Christian terrorism: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Undid revision 421701008 by Haymaker (talk) This needs to be discussed in talk. The source cited appears to be saying that the material belongs. Perhaps the source is wrong, please discuss.
Undid revision 421729670 by Tryptofish (talk)—Haymaker's edit has the best of this one.
Line 11: Line 11:
{{Undue|date=February 2011}}
{{Undue|date=February 2011}}


British journalist and politician [[Ian Gilmour]] has cited the historical case of the [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] in 1572, a beginning of Roman Catholic mob violence directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants), as an instance of religious terrorism on par with modern day terrorism, and goes on to write, "That massacre, said [[Pope Gregory XIII]], gave him more pleasure than fifty [[Battle of Lepanto|Battles of Lepanto]], and he commissioned [[Vasari]] to paint frescoes of it in the Vatican".<ref name="gilmour">{{cite journal|title=Terrorism review|author=Ian Gilmour, Andrew Gilmour|journal=Journal of Palestine Studies|volume=17|issue=2|year=1988|publisher=University of California Press|page=136|doi=10.1525/jps.1988.17.3.00p0024k}}</ref> It is [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre#Death toll|estimated that]] 2,000 to possibly 25,000 [[Huguenots]] (French Protestants) were killed by Catholic mobs, and it has been called "the worst of the century's religious massacres". The massacre led to the start of the "fourth war" of the [[French Wars of Religion]], which was marked by many other massacres and assassinations by both sides. [[Peter Steinfels]] has cited the historical case of the [[Gunpowder Plot]], when [[Guy Fawkes]] and other Catholic revolutionaries attempted to overthrow the Protestant establishment of England by blowing up the [[Palace of Westminster|Houses of Parliament]], as a notable case of religious terrorism.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=New York Times|author=Peter Steinfels|date=2005-11-05|title=A Day to Think About a Case of Faith-Based Terrorism|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/national/05beliefs.html}}</ref>
[[Peter Steinfels]] has cited the historical case of the [[Gunpowder Plot]], when [[Guy Fawkes]] and other Catholic revolutionaries attempted to overthrow the Protestant establishment of England by blowing up the [[Palace of Westminster|Houses of Parliament]], as a notable case of religious terrorism.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=New York Times|author=Peter Steinfels|date=2005-11-05|title=A Day to Think About a Case of Faith-Based Terrorism|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/national/05beliefs.html}}</ref>


==By country==
==By country==
===India===
===India===
The [[National Liberation Front of Tripura]], a rebel group operating in [[Tripura]], [[North-East India]] classified by the [[National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism]] as one of the ten most active terrorist groups in the world, has been accused of forcefully converting people to Christianity.<ref name="mipt_nlft">{{cite web|url=http://www.mipt.org/pdf/2004-MIPT-Terrorism-Annual.pdf|format=PDF|title=The MIPT terrorism annual 2004|publisher=National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism|year=2004}}{{dead link|date=April 2010}}</ref><ref name="nlft">{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/documents/papers/nlft_const.htm|title=Constitution of National Liberation Front Of Tripura|publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref><ref name="South Asia Terrorism Portal">{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/terrorist_outfits/nlft.htm|title=National Liberation Front of Tripura, India|publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref> The state government reports that the [[Baptist]] Church of Tripura supplies arms and gives financial support to the NLFT.<ref name="nlft"/><ref name="South Asia Terrorism Portal"/><ref name="bbc717775">{{cite news | first =Subhir | last =Bhaumik |title = 'Church backing Tripura rebels'| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/717775.stm | publisher =[[BBC News]] |accessdate =2006-08-26 | date=April 18, 2000}}</ref> The Church is also reported to encourage the NLFT to murder Hindus, particularly infants.<ref name="bbc717775" /> NLFT has also declared a ban against Hindus celebrating [[Durga Puja]] and other Hindu festivals.<ref>[http://tripurasociety.org/religion.htm Tripura Society's Website, Independent, and Authentic Information & Views About Tripura]</ref>
The [[National Liberation Front of Tripura]], a rebel group operating in [[Tripura]], [[North-East India]] classified by the [[National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism]] as one of the ten most active terrorist groups in the world, has been accused of forcefully converting people to Christianity.<ref name="nlft">{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/documents/papers/nlft_const.htm|title=Constitution of National Liberation Front Of Tripura|publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref><ref name="South Asia Terrorism Portal">{{cite web|url=http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/tripura/terrorist_outfits/nlft.htm|title=National Liberation Front of Tripura, India|publisher=South Asia Terrorism Portal}}</ref> The state government reports that the [[Baptist]] Church of Tripura supplies arms and gives financial support to the NLFT.<ref name="nlft"/><ref name="South Asia Terrorism Portal"/><ref name="bbc717775">{{cite news | first =Subhir | last =Bhaumik |title = 'Church backing Tripura rebels'| url =http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/717775.stm | publisher =[[BBC News]] |accessdate =2006-08-26 | date=April 18, 2000}}</ref> The Church is also reported to encourage the NLFT to murder Hindus, particularly infants.<ref name="bbc717775" /> NLFT has also declared a ban against Hindus celebrating [[Durga Puja]] and other Hindu festivals.<ref>[http://tripurasociety.org/religion.htm Tripura Society's Website, Independent, and Authentic Information & Views About Tripura]</ref>{{Dead link|date=March 2011}}


