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PREFACE:

We have seen and read numerous attacks on Islam, calling Islam as the Terrorist religion by Media, without even knowing as to what our religion depicts. Here is the letter written in reply to an Article by a German Journalist Maligning Islam as the religion of Terrorist.

Please read this page and If you want us to contact you, please click here and fill the details http://alees.com/onlineForms/Contact_Request_New_06-34-25_2008-10-06/index.html

I read a letter sent to me by one of the associates, quoting an Article by a German Generalist where he spilled out a lot of  Poison against Islam, calling Islam is a religion of Terrorists. My reply to that person is copied here for the information and knowledge of all Muslim brothers to be armed with the answer, if they face similar remarks by any one in future.

ISLAM AND TERRORISM:

The one sentence by the German author in his referred Article  “fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam” is enough to prove that the Religion is different and the following does not really depicts the religion. To know the religion we must see and study the life of the messenger, For Judaism study the life of Moses (PBUH), for Christianity, study the life of Jesus (PBUH) and for Islam, study the life of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) at

http://www.alees.com/prophet.htm

A simple article does not depict the true picture of who did what and to whom

We need to study the history

You cannot call Christian Terrorism or Islamic terrorism - or Islamists (a new terms is used against Muslims) beheaded persons in revenge

If you name the Terrorism act against a religion, let us also see the “Christian Terrorism” right from 12^th Century till 2008 where I quote the following excerpts and quote with references to indicate Christian fanaticism and Terrorism though I am against branding the act done by a person with a religion whether it is Islam or Christianity.

I do not want to call a Muslim or a non-Muslim world spreading Terrorism to show Semitism a Muslim or a Christian spreading Terrorism, A Terrorist is a Terrorist, A Fanatic is a Fanatic but calling a Christian Fanatic or Muslim Fanatic is an insult to the religion as no religion want you to be a Fanatic.

If you are not in war, or a self propelled war, you carry out killing of innocents which amounts to Genocide and Terrorism

We legalize the same to be considered as self defense- though in both the cases thousands of innocents are killed

It is a fine demarcation by the “So Called Elites” and “Big Bosses”

No religion promotes Terrorism

Whether you are Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jews or Atheists

But remember the punishment of the crime whether it is Rape, Murder or Adultery has to be severe to root out the evil. If a rapist gets punished for one offence after doing 125 rapes, is not the true punishment-please note this.

These days we see a lot of Terrorism around the globe but we always brand to Islamic Terrorism without going into the depth of the act. I shall quote the following to educate you that there is some thing called Christian Terrorism as well, though I do not agree to brand Terrorism with any religion

See what WIKIPEDIA says and reports on Christian Terrorism and other Terrorism but this has not been brought forward by the media:-

Groups in the United States

Army of God

In 1998, letters were sent to news organizations and law enforcement claiming the Army of God carried out several of the attacks attributed to Eric Rudolph. The Army of God is considered a violent offshoot of Christian Identity^{[citation needed]}, a white supremacist religion considered anti-gay, anti- Semitic and anti-foreigner. An independent group utilizing a sort of leaderless resistance, not really an organization which holds meetings and large numbers of subscribers, the Army of God dates back more than 20 years and is linked to an underground movement whose members are trained to evade surveillance and to use violence as a method of protest including opposition to abortion.^[8][9] Army of God members have records associated with numerous acts of violence including bombings, shootings, and killings.^[10]

The Army of God is an anti-abortion terrorist organization which holds that their activity is lawful and theologically justified: using deadly force to end abortion in the United States.^[11] In 1985 Rev. Mike Bray, the "chaplain" of the Army of God,^[12] was convicted of destroying seven abortion facilities in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, causing damages of over $1 million. Rev. Paul Hill, an associate of the Army of God, shot and killed Dr. John Britton in Pensacola, Florida in 1994.^[13]:11 James Kopp, a member of the Army of God, shot and killed Dr. Barnett Slepian in 1998.^[14]

In 2001, at the height of the United States anthrax scare, more than 170 abortion clinics and doctors offices in 14 states received letters containing white powder and the message "You have been exposed to anthrax. We are going to kill all of you. Army of God, Virginia DARE Chapter."^[15] In December 2003 Clayton Waagner was convicted for these attacks.^[12] Waagner had entered the home of antiabortion militant Neal Horsley, tied him up and held him at gunpoint, and then made a taped confession. Ann Glazier, director of clinic security at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said that during the trial Waagner had "repeatedly bragged that he had been the most wanted man in America and that he was a terrorist. It was unbelievable."^[12] Salon magazine reported that whilst the press had generally called Waagner a terrorist, they "studiously avoid use of the word 'Christian'".^[12] Chip Berlet, senior analyst at Political Research Associates, said "If Waagner had been a self-identified Muslim terrorist instead of a Christian terrorist, he'd have been lynched by now...But if it's fair to say if we can see the religious motivations in the Taliban, we ought to be able to see them in Waagner or Eric Rudolph."^[12]

