Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN What is Terrorism? h These days, there is much talk of terrorism. Across the globe, people are writing and talking about it. But, as far I know, no clear definition of the term has emerged as yet. People condemn terrorism but, still, they are not able to clearly define what it is. I have tried to understand this question in the light of Islamic teachings. Based on my study and analysis, I define terrorism as armed struggle by non-governmental actors. According to Islamic teachings, any person or party has the right to launch a peaceful movement for national or political purposes. They retain this right as long as they do not, directly or indirectly, engage in aggression. In Islam, only a duly established government has the right to use arms or to engage in military action, if there is a genuine need for it. Non-governmental organisations do not have the right to take up arms under any pretext. I have written about this Islamic ruling in detail in several of my books. According to internationally accepted principles, established governments have the right to punish criminals and to engage in defense against attackers. This is an Islamic principle, too. In the light of this principle, one could define terrorism as stated above as armed action engaged in by a non-governmental organisation. No matter what pretext for resorting to violence a non-governmental organisation may employ, its violent actions are, under all circumstances, unacceptable. If a non-governmental organisation feels that there is injustice in a certain country or that human rights are being violated, it has the right only to make efforts to address the situation by using peaceful means. Under no circumstances and under no pretext is it permissible for it to adopt violent methods. Suppose an individual or a non-governmental organisation were to argue, ‘We want to work peacefully, but our opponents