The insurgency in [[Nagaland]] was led by the [[National Socialist Council of Nagaland]] (NSCN) and continues today with its faction NSCN - Isaac Muivah which explicitly calls for a "Nagalim for Christ."<ref>http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/nagaland/terrorist_outfits/Nscn_im.htm</ref>
The insurgency in [[Nagaland]] was led by the [[National Socialist Council of Nagaland]] (NSCN) and continues today with its faction NSCN - Isaac Muivah which explicitly calls for a "Nagalim for Christ."<ref>http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/nagaland/terrorist_outfits/Nscn_im.htm</ref>
Line 23: Line 23:
===Northern Ireland===
===Northern Ireland===
{{Undue|date=February 2011}}
{{Undue|date=February 2011}}
Some scholars, such as [[Steve Bruce]], a sociology professor at the University of Aberdeen, argue that the conflict in Northern Ireland is primarily a religious conflict, its economic and social considerations notwithstanding.<ref>{{quote|The Northern Ireland conflict is a religious conflict. Economic and social considerations are also crucial, but it was the fact that the competing populations in Ireland adhered and still adhere to competing religious traditions which has given the conflict its enduring and intractable quality.}}{{cite book|author=Steve Bruce|title=God Save Ulster|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1986|page=249|isbn=0192852175}}{{rp|249}} Reviewing the book, David Harkness of [[The English Historical Review]] agreed "Of course the Northern Ireland conflict is at heart religious". {{cite journal|journal=The English Historical Review|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=104|issue=413|date=1989-10|title=God Save Ulster: The Religion and Politics of Paisleyism by Steve Bruce (review)|author=David Harkness}}</ref> Others, such as [[John Hickey]], take a more guarded view.<ref>{{quote|Politics in the North is not politics exploiting religion. That is far too simple an explanation: it is one which trips readily off the tongue of commentators who are used to a cultural style in which the politically pragmatic is the normal way of conducting affairs and all other considerations are put to its use. In the case of Northern Ireland the relationship is much more complex. It is more a question of religion inspiring politics than of politics making use of religion. It is a situation more akin to the first half of seventeenth‑century England than to the last quarter of twentieth century Britain.{{cite book|author=John Hickey|title=Religion and the Northern Ireland Problem|publisher=Gill and Macmillan|year=1984|page=67|isbn=0717111156}}}}</ref> Writing in ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[Susan McKay]] discussed religious fundamentalism in connection with the murder of [[Martin O'Hagan]], a former inmate of the [[Maze (HM Prison)|Maze prison]] and a reporter on crime and the paramilitaries. She attributed the murder to a "range of reasons," including "the gangsters didn't like what he wrote". The alleged killers claimed that they killed him for "crimes against the loyalist people".<ref name="mckay">{{cite news|title=Faith, hate and murder|author=Susan McKay|publisher=The Guardian|date=2001-11-17|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2001/nov/17/weekend7.weekend9 | location=London}}</ref>
Some scholars, such as Steve Bruce, a sociology professor at the University of Aberdeen, argue that the conflict in Northern Ireland is primarily a religious conflict, its economic and social considerations notwithstanding.<ref>{{quote|The Northern Ireland conflict is a religious conflict. Economic and social considerations are also crucial, but it was the fact that the competing populations in Ireland adhered and still adhere to competing religious traditions which has given the conflict its enduring and intractable quality.}}{{cite book|author=Steve Bruce|title=God Save Ulster|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1986|page=249|isbn=0192852175}}{{rp|249}} Reviewing the book, David Harkness of [[The English Historical Review]] agreed "Of course the Northern Ireland conflict is at heart religious". {{cite journal|journal=The English Historical Review|publisher=Oxford University Press|volume=104|issue=413|date=1989-10|title=God Save Ulster: The Religion and Politics of Paisleyism by Steve Bruce (review)|author=David Harkness}}</ref> Others, such as John Hickey, take a more guarded view.<ref>{{quote|Politics in the North is not politics exploiting religion. That is far too simple an explanation: it is one which trips readily off the tongue of commentators who are used to a cultural style in which the politically pragmatic is the normal way of conducting affairs and all other considerations are put to its use. In the case of Northern Ireland the relationship is much more complex. It is more a question of religion inspiring politics than of politics making use of religion. It is a situation more akin to the first half of seventeenth‑century England than to the last quarter of twentieth century Britain.{{cite book|author=John Hickey|title=Religion and the Northern Ireland Problem|publisher=Gill and Macmillan|year=1984|page=67|isbn=0717111156}}}}</ref> Writing in ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[Susan McKay]] discussed religious fundamentalism in connection with the murder of [[Martin O'Hagan]], a former inmate of the [[Maze (HM Prison)|Maze prison]] and a reporter on crime and the paramilitaries. She attributed the murder to a "range of reasons," including "the gangsters didn't like what he wrote". The alleged killers claimed that they killed him for "crimes against the loyalist people".<ref name="mckay">{{cite news|title=Faith, hate and murder|author=Susan McKay|publisher=The Guardian|date=2001-11-17|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2001/nov/17/weekend7.weekend9 | location=London}}</ref>