A group which "is not so much an organization” but more of “a shared set of ideas and enemies,”^[16] the Army of God utilizes “Leaderless Resistance” a tactic of irregular warfare used against the American government employed by some members of the radical right. The Army of God, whose ultimate goal is establishing a Christian theocracy through violence, claims that the murder of abortion doctors is "justifiable homicide,” exemplifying the group’s evolving philosophy from violence against property to violence against individuals.^[17]

An Army of God manual found buried in the yard of Rochelle "Shelly" Shannon, an Oregon activist convicted of shooting Wichita doctor George Tiller, provides detailed and explicit instructions for home-brewing plastic explosives, fashioning detonators, deactivating alarm systems, cutting phone, gas, and water lines, and includes the statement: "Annihilating abortuaries is our purest form of worship." However, according to records compiled over a period of twelve years by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and besieged clinics which included 123 cases of arson, 37 bombings in 33 states, and more than 1,500 cases of stalking, assault, sabotage and burglary, a large portion of staff time was devoted to routine women's reproductive health care - pap smears, teaching and supplying birth control methods, and treating sexually transmitted diseases – not to abortions. Some of the clinics targeted did not provide abortion services but were subjected to violence nonetheless.^[18]

[Read] Aryan Nations

Aryan Nations is a white supremacist group founded by Richard Girnt Butler as an arm of the Christian Identity group Church of Jesus Christ-Christian, with headquarters listed as a Lexington, S.C. post office box. Aryan Nations followers admire Adolf Hitler and claim that minority group members are "mud people" and spawns of Satan. Aryan Nations doctrine follows that of Christian Identity which claims that Europeans are the lost tribe of Israel, Jews are satanic, blacks are subhuman, and the Federal Government is illegal.^[19]

In August 1999 Buford O. Furrow, Jr., a Christian identity activist and member of Aryan Nations, carried out the Los Angeles Jewish Community Center shooting, injuring three little boys and two female workers.^[13]:19 Authorities quoted Furrow as saying he wanted his act to be "a wake-up call to America to kill Jews." Less than an hour after the attack, Furrow gunned down Joseph Ileto, a Filipino-American employee of the United States Postal Service. Furrow told investigators that he considered killing the mail carrier a "good opportunity" because Ileto was non-white and worked for the federal government.^[20] Furrow received two life sentences plus 110 years in prison for the attack.^[21] Furrow had once told police that he often fantasized about suicide, while neighbors, associates, and court records stated that Furrow had a long history of mental illness and had interests in white supremacist religion and paramilitary. Furrow, who was an officer of the internal security force of the Aryan Nations, reportedly stockpiled weapons and ammunition, abused his wife, and once daydreamed about shooting people at random in a shopping mall near Seattle.^[22]

Furrow was reportedly second husband to Debbie Mathews, the widow of Robert J. Mathews, domestic terrorist who died in a shootout with Federal authorities in 1994 and the founder of a U.S. neo-Nazi group called the Order which was involved in a campaign of assassinations, bombings and robberies. The Order was supposedly broken apart by arrests, internal dissent and killings; however, some members vowed to strike at targets in small groups or alone, committing violent acts against Jews, blacks, homosexuals or abortion providers thereby earning membership in a loose-knit fraternity of racists who call themselves priests, the Phineas Priesthood. Richard Kelly Hoskins, author of many books about race and banking, one of which was found in Furrow's van, wrote, "As the kamikaze is to the Japanese, as the Shiite is to Islam, as the Zionist is to the Jew, so the Phineas Priest is to Christiandom." Interviewed from his home in Lynchburg, Va., Mr. Hoskins said the book found in Furrow's possession, "War Cycles/Peace Cycles," was about "the history of usury," including what he called "the traditional Jewish presence in banking," and wrote on his Web page that the book explains "the necessity for assassination of national leaders."^[23]

In 2007, a 36-year-old man, Jason Hamilton, who had ties to the Aryan Nations, fatally shot himself in a Presbyterian church after killing his wife, a police officer, a church sexton, and wounding three men.^[24]

[edit] Christian Patriots

The anti-federalist, extremist tax-resistance movements, seditious beliefs, religious and racial hatred of the American militia movement and other contemporary white supremacist organizations in association with the broader Christian Patriot movement actively incorporate Christian scripture and biblical liturgy to justify and support violent activities.^{[25]:105–120} Timothy McVeigh who, along with his accomplice Terry Nichols, carried out the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995, has admitted to a belief in Christian Patriotism and involvement in Patriot activities.^[26]

[edit] Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan are proponents of a fundamentalist Christian theology strongly influenced by Christian Reconstructionism, hoping to "reconstruct" the United States along biblical (primarily Old Testament) lines and establish a white-dominated theocracy.^[27][28] They have often used terrorism, violence, and acts of intimidation, such as cross burning and lynching, to oppress African Americans and other social or ethnic groups. Hundreds of indictments for crimes of violence and terrorism have been issued against them, and many Klan members have been prosecuted.^[29]

