1.

world has witnessed a

radical change in the world
order. Fear, anxiety, sentiments
of repugnancy and hate, and,
mostly, a deep sentiment of
great uncertainty took their
place and dominated, and still
dominate, most of our daily
lives.
Since then, there have been
much discussions and debates
about the events that
took place in that fatal date
and consequent repercussions
for the entire world. The
events
were classified as the worst
‘terrorists’ acts, deeds that were
ever seen and witnessed, much
due to the role of a cultural
good which has a central place
in this mass-communications
era
– television. The power of the
images of the two ‘hijacked’
planes crushing against the
Twin
Towers and their subsequent
fall, which every one of us has
and will have in mind until the
end of our lives, had a major
part in producing all the
sentiments that certainly all of
us felt,
at the time, and surely, still fill!
The discussion about
‘Terrorism’ has, thus, become
part of our lives, while the
media have become a central
player in delivering the latest
developments on this issue, and
in keeping people informed and
updated. One just cannot avoid
it! Virtually, everyone has
his personal point of view
and particular way of looking
at this concerning
problematic,
issue.
That’s why I chose this topic!
It’s a very contemporary issue
and, thus, I believe it
is worthy looking at it, studying
and analysing it.
In the next pages, then, I will
focus on the points, which I
consider to be the key
icons that must be underlined
and highlighted in order to
fully understand the contours
of
‘terrorism’.
Firstly, I’ll try to define
‘terrorism’. In doing so, I will
bring up some accounts of
authors about the theme.
After that, I will concentrate
myself in giving a perspective
of the ‘terrorist’ side. I
will centre my attention in
broaching what is called the
“tactics of publicity” used by
‘terrorists’, analysing the crucial
role of the media in
disseminating ‘terrorists’’
causes, as
well as trying to understand the
use of violence by ‘terrorists’.
Politics of Representation
Terrorism
Student – João Cotrim
3
In a third stage, my target will
be in demonstrating the
construction of the terrorist
threat’ theory. Once again, my
analysis will be supported by
accounts and thesis of some
authors.
Finally, I will try and sum up
the ideas brought up in this
essay in an adequate
conclusion.
Name Naveed Abbas sap 12977
Essay terrorism

Most nations are unable to reach a consensus on a legally binding definition of ‘terrorism.’ The
term seems emotionally charged and, as such, governments have been devising their own
definitions. So far the United Nations has been unable to devise an internationally agreed-upon
definition of terrorism. Terrorism is suggested to be ‘the use of intimidation or fear for
advancement of political objectives’ (Kruglanski & Fishman, 2006). Since the ‘9/11’ incident,
Muslim countries in particular feel emotionally threatened with the word terrorism and perceive
it as synonymous with the acts of terror carried out by so-called Muslim extremist groups. This is
further complemented in the media by the unjust linking of such horrendous terror attacks to
Islamic Jihad.
Terrorism has brought an enormous burden on South Asian countries through the adverse
impacts on their social, economic, political and physical infrastructure. Pakistan has suffered
particularly excessively from the social, economic and human costs due to terrorism (Dara et
al, 2012). Surprisingly, Pakistan is portrayed as being on the front line in the international war
against terrorism and at the same time has been wrongly labelled as a sponsor of international
terrorism. Terrorism in Pakistan is a multidimensional phenomenon and, among many
precipitating factors, the psychosocial factors play an important role. This paper attempts to
address what we believe are significant psychosocial determinants to terrorism in Pakistan.