The [[Orange Volunteers]] are a group infamous for carrying out simultaneous terrorist attacks on Catholic churches.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland|author=Claire Mitchell|isbn=0754641554|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2006|page=51}}</ref>
The [[Orange Volunteers]] are a group infamous for carrying out simultaneous terrorist attacks on Catholic churches.<ref>{{cite book|title=Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland|author=Claire Mitchell|isbn=0754641554|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2006|page=51}}</ref>
Line 31: Line 31:


===Uganda===
===Uganda===
The [[Lord's Resistance Army]], a [[Christian new religious movement|cult]] [[guerrilla]] army engaged in an [[Lord's Resistance Army insurgency|armed rebellion]] against the [[Politics of Uganda|Ugandan government]], has been accused of using child soldiers and committing numerous crimes against humanity; including massacres, abductions, mutilation, torture, rape, porters and sex slaves.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/2007/oct/20/about.uganda|publisher=The Guardian|title=Background: the Lord's Resistance Army|author=Xan Rice|date=2007-10-20 | location=London}}</ref> A quasi-religious movement that mixes some aspects of Christian and Islamic beliefs with its own brand of spiritualism,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E1DA123BF937A3575BC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|publisher=New York Times|title=Uganda's Terror Crackdown Multiplies the Suffering|author=Marc Lacey|date=2002-08-04}}</ref> it is led by [[Joseph Kony]], who proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a [[spirit medium]], primarily of the "Holy Spirit" which the [[Acholi]] believe can represent itself in many manifestations.<ref name="African Affaris vol 98">{{cite journal|journal=African Affairs|volume=98|author=Ruddy Doom and Koen Vlassenroot|title=Kony's message: A new Koine? The Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda|year=1999|publisher=Oxford Journals / Royal African Society|pages=5–36|issue=390}}</ref><ref name="African Affaris vol 98"/><ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1917652.stm|title=Ugandan rebels raid Sudanese villages|date=2002-04-08 | accessdate=2010-01-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=K. Ward|title=The Armies of the Lord: Christianity, Rebels and the State in Northern Uganda, 1986–1999|year=2001|volume=31|journal=Journal of Religion in Africa | issue=2}}</ref> LRA fighters wear rosary beads and recite passages from the Bible before battle.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E1DA123BF937A3575BC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|publisher=New York Times|title=Uganda's Terror Crackdown Multiplies the Suffering|author=Marc Lacey|date=2002-08-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/africa_ugandan_rebels_come_home/html/6.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=In pictures: Ugandan rebels come home|quote=One of the differences on the LRA pips is a white bible inside a heart | accessdate=2010-01-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/03/wugand03.xml|publisher=The Telegraph|title= I killed so many I lost count, says boy, 11|date=2005-08-03|author=David Blair}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/560b19de-d395-11dc-b861-0000779fd2ac.html|publisher=Financial Times|title=Africa’s Most Wanted|author=Matthew Green|date=2008-02-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article3449276.ece|publisher=The Times|title=The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa’s Most Wanted by Matthew Green|author=Christina Lamb|date=2008-03-02 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/18/international/africa/18uganda.html|title=Atrocity Victims in Uganda Choose to Forgive|publisher=New York Times|author=Marc Lacey|date=2005-04-18}}</ref>