The Ku Klux Klan consists of many subgroups who have individually carried out terrorist acts. One example is the Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, who in 1998 were found guilty of burning a 100-year-old black Baptist church to the ground.^[30]

The noose and burning cross

See also: Ku Klux Klan regalia and insignia, Cross burning, and Jena Six

The noose and cross burning of the Christian cross are two well known symbols of terror primarily associated with the Ku Klux Klan, made infamous during lynching in the period of the late nineteenth century and still in use today. “A noose is a symbol of America’s oldest form of domestic terrorism.”^[31] "The noose is replacing the burning cross in the mind of much of the public as the leading symbol of the Klan."^[32]

Lambs of Christ

The Lambs of Christ is an anti-abortion terrorist organization which holds that their activity is lawful and theologically justified: using deadly force to end abortion in the United States.^[35] James Kopp, who shot and killed Dr. Barnett Slepian in 1998, was a Lambs of Christ activist and a member of the Army of God.^[35][14]

[edit] Groups in Indonesia

On July 26, 2007, 17 Christians from Poso, Indonesia, were convicted of religion-inspired terrorism under Indonesian law. Fourteen year sentences were given to two of the seventeen for their main roles in the killings, while ten were sentenced to twelve year terms. Five were convicted in separate hearings and received eight year sentences for their part in the "acts of terrorism by the use of violence." A Christian mob attacked, murdered, and beheaded two Muslim fishermen in September 2006, reportedly as retaliation for the execution in 2006 of three Christian farmers, who were convicted of leading a militant group which killed hundreds of Muslims in Poso in 2000, an execution that attracted a plea for clemency from the pope, and accusations from Amnesty International that the trial was unfair.^[36][37]

Groups in India

See also: Insurgent groups in Northeast India and Terrorism in India

[edit] National Liberation Front of Tripura

The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) is a rebel group operating in Tripura, North-East India. The NLFT were declared a terrorist organization under the Indian Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2002. The NLFT manifesto says that they want to expand what they describe as the kingdom of God and Christ in Tripura.^[39] They are accused of forcing indigenous tribes to give up Hinduism and become Christian in areas under their control.^[39] In 2000 the Indian government of Tripura announced that it had hard evidence that the Baptist Church of Tripura was backing the NLFT.^[39] Nagmanlal Halam, secretary of the Noapara Baptist Church in Tripura, was arrested and found to be in possession of a large quantity of explosives.^[39] Halam confessed to buying and supplying explosives to the NLFT for the past two years.^[39] The National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism classified the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) as one of the ten most active terrorist groups in the world in 2003.^[40] They wrote:^[

Nagaland Rebels

The Nagaland Rebels is a coalition of rebel groups operating in Nagaland, North-East India. The largest of these is the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM), which is fighting for the establishment of a "Nagaland for Christ".^[43][44] The NSCN-IM have carried out numerous acts of terrorism against the Indian Army, other ethnic groups, and opponents within their own ethnic group.^[43] The insurgency has been waged since the 1947 Indian declaration of independence, and has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths.^[43]

Baruah writes that "Christianity is an essential part of Naga identity"; the NSCN-IM estimate that 95% of Nagas are Christian.^[45

Groups in Lebanon

[edit] Guardians of the Cedars

The Guardians of the Cedars is the paramilitary wing of the banned Lebanese Renewal Party, and one of several Christian militias active in the Lebanese Civil War.^[47] From 1973 their slogans have included "No Palestinian will remain on Lebanese soil" and "A good Palestinian is a dead Palestinian".^[48] According to Judith Tucker, "the Guardians of the Cedars played an important role in terrorist strategy throughout the wars in Lebanon... They are best known today for the numberous attacks and cold-blooded murders of Palestinian civilians in the Sidon region."^[48] In an interview carried out by the Jerusalem Post, leader Abu Arz said that Palestinians should be ethnically cleansed from Lebanon

Groups in Northern Ireland

[edit] Religion as a factor

Several people have stated that religion was a contributing factor to terrorism in Northern Ireland:

Mark Juergensmeyer wrote "Like residents of Belfast and London, Americans were beginning to learn to live with acts of religious terrorism: shocking, disturbing incidents of violence laced with the passion of religion - in these cases, Christianity"^[13]:19 and "The violence in Northern Ireland is justified by still other theological positions, Catholic and Protestant."^[13]:20 and "The ferocity of religious violence was brought home to me in 1998 when I received the news that a car bomb had exploded in a Belfast neighborhood I had visited the day before.^[13]:4

First Minister of Northern Ireland The Revd. and Rt. Hon. Ian Paisley often cast the conflict in religious terms. He preached that the Roman Catholic Church, which he termed the "Popery", had deviated from the Bible, and therefore from true Christianity, giving rise to "revolting superstitions and idolatrous abuses". Paisley once said "The Provisional IRA is the military wing of the Roman Catholic Church"^[51] and has claimed several times that the Pope is the Antichrist, mostly famously at the European Parliament, where he interrupted a speech by Pope John Paul II, shouting "I denounce you as the Antichrist!" and holding up a red poster reading "POPE JOHN PAUL II ANTICHRIST".^[52][53]