Historical development

Pakistan is a Muslim majority nation in South Este Asia with India to its east, Iran and
Afghanistan to its west, China and the landlocked Asian countries to its north and the Arabian
Sea to its south. Pakistan gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947 and is the only
Muslim country with nuclear weapons – a nuclear device was detonated in 1998 – and is thus
part of the informally named ‘nuclear club.’ Pakistan is a federation of four provinces (Punjab,
Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Baluchistan), a capital territory (Islamabad) and a group
of federally administered tribal areas in the North West, along with the disputed area of Azad
Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan is the world's sixth most populous country with an average population density of
229 people per km2. Since independence in 1947, Pakistan has been challenged not only by the
trauma inflicted by its colonial occupiers but also by the mass murder of people migrating to the
‘new’ country. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, looted, raped or burnt alive. At the
same time, the stability of this fledgling country was significantly hampered by the lack of
resources. Just a few years later, due to political instability and separatist movements and
terrorism, the east wing of the country was separated from Pakistan; this paved the way to the
creation of a new country, Bangladesh, in 1971.
The Soviet–Afghan war, which began in 1979, provided a breeding ground for terrorism in the
region. A fundamental change was witnessed that altered the very character of the existing
Pakistani society. Withdrawal of the Soviets revealed a Pakistani society that had been forced
into one of violence and weaponisation, plaguing Pakistan with so-called ‘Kalashnikov culture’
and ‘Talibanisation’ .
Pakistan's social landscape has for the most part been plagued with illiteracy, disease, insecurity
and injustice. Since the 9/11 incident, Pakistan has been intricately linked with the many facets
of the ‘war on terrorism.’ Some argue that Pakistan is a breeding ground for terrorist outfits, but
it is certain that all of this havoc has resulted in the significant loss of innocent lives as well as
loss of economic revenue. These fragile conditions provide a fertile ground for terrorism to grow.
The act of carrying out terrorist activity does not come from a single moment of inspiration but
rather from a complex process of cognitive accommodation and assimilation over accumulating
steps. It is wrongly reductionist to label the terrorists as mad or psychopaths (Atman, 2003;
Hogan, 2008). Terrorists’ motivation may involve a deep, underlying quest for personal meaning
and significance. Several analyses of such motives have appeared in recent years. There are
differences in these analyses regarding the type and variety of motivational factors identified as
critical to terrorism. Some authors identified a singular motivation as crucial; others listed a
‘cocktail’ of motives (Sage man, 2004; Bloom, 2005).
The socioeconomic adversity combined with political challenges were bound to have a
detrimental impact on the psyche of the average Pakistani. A terrorist adopts a dichotomous way
of identifying their victims, the black-and-white thought that ‘I am good’ and ‘you are evil,’ with
no intermediary shades of grey. This thinking leaves no doubt in their minds and they find it
easier to kill their opponents with little or no sense of remorse or guilt.
The unmanned army drone strikes killed and maimed thousands of innocent civilians in poor and
difficult to access regions of Pakistan. This infuriated people, leading them to take up arms
against the perceived aggressors. This triggering of the relatives of the deceased to engage in
such activity is the culture of revenge in Pakistan, which unfortunately can last for generations.
Self-sacrifice and martyrdom has been explicitly used in almost all religions and is aggressively
exploited by terrorist outfits who groom suicide bombers using the ideology of Islamist
martyrdom (Atman, 2003). Some have argued that suicide bombers may actually be clinically
suicidal and attempting to escape personal impasse (Lankford, 2013). In grooming young
impressionable adolescents, extremist organizations brainwash these adolescents into believing
that the ultimate self-sacrifice by suicide bombing will elevate their stature in the eyes of God
and send them straight to heaven. This is associated with massive financial compensations to the
deceased family. Terrorist organizations in Pakistan, through this process of brainwashing, have
been able to convert young impressionable Muslim adolescents into a ‘suicide bomber in six
weeks’ (Nizami et al, 2014). In the current scenario of the existing war on terror, this complex
process of recruiting young adolescents as suicide bombers seems irreversible.

The contribution of the religious schools

In the West, Madrassas (Islamic religious schools) have gained a reputation of being a sinister
influence on young impressionable Muslims. These institutions are not completely regulated and
can vary from a single room to large institutions offering schooling and boarding to hundreds of
students at a time. A survey of just over 50 000 households in Pakistan found that children in
Urdu-medium government schools and madrassas were from poorer households than those in
English-medium private schools. The primary reason for parents to send their children
to madrassas as opposed to mainstream schools was that these institutions provided a good
Islamic education. The second most common reason was that the madrassa provided education
that is low in cost along with the provision of food and clothing (Cockcroft et al, 2009).
Another survey indicated that in Pakistan only a minority of the religious schools promoted an
extremist view of Islam (Bane, 2007). An interrogation of 79 terrorists involved in anti-Western
attacks found that very few had attended a madrassa. This suggests that terrorist groups may
selectively recruit better qualified people for technically demanding tasks (Bergen &
Pandey, 2006). However, the religious seminaries have been implicated as playing the role of
recruitment centers for the suicide bombers (Nizami et al, 2014).
In an effort to break this incorrect perception the Darul Uloom Deoband, the largest Islamic
seminary in the world, hosted an anti-terrorist conference in 2008. This was attended by 6000
Imams declaring that ‘Islam is a religion of mercy for all humanity. Islam sternly condemns all
kinds of oppression, violence and terrorism. It has regarded oppression, mischief, rioting and
murder among sins and crimes’ (Press Trust of India, 2008). However, it is yet to be ascertained
how many religious schools in Pakistan adopted this school of thought. With the revolution in
the world of information technology, experts agree that the internet played an important role in
the radicalization and self-recruitment process into terrorist groups. Messages and videos on
jihadi websites target the ‘soft spots’ of potential recruits and inflame their imagination.