The [[Lord's Resistance Army]], a [[Christian new religious movement|cult]] [[guerrilla]] army engaged in an [[Lord's Resistance Army insurgency|armed rebellion]] against the [[Politics of Uganda|Ugandan government]], has been accused of using child soldiers and committing numerous crimes against humanity; including massacres, abductions, mutilation, torture, rape, porters and sex slaves.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/katine/2007/oct/20/about.uganda|publisher=The Guardian|title=Background: the Lord's Resistance Army|author=Xan Rice|date=2007-10-20 | location=London}}</ref> A quasi-religious movement that mixes some aspects of Christian and Islamic beliefs with its own brand of spiritualism,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E1DA123BF937A3575BC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|publisher=New York Times|title=Uganda's Terror Crackdown Multiplies the Suffering|author=Marc Lacey|date=2002-08-04}}</ref> it is led by [[Joseph Kony]], who proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a [[spirit medium]], primarily of the "Holy Spirit" which the [[Acholi]] believe can represent itself in many manifestations.<ref name="African Affaris vol 98">{{cite journal|journal=African Affairs|volume=98|author=Ruddy Doom and Koen Vlassenroot|title=Kony's message: A new Koine? The Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda|year=1999|publisher=Oxford Journals / Royal African Society|pages=5–36|issue=390}}</ref><ref name="African Affaris vol 98"/><ref>{{cite news|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1917652.stm|title=Ugandan rebels raid Sudanese villages|date=2002-04-08 | accessdate=2010-01-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=K. Ward|title=The Armies of the Lord: Christianity, Rebels and the State in Northern Uganda, 1986–1999|year=2001|volume=31|journal=Journal of Religion in Africa | issue=2}}</ref> LRA fighters wear rosary beads and recite passages from the Bible before battle.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F07E1DA123BF937A3575BC0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|publisher=New York Times|title=Uganda's Terror Crackdown Multiplies the Suffering|author=Marc Lacey|date=2002-08-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/africa_ugandan_rebels_come_home/html/6.stm|publisher=BBC News|title=In pictures: Ugandan rebels come home|quote=One of the differences on the LRA pips is a white bible inside a heart | accessdate=2010-01-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/08/03/wugand03.xml|publisher=The Telegraph|title= I killed so many I lost count, says boy, 11|date=2005-08-03|author=David Blair}}</ref>{{Dead link|date=March 2011}}<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/560b19de-d395-11dc-b861-0000779fd2ac.html|publisher=Financial Times|title=Africa’s Most Wanted|author=Matthew Green|date=2008-02-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article3449276.ece|publisher=The Times|title=The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa’s Most Wanted by Matthew Green|author=Christina Lamb|date=2008-03-02 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/18/international/africa/18uganda.html|title=Atrocity Victims in Uganda Choose to Forgive|publisher=New York Times|author=Marc Lacey|date=2005-04-18}}</ref>


===United States===
===United States===

Revision as of 16:01, 2 April 2011

Christian terrorism comprises terrorist acts by groups or individuals which claim Christian motivations or goals for their acts. As with other forms of religious terrorism, actors typically rely on idiosyncratic interpretations of the tenets of faith—in this case, primarily the Bible. Such groups may use the Old Testament scripture to justify violence or seek to bring about the "end times" described in the New Testament,[1], while others hope to bring about a Christian theocracy.[2][unreliable source?]