Groups in Russia

Many Russian political and paramilitary groups combine racism, nationalism, and Russian Orthodox beliefs.^[64] "In Russia, on the other hand, even extreme nationalism was always coloured by Orthodoxy, and, consequently, was to be considered traditionalist".^[65]

... Anti-Semitism, in principle, is not a requisite feature of each and every national-patriot, but practically all of them are Anti-Semites nevertheless. The idea of a 'Jewish-Masonic' conspiracy in its various versions pervades nationalist thinking. It is also closely correlated with anti-Western attitudes. In the extreme, Jews are perceived as the age-old enemies of the Russian people and Russian Orthodox faith who direct all the other enemies, such as the United States, the Pope, Chechnya, etc

Groups in the former Yugoslavia

Christoslavism places Slavic Muslims and any Christian who would tolerate them in the position of the Judas figure of Kosovo, Vuk Branković. It sets the Slavic Muslims outside the boundaries of nation, race, and people. As portrayed in The Mountain Wreath, it demonstrates what can be done to those defined as nonpeople and what is, under certain circumstances, a religious duty and a sacred, cleansing act. It transfers the generalized curse of Kosovo onto Slavic Muslims in particular, a curse against the natal milk that will allow them to progenerate. In their acts of genocide from 1992 through 1995, Radovan Karadžić and his followers integrated the Kosovo tradition, as it was handed down through Vuk Karadžić and transformed by Njegoš and Andrić, into the daily rituals of ethnoreligious purification.

Norman Cigar asserts that, according to the world's respected fact-gathering organizations, the Serbs committed over 90
of the war crimes and 100% of the genocide in Bosnia. Together, Croats and Muslims committed under 10% of the atrocities.^[72]

Tsar Lazar Guard

The Tsar Lazar Guard is the paramilitary wing of the Movement of Veterans of Serbia. Its president Željko Vasiljević called it the "first uniformed Christian militia squad, comprised of war veterans from all over Serbia".^[73] The group was officially formed at a swearing in ceremony at the Lazarica Church in Kruševac on 5th May 2007. The group is said to have 5000 troops.^[74] The United Nations and NATO have classed Tsar Lazar's Guard as a terrorist group.^[74] Tsar Lazar's Guard threatened to attack United Nations and NATO troops if Kosovo declared independence, and have stated their desire to detonate a nuclear bomb in Kosovo.^[75]

[edit] White Eagles

The White Eagles were a Serbian paramilitary group which carried out a number of atrocities, massacres, and acts of terror over the non-Serb population both before and during the Yugoslav wars.^[76][77] Mirko Jović, leader of the White Eagles, called for a "Christian, Orthodox Serbia with no Muslims and no unbelievers".^[71]:80
Muslims were being killed without any compunction. Those so-called paramilitaries were all over, but in reality, they were an arm of the state... local Serbs believed Muslims were terrorists, while Muslims felt terrorized by ethnic Serb paramilitaries".^{[79]:76 [80]}

The White Eagles were also described as terrorists by Elvedina Omerovic of the Helsinki Commitee for Human Rights in Sandzak.^[76]

God's Army, Burma

God's Army is a Christian revolutionary group in armed rebellion against the military government of Burma. God's Army consists of around 100-200 veteran fighters, and is led by two twin brothers, who are believed by their followers to be immune to bullets.^[83]

[edit] Sons of Freedom, Canada

Sons of Freedom are a sect of religious Christian anarchists who believe man owes allegiance only to God, part of a Russian nonconformist movement called the Doukhobors (literally "spirit wrestlers") who came to Canada in 1899. Until 1962, the capital of the Sons of Freedom was a village in British Columbia, Krestova (which in Russian means "City of the Cross", to which, in 1966, the Sons of Freedom returned. The Sons of Freedom have used violence, terrorism, arson and explosives in their defiance of all "worldly" authority including the Canadian government, rebelling against laws requiring their children to attend school, government efforts to force relinquishment of their squatters' rights, and Canadian taxes. In 1961, the Freedomites' violence peaked as they bombed towns from Nelson to New Denver, blaming the government for the 1924 murder of Peter Lordly. As signs of protest the Sons of Freedom have marched nude, blown up power pylons, railroad bridges, and set fire to homes, often targeting their own property.^[84]

The Lord's Resistance Army, Uganda

The Lord's Resistance Army is a Christian guerrilla army engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government, and is accused of many acts of mutilation, torture, rape, abduction, the use of child soldiers and a number of massacres. It is led by Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium, primarily of the Christian Holy Spirit which the Acholi believe can represent itself in many manifestations.^[85] The group aim to establish a Christian state by replacing the Ugandan constitution with the Bible's Ten Commandments.^[86][85] The LRA has been known by a number of different names, including the "Lord's Army" (1987 to 1988) and the "Uganda Peoples Democratic Christian Army" (1988 to 1992).^[87]

