosophical term. But what is it exactly? I think it is safe to say just about all of us hold in our minds a concept of terrorism that makes sense to each of us. However, we have yet to agree to an international standard, and until we do so, we'll continue to be manipulated by those who have the power to make their own definitions and to enact policies upon them.
Here are a couple of examples of how terrorism is used ...
The OIC, Organization of Islamic Countries, insists that any definition of terrorism include a caveat -- that whatever they consider to be resistance be given a special dispensation not to be considered as terror. Clearly they do this to forward their political agenda of providing moral support to the Palestinians against Israel, regardless of how they act. (This idea may change now that victims of terrorism, even under the rubric of resistance, are so often Muslims nowadays.) Nevertheless, the OIC seems to seek a definition that protects the perpetrators more than the victims specifically because of their politics, and it seems as if it is now haunting them. Aah ... politicians.
The US Government, meanwhile, generally defines terrorism as any act that uses criminal behavior to forward a political goal. They use a very broad definition, and in doing so, they slap the terrorist label against environmentalists and animal rightists who destroy private property that is itself used to destroy flora, fauna, livestock, and animals that are bred for a variety of human uses. The US government, for example, is currently prosecuting a young man as a homegrown terrorist because he burned down a private factory in the US state of Oregon that used inhumane practices to kill horses. To them, he's politically on par with Timothy McVeigh and Osama bin Laden. Sorry but that just doesn't make sense to me.
As I said, terrorism is political, and definitions clearly are used in ways to forward very specific agendas. (And not just by the OIC and USA either.) However, that doesn't mean terrorism doesn't exist as a real phenomenon.
To me, terrorism should be defined as a politically motivated hate crime -- singling out the civilian sector for some level of destruction, or to drive them away, in order to forward a political goal; not because of anything they may have done, but merely because they repesent "the despised other" in the mind of the perpetrator. Of course, those who disagree with me may ask, "what about criminal activities that target soldiers, like hiding a bomb in a baby carriage?" It is a good question, and shows how hard these issues can be to define. However, they are not impossible.
[The post at MideastYouth has one last paragraph specific to their project.]