History

Peter Steinfels has cited the historical case of the Gunpowder Plot, when Guy Fawkes and other Catholic revolutionaries attempted to overthrow the Protestant establishment of England by blowing up the Houses of Parliament, as a notable case of religious terrorism.[3]

By country

India

The National Liberation Front of Tripura, a rebel group operating in Tripura, North-East India classified by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism as one of the ten most active terrorist groups in the world, has been accused of forcefully converting people to Christianity.[4][5] The state government reports that the Baptist Church of Tripura supplies arms and gives financial support to the NLFT.[4][5][6] The Church is also reported to encourage the NLFT to murder Hindus, particularly infants.[6] NLFT has also declared a ban against Hindus celebrating Durga Puja and other Hindu festivals.[7][dead link]

The insurgency in Nagaland was led by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) and continues today with its faction NSCN - Isaac Muivah which explicitly calls for a "Nagalim for Christ."[8]

In Assam, an extremest group named Manmasi National Christian Army (MNCA) with around 15 members from the Hmar ethnic group, have placed bloodstained crosses in Hindu temples and forced Hindus to convert at gunpoint.[9]

Northern Ireland

Some scholars, such as Steve Bruce, a sociology professor at the University of Aberdeen, argue that the conflict in Northern Ireland is primarily a religious conflict, its economic and social considerations notwithstanding.[10] Others, such as John Hickey, take a more guarded view.[11] Writing in The Guardian, Susan McKay discussed religious fundamentalism in connection with the murder of Martin O'Hagan, a former inmate of the Maze prison and a reporter on crime and the paramilitaries. She attributed the murder to a "range of reasons," including "the gangsters didn't like what he wrote". The alleged killers claimed that they killed him for "crimes against the loyalist people".[12]

The Orange Volunteers are a group infamous for carrying out simultaneous terrorist attacks on Catholic churches.[13]

Romania

Orthodox Christian movements in Romania, such as the Iron Guard and Lăncieri, which have been characterized by Yad Vashem and Stanley G. Payne as anti-semitic and fascist, respectively, were responsible for involvement in the Bucharest pogrom, and political murders during the 1930s.[14][15][16][17][18]

Uganda

The Lord's Resistance Army, a cult guerrilla army engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government, has been accused of using child soldiers and committing numerous crimes against humanity; including massacres, abductions, mutilation, torture, rape, porters and sex slaves.[19] A quasi-religious movement that mixes some aspects of Christian and Islamic beliefs with its own brand of spiritualism,[20] it is led by Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself the spokesperson of God and a spirit medium, primarily of the "Holy Spirit" which the Acholi believe can represent itself in many manifestations.[21][21][22][23] LRA fighters wear rosary beads and recite passages from the Bible before battle.[24][25][26][dead link][27][28][29]

United States

Ku Klux Klan with a burning cross
The End. Victoriously slaying Catholic influence in the U.S. Illustration by Rev. Branford Clarke from Klansmen: Guardians of Liberty 1926 by Bishop Alma White published by the Pillar of Fire Church in Zarephath, NJ.

Beginning after the Civil War, the Protestant-led, white supremacist Ku Klux Klan members in the Southern United States engaged in arson, beatings, cross burning, destruction of property, lynching, murder, rape, tar-and-feathering, and whipping against African Americans, Jews, Catholics and other social or ethnic minorities.[citation needed] The goals of the KKK included from an early time on, an intent to, "reestablish Protestant Christian values in America by any means possible," and believe that, "Jesus was the first Klansman."[30] Many modern Klan organizations, such as the Knights Party, USA, continue to focus on the Christian supremacist message, asserting that there is a "war" on to destroy "western Christian civilization." [31]