The LRA have been noted for cutting off the hands, lips, breasts and noses of their victims. Leader Joseph Kony has claimed this is justified by the Bible, "If you pick up an arrow against us and we ended up cutting off the hand you used, who is to blame? You report us with your mouth, and we cut off your lips. Who is to blame? It is you! The Bible says that if your hand, eye or mouth is at fault, it should be cut off."^[94] (referring to Ezekiel 23:25-34, Matthew 5:29-30, Matthew 18:8-9 and Mark 9:43-47)

Historical cases of Christian terrorism

Origins of the Great Persecution

Diocletian was in Antioch in the autumn of 302, when the next instance of persecution occurred. The deacon Romanus had come to the city from Caesarea Maritima, in Syria Palaestina (near modern Caesarea, Israel). Romanus saw many in the city visiting the pagan temples, and was angered. In protest, he visited a court while preliminary sacrifices were taking place and interrupted the ceremonies, decrying the act in a loud voice. He was arrested and sentenced to be set aflame, but Diocletian overruled the decision, and decided that Romanus should have his tongue removed instead. This being done, Romanus was sent to prison, where he would be executed on November 17, 303. The arrogance of this Christian displeased Diocletian, and he left the city and made for Nicomedia for the winter, accompanied by Galerius.^[15]

Great Persecution

On February 23, 303, Diocletian ordered that the newly-built Christian church at Nicomedia be razed, its scriptures set to flame, and the treasures of the church collected as treasure.^[21] The next day, Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published.^[22] This ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the Empire, and prohibited Christians from assembling for worship.^[23] Before the end of February, a fire destroyed part of the imperial palace. Galerius convinced Diocletian that the culprits were Christians conspirators who had plotted with palace eunuchs. An investigation into the act was commissioned, but no responsible party was found. Executions followed. The palace eunuchs Dorotheus and Gorgonius were eliminated. One individual, a Peter, was stripped, raised high, and scourged. Salt and vinegar were poured in his wounds, and Peter was set to die over an open flame. The executions continued until at least April 24, 303, when six individuals, including the bishop Anthimus, were decapitated. A second fire appeared sixteen days after the first. Galerius left the city, declaring it unsafe. Diocletian would soon follow.^[24]
According to one estimate, a total of 3,000–3,500 Christians were killed in the persecution,^[28] while many others suffered torture or imprisonment.^[29] Among the recorded martyrs, there are Pope Marcellinus, Philomena, Sebastian, Afra, Lucy, Erasmus of Formiae, Florian, George, Agnes, Cessianus, Saint Dujam (bishop of Salona), ^[30] Abundius of Umbria and others ending with Peter of Alexandria (311).
Diocletian's empire-wide persecution has been considered to be one of the bloodiest and most ruthless persecutions in the history of the Roman Empire. The persecution made such an impression on Christians that the Alexandrian church used the start of Diocletian's reign (284) as the epoch for their Era of Martyrs.

Inquisition

Main article: Inquisition

The judicial institution established by papal government in the Middle ages whose duties were to pursue, force to trial, and sentence persons guilty of heresy did not come to be called Inquisition until 1231 with Pope Gregory IX's constitution "Excommunicamus". When Roman emperors established Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century, St. Augustine approved state action against accused heretics who could be excommunicated for disturbing public order. It was later during the 12th century that a Crusade against heretics was organized by Pope Innocent III who sent preachers and issued punitive legislation against the Albigenses in southern France. However, efforts to control heresy were not well coordinated. It wasn't until Pope Gregory IX's action that inquisitors were placed under the special jurisdiction of the papacy and given power to exact severe penalties. By authority of the pope, inquisitors could issue orders demanding all guilty of heresy to present themselves and could also bring suit against any person as a suspected heretic. A tribunal was presided over by the inquisitor and aided by assistants, notaries, police, counsel, and usually had a jury composed of both clergy and laity who assisted in arriving at a verdict. Generally, however, testimony of two witnesses was considered sufficient proof of guilt and suspects alleged to be lying could be imprisoned. Those who were tried and convicted received harsher punishments than those who confessed and Pope Innocent IV officially sanctioned the use of torture to elicit confessions in 1252. Sentences and penances of those declared guilty were pronounced in a public ceremony or an auto-da-fe'. Penances ranged from fines and pilgrimages to confiscation of property and imprisonment. Because life imprisonment was the most severe penalty inquisitors could impose, when a person was declared guilty and turned over to civil authorities it was essentially a demand for that person's execution.