During the twentieth century, members of extremist groups such as the Army of God began executing attacks against abortion clinics and doctors across the United States.[32][33][34] A number of terrorist attacks were attributed to individuals and groups with ties to the Christian Identity and Christian Patriot movements; including the Lambs of Christ.[35] A group called Concerned Christians were deported from Israel on suspicion of planning to attack holy sites in Jerusalem at the end of 1999, believing that their deaths would "lead them to heaven."[36][37] The motive for anti-abortionist Scott Roeder murdering Wichita doctor George Tiller on May 31, 2009 was religious.[38]

Hutaree was a Christian militia group based in Adrian, Michigan. In 2010, after an FBI agent infiltrated the group, nine of its members were indicted by a federal grand jury in Detroit on charges of seditious conspiracy to use of improvised explosive devices, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence.[39]

Motivation, ideology and theology

Christian views on abortion have been cited by Christian individuals and groups that are responsible for threats, assault, murder, and bombings against abortion clinics and doctors across the United States and Canada.[citation needed]

Christian Identity is a loosely affiliated global group of churches and individuals devoted to a racialized theology that asserts North European whites are the direct descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, God's chosen people. It has been associated with groups such as the Aryan Nations, Aryan Republican Army, Army of God, Phineas Priesthood, and The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord. It has been cited as an influence in a number of terrorist attacks around the world, including the 2002 Soweto bombings.[40][41][42][43]

See also

References

  1. ^ B. Hoffman, "Inside Terrorism", Columbia University Press, 1999, p. 105–120.
  2. ^ Mark Juergensmeyer (2010-04-15). "The Return of Christian Terrorism". AlterNet. Retrieved 20011-02-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ Peter Steinfels (2005-11-05). "A Day to Think About a Case of Faith-Based Terrorism". New York Times.
  4. ^ a b "Constitution of National Liberation Front Of Tripura". South Asia Terrorism Portal.
  5. ^ a b "National Liberation Front of Tripura, India". South Asia Terrorism Portal.
  6. ^ a b Bhaumik, Subhir (April 18, 2000). "'Church backing Tripura rebels'". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-08-26.
  7. ^ Tripura Society's Website, Independent, and Authentic Information & Views About Tripura
  8. ^ http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/nagaland/terrorist_outfits/Nscn_im.htm
  9. ^ Christianity threat looms over Bhuvan Pahar Assam Times - June 23, 2009
  10. ^

    The Northern Ireland conflict is a religious conflict. Economic and social considerations are also crucial, but it was the fact that the competing populations in Ireland adhered and still adhere to competing religious traditions which has given the conflict its enduring and intractable quality.

    Steve Bruce (1986). God Save Ulster. Oxford University Press. p. 249. ISBN 0192852175.: 249  Reviewing the book, David Harkness of The English Historical Review agreed "Of course the Northern Ireland conflict is at heart religious". David Harkness (1989-10). "God Save Ulster: The Religion and Politics of Paisleyism by Steve Bruce (review)". The English Historical Review. 104 (413). Oxford University Press. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^

    Politics in the North is not politics exploiting religion. That is far too simple an explanation: it is one which trips readily off the tongue of commentators who are used to a cultural style in which the politically pragmatic is the normal way of conducting affairs and all other considerations are put to its use. In the case of Northern Ireland the relationship is much more complex. It is more a question of religion inspiring politics than of politics making use of religion. It is a situation more akin to the first half of seventeenth‑century England than to the last quarter of twentieth century Britain.John Hickey (1984). Religion and the Northern Ireland Problem. Gill and Macmillan. p. 67. ISBN 0717111156.

  12. ^ Susan McKay (2001-11-17). "Faith, hate and murder". London: The Guardian.
  13. ^ Claire Mitchell (2006). Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 51. ISBN 0754641554.
  14. ^ Paul Tinichigiu (2004-01). "Sami Fiul (interview)". The Central Europe Center for Research and Documentation. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Radu Ioanid (2004). "The Sacralised Politics of the Romanian Iron Guard". Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions. 5 (3): 419–453(35). doi:10.1080/1469076042000312203.
  16. ^ Leon Volovici. Nationalist Ideology and Antisemitism. p. 98. ISBN 0080410243. citing N. Cainic, Ortodoxie şi etnocraţie, pp. 162–4
  17. ^ "Roots of Romanian Antisemitism: The League of National Christian Defense and Iron Guard Antisemitism" (PDF). Background and precursors to the Holocaust. Yad Vashem – The Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority: p. 24. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  18. ^ Payne, Stanley G. (1995). A History of Fascism 1914–1945. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press (pp. 277–289) ISBN 0-299-14874-2
  19. ^ Xan Rice (2007-10-20). "Background: the Lord's Resistance Army". London: The Guardian.
  20. ^ Marc Lacey (2002-08-04). "Uganda's Terror Crackdown Multiplies the Suffering". New York Times.
  21. ^ a b Ruddy Doom and Koen Vlassenroot (1999). "Kony's message: A new Koine? The Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda". African Affairs. 98 (390). Oxford Journals / Royal African Society: 5–36.
  22. ^ "Ugandan rebels raid Sudanese villages". BBC News. 2002-04-08. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  23. ^ K. Ward (2001). "The Armies of the Lord: Christianity, Rebels and the State in Northern Uganda, 1986–1999". Journal of Religion in Africa. 31 (2).
  24. ^ Marc Lacey (2002-08-04). "Uganda's Terror Crackdown Multiplies the Suffering". New York Times.
  25. ^ "In pictures: Ugandan rebels come home". BBC News. Retrieved 2010-01-02. One of the differences on the LRA pips is a white bible inside a heart
  26. ^ David Blair (2005-08-03). "I killed so many I lost count, says boy, 11". The Telegraph.
  27. ^ Matthew Green (2008-02-08). "Africa's Most Wanted". Financial Times.
  28. ^ Christina Lamb (2008-03-02). "The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa's Most Wanted by Matthew Green". London: The Times.
  29. ^ Marc Lacey (2005-04-18). "Atrocity Victims in Uganda Choose to Forgive". New York Times.
  30. ^ Michael, Robert, and Philip Rosen. Dictionary of antisemitism from the earliest times to the present. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Scarecrow Press, 1997 p. 267.
  31. ^ Robb, Thomas. [1] "The Knights Party, USA." Accessed March 22, 2011
  32. ^ Frederick Clarkson (2002-12-02). "Kopp Lays Groundwork to Justify Murdering Abortion Provider Slepian". National Organization for Women.
  33. ^ Laurie Goodstein and Pierre Thomas (1995-01-17). "Clinic Killings Follow Years of Antiabortion Violence". Washington Post.
  34. ^ "'Army Of God' Anthrax Threats". CBS News. 2001-11-09.
  35. ^ Bruce Hoffman (1998). Inside Terrorism. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231114680.
  36. ^ "Apocalyptic Christians detained in Israel for alleged violence plot". CNN. 1999-01-03. [dead link]
  37. ^ "Cult members deported from Israel". BBC News. 1999-01-09. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  38. ^ "George Tiller's killer has no regrets, doesn't ask for forgiveness". Houston Belief. 1999-02-09. Retrieved 2010-02-28.
  39. ^ "US 'Christian militants' charged after FBI raids " BBC, March 30, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  40. ^ Mark S. Hamm (2001). In Bad Company: America's Terrorist Underground. Northeastern. ISBN 1555534929.
  41. ^ James Alfred Aho (1995). The Politics of Righteousness: Idaho Christian Patriotism. University of Washington Press. p. 86. ISBN 029597494X.
  42. ^ Alan Cooperman (2003-06-02). "Is Terrorism Tied To Christian Sect?". Washington Post.
  43. ^ Martin Schönteich and Henri Boshoff (2003). 'Volk' Faith and Fatherland: The Security Threat Posed by the White Right. Pretoria, South Africa, Institute for Security Studies. ISBN 1919913300.

Bibliography

  • Mason, Carol. 2002. Killing for Life: The Apocalyptic Narrative of Pro-Life Politics. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
  • Zeskind, Leonard. 1987. The ‘Christian Identity’ Movement, [booklet]. Atlanta, Georgia: Center for Democratic Renewal/Division of Church and Society, National Council of Churches.
  • Al-Khattar, Aref M. Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective. Greenwood. January 2003. ISBN 978-0275969233