The Roman Inquisition and the Holy Office established in 1542 by Pope Paul III was in response to the spread of Protestantism and was mainly concerned with orthodoxy in an academic nature rather than beliefs that supposedly disturbed public order. Pope Paul IV approved and published the first Index of Forbidden Books in 1559. In 1633 the Roman Inquisition tried and condemned Galileo to spend his life in house arrest for his belief that the Earth moves around the Sun. The Inquisition which directed most of its attention in the beginning to groups whose beliefs were in disagreement or at variance with established and accepted church orthodoxy later also targeted individuals accused of being diviners and witches.

The Spanish Inquisition was distinct in its objectives from the medieval Inquisition and was established with papal approval in 1478 to deal with Jewish converts who were suspected of being insincere in their vows to accept the Christian faith. Later, Islamic converts and persons suspected of Protestantism were also targets of the Spanish Inquisition. The Spanish Inquisition was within a few years more an instrument of the state than the church when supervision was relinquished by the papacy to the sovereigns. As a result of its organization and consistency of political support, the Spanish Inquisition's extensive impact on religion, politics, and culture enabled the execution of thousands of heretics and allowed its jurisdiction to stretch as far as colonies in Mexico and Peru. Well known for cruelty and opposition to new ideas, it was not until 1834 that the Inquisition in Spain was effectively suppressed.^[95]

[edit] Crusades

Main article: Crusades

The Crusades were a series of wars which combined religious interests with secular and military enterprises first undertaken by Western European Christians in 1096 and ending in the late 13th century. The term Crusade originally applied only to European operations to seize from Muslim forces the city of Jerusalem, a campaign in which many of Jerusalem's inhabitants were massacred making way for Christian occupation. Later, any military efforts by Europeans against non-Christians were described as Crusades including wars against Muslims, dissident Christians, and the general expansion of Christian Europe. Crusades also provided an excuse for savage attacks against non-Christian communities and other violence against persons in the name of Christ.^[96]

[edit] Albigensian Crusade, 1208

Jonathan Barker cited the Albigensian Crusade, launched by Pope Innocent III, as an example of Christian state terrorism.^[97] During the 20 year war an estimated 1 million casualties occurred in the conflict.^[98] The Cathar teachings rejected the principles of material wealth and power as being in direct conflict with the principle of love. They worshipped in private houses rather than churches, without the sacraments or the cross, which they rejected as material items, but in other respects they followed conventional teachings, reciting the Lord's prayer and reading from Biblical scriptures.^[98] According to Barker, the Albigenses had developed a culture that "fostered tolerance of Jews and Muslims, respect for women and women priests, the appreciation of poetry, music and beauty, [had it] been allowed to survive and thrive, it is possible the Europe might have been spared its wars of religion, its witch-hunts and its holocausts of victims sacrificed in later centuries to religious and ideological bigotry".^[97]:74 When asked by his followers how to differentiate between heretics and the ordinary public, Abbe Arnaud Amalric, head of the Cistercian monastic order, simply said "Kill them all, God will recognize his own!".^[98]

[edit] St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, 1572

Gilmour has cited the historical case of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre as an instance of Christian terrorism on par with modern day Islamic terrorism, and goes on to write, "That massacre, said Pope Gregory XIII, gave him more pleasure than fifty Battles of Lepanto, and he commissioned Vasari to paint frescoes of it in the Vatican".^[99] It is estimated that ten thousand to possibly one-hundred thousand Huguenots (French Protestants) were killed by Catholic mobs, and it has been called "the worst of the century's religious massacres".^[100] The massacre led to the start of the fourth war of the French Wars of Religion.

[edit] Gunpowder Plot, 1605

Peter Steinfels has cited the historical case of the Gunpowder Plot, when Guy Fawkes and other Catholic revolutionaries attempted to overthrow the Protestant aristocracy of England by blowing up the Houses of Parliament, as a notable case of Christian terrorism.^[101]

[edit] Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, 1649-53

Lutz and Lutz cited the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland as terrorism; "The draconian laws applied by Oliver Cromwell in Ireland were an early version of ethnic cleansing. The Catholic Irish were to be expelled to the northwestern areas of the island. Relocation rather than extermination was the goal."^[102] Daniel Chirot has argued that genocide was originally the goal, inspired by the Biblical account of Joshua and the genocide following the Battle of Jericho:^[103]:3

[edit] Southern United States, 1865-1910

In the late nineteenth century southern United States evangelical Protestants used a wide range of terror activities, including lynching, murder, attempted murder, rape, beating, tar-and-feathering, whipping, and destruction of property, to suppress the competing religions of black Christianity (which saw Christ as the saviour of the black oppressed), Mormonism, Judaism, and Catholocism.^[104]

[edit] Iron Guard and Lăncieri, 1927-1945

The Iron Guard, also known as the Legion of the Archangel Michael, was an Orthodox Christian anti-Semitic fascist movement in Romania. It splintered from the National-Christian Defense League, and was, unlike similar European fascist movements of the time, overtly religious. According to Ioanid, the Legion "willingly inserted strong elements of Orthodox Christianity into its political doctrine to the point of becoming one of the rare modern European political movements with a religious ideological structure."^[105] The Iron Guard justified their actions through claims that "Rabbinical aggression against the Christian world" was undermining society.^[106] According to Tinichigiu, the Iron Guard was a terror organization, which carried out terrorist activities and political murders.^[107] The Iron Guard were active participants in the Romanian Holocaust and carried out the Bucharest pogrom.

Nichifor Crainic, Professor at the Faculty of Theology, University of Bucharest, developed various theological justifications arguing "that the Old Testament was not Jewish, that Jesus had not been Jewish, and that the Talmud, which he saw as the incarnation of modern Jewry, was, first and foremost, a weapon to combat the Christian Gospel and to destroy Christians."^[108]:24 Crainic played a critical role in the formation of the National Christian Party from the National-Christian Defense League, and became its general secretary. Between 1935 and 1937 the paramilitary division of the National Christian Party, the Lăncieri, were responsible for numerous acts of brutality against Jews.^[108]:26

The Romanian Orthodox Church had strong antisemitic leanings, both in its senior hierarchy and among local clergy.^[108]:24 Conflict was encouraged by its leaders; Patriarch Miron Cristea said "One has to be sorry for the poor Romanian people, whose very marrow is sucked out by the Jews. Not to react against the Jews means that we go open-eyed to our destruction... To defend ourselves is a national and patriotic duty"^[108]:25 and "The duty of a Christian is to love himself first and to see that his needs are satisfied. Only then can he help his neighbor... Why should we not get rid of these parasites [Jews] who suck Rumanian Christian blood? It is logical and holy to react against them."^[109]

[edit] Rexists, 1940-1945

Rexism was a Belgian movement which combined Christianity and fascism during the Second World War with the aim of abolishing democracy and replacing it with a corporatist society based on the teachings of the Church. It was the proscribed ideology of the Rexist Party, which was officially known as Christus Rex (literally Christ King). Rexist followers supported the occupying Nazi forces, admired Adolf Hitler, and had similar anti-semitic leanings. The Rexist Party originally split from the ruling Catholic Party, but Rexist bishops increasingly cut ties with the Roman Catholic Church, developing financial links with, and incorporating moral support, for Nazi Germany into their teachings.

[edit] Paris theatre attack, 1988

In 1988 the film The Last Temptation of Christ was released.^[110] The film controversially portrayed Jesus fantasizing about sexual intercourse with Mary Magdalene, and was roundly condemned by Christians.^[110][111] Following its release, the Saint Michel theater in Paris was burnt to the ground whilst showing the film, leaving 13 people hospitalised, 1 in a serious condition.^[110] Following the attack, a representative of the film's distributor, Universal International Pictures, said "The opponents of the film have largely won. They have massacred the film's success, and they have scared the public". Jack Lang, France's Minister of Culture, went to the St.-Michel theater after the fire, and said, "Freedom of speech is threatened, and we must not be intimidated by such acts".^[110] The Archbishop of Paris, Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger, said "One doesn't have the right to shock the sensibilities of millions of people for whom Jesus is more important than their father or mother."^[110] However, after the fire he condemned the attack, saying "You don't behave as Christians but as enemies of Christ. From the Christian point of view, one doesn't defend Christ with arms. Christ himself forbade it."^[110] The leader of Christian Solidarity, a Roman Catholic group that had promised to stop the film from being shown, said, "We will not hesitate to go to prison if it is necessary".^[110]

The attack was subsequently blamed on a Catholic fundamentalist group linked to Bernard Antony, a representative of the far-right National Front to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, and followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunited from the Roman Catholic Church for his fundamentalist beliefs.^[112] Similar attacks against theatres included graffiti, setting off tear-gas canisters and stink bombs, and assaulting filmgoers.^[112] At least nine people believed to be members of the Catholic fundamentalist group were arrested.^[112] Rene Remond, a historian, said of the Catholic far-right "It is the toughest component of the National Front and it is motivated more by religion than by politics. It has a coherent political philosophy that has not changed for 200 years: it is the rejection of the revolution, of the republic and of modernism."^[112]

[edit] Concerned Christians, 1999

The Concerned Christians "planned to carry out violent and extreme acts in the streets of Jerusalem at the end of 1999 to start the process of bringing Jesus back to life," and believed that being killed by police would "lead them to heaven."^[113] The group were planning to attack holy sites in Jerusalem; some fundamentalist Christians believe that the Al-Aqsa mosque, one of Islam's holiest shrines in Jerusalem, must be destroyed and the Temple in Jerusalem restored in its place, before Jesus can return to Earth.^[114] The group were deported from Israel and are said to currently reside in Greece.

[edit] Radical Christian Activists, 2007

In 2007 three teenagers from Burleson, Texas were charged with attempting to destroy a church with an explosive device.^[115][116] Police Commander Chris Haven said that the group believes that society has become too focused on self improvement and self gratification and has lost focus on the glorification of God.^[116] On July 4, police in Burleson, TX received reports of suspicious activity at a church and of a fire in a nearby field. Three men were subsequently arrested and charged with arson at a place of worship, a first-degree felony. A fourth suspect, a juvenile, who reportedly was not involved in the attempted arson, was not charged. Two of the suspects admitted to being involved in at least one other fire in a recycling bin at a different church during 2007 according to a police report. One of the three men also faced a charge of tampering/fabricating physical evidence.^[117] The three self-described radical Christian activists, part of a religious group that opposes organized religion and government, have pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered firearm categorized as a destructive device in the attempted bombings at the Burleson, TX church. Police found the bomb, a glass bottle containing a mixture of gasoline and chlorine with a cloth wick, propped against the church door after the men twice attempted to detonate the device. Michael Philip Plaisted and Jered Michael Ragon pleaded guilty December 4, 2007 and Dayton Lee Calaway pleaded guilty February 5, 2008. Punishment faced is a fine of up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.^[118]

[Read] Notable individuals

[Read] George Habash

TIME magazine identified George Habash as "Terrorism's Christian Godfather" and a leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.^[119] Habash was a Greek Orthodox Christian by birth.^[120] A 1998 interview with the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs identified Habash as Christian.^[121] In 2007 Global Politician identified Habash as being a Christian.^[122] Habash died in 2008 and was buried at a Greek Orthodox Church in Amman, Jordan.^[123] At the time of his death, he was identified as a Christian by the New York Sun and Agence France Press,^[123] and Jerusalem Newswire (quoting the BBC) described him as "a Christian, an Arab nationalist and a Marxist".^[124] He was a professional physician, who joined the anti-Israeli movement after Israeli forces massacred 250 people in his hometown of Lydda on the same night that his sister died from typhoid; he blamed the Israeli attack for preventing her from receiving medical attention.

[Read] Mark David Uhl

Mark David Uhl, a student at Liberty University, planned to bomb and kill members of the Westboro Baptist Church at the funeral of Jerry Falwell.^[126] Max Blumenthal called Uhl a "Christian terrorist", "a devout evangelical Christian who advocated religious violence in the name of American nationalism".^[126]

Clifford Peeples

In 1999 Clifford Peeples, Pastor of the Bethel Pentecostal Church, was sentenced to ten years imprisonment after being found in possession of hand grenades and a pipe bomb.^[128] In 2005 he was reinstalled as head of the Bethel congregation following a dispute over his distribution of anti-Catholic literature within the church.^[129] Peeples had been distributing "Rome Watch"^[130] written by his associate Pastor Alan Campbell.^[131]

Billy Wright

Billy Wright was one of the most feared paramilitary figures in Northern Ireland, known for terrorist attacks, cold-blooded murders, and running a lucrative drugs business and protection racket.^[50]:97 In 1977 he was jailed for terrorist activities, and in 1983 he became a Born again Christian preacher of old-style Protestant fundamentalism.^[61]

Eric Robert Rudolph

Main article: Eric Robert Rudolph

Eric Robert Rudolph is a convicted terrorist whose series of violent acts across the southern United States included attacks on reproductive health clinics. Rudolph was involved in the 1996 bombing at Olympic Centennial Olympic Park which injured more than one hundred people and killed Olympic spectator Alice Hawthorne

Pat Robertson

In August 2005, U.S. television evangelist Pat Robertson was branded a terrorist by Venezuelan officials after calling for the assassination of President Hugo Chávez.^[139]

[edit] Becky Fischer

In the 2006 documentary Jesus Camp, Becky Fischer, a pastor, called on American Christians to become more radicalised. The Guardian wrote, "Pastor Fischer equates the preparation she is giving children with the training of terrorists in the Middle East

In the United States, acts of domestic terrorism are generally considered to be uncommon. According to the FBI, however, between the years of 1980 and 2000, 250 of the 335 incidents confirmed as or suspected to be terrorist acts in the United States were carried out by American citizens.^[1]

HAT GROUP IN USA
A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates hate, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society, or that supports and publishes assertions and argumentation characteristic of hate groups without necessarily explicitly advocating such hate or violence that otherwise characterize hate groups. The term "hate group" is a political neologism. It is not used by these groups themselves, but rather by those who oppose them, and sometimes by sociologists or historians who study them.^{[citation needed}

Since terrorism is defined as using violent acts to achieve one's goal using fear, hate groups at stages 6 and 7 may be classified as terrorist groups.^{[citation needed]} These groups are typically characterized as being increasingly dangerous and extremist. Alleged terror groups such as Al-Queda and Hezbollah began as small groups that followed the steps of the typical hate group.^{[citation needed]}

IN VIEW OF ABOVE, WE MUST CONSIDER THE ACT OF TERRORISM OR FANATICISM IS THE DISEASE AND MUST BE CURED RATHER THAN BRANDING WITH ANY RELIGION AND SPREADING HATRED WHETHER IT IS FOR CHRISTIANS, MUSLIMS, JEWS OR HINDUS ETC.

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