Protest and Terrorism

• What is a protest?

  Expressing disapproval - often in a public group
• In the UK , the right to protest is a democratic freedom , but it is illegal to protest violently
• What is Terrorism?

  The unlawful us of violence - usually against innocent civilians to achieve a political goal
• Terrorism is a much more serious form of violent protest
• Christians and Hindus are against violent protest and terrorism
• Protests allow people to express their objection to something in public
• Many Hindus and Christians believe that protesting to achieve what is right is acceptable - as long as violence is not used
• Give an Example of a protest organised by a Christian religious leader?

  In the 1950s and 1960s , Christian Pastor Dr Martin Luther King Jr organised peaceful protests against unjust racist laws in the USA - The protests changed the US law and provided civil rights to all citizens of any race
• Some individuals or groups use terrorism to further their cause by killing innocent people
• Some examples of terrorism are - suicide bombers , gunmen shooting into crowds , using vehicles to injure pedestrians
• Terrorists make society aware of their cause and push authorities to give in to their demands
• No religion promotes terrorism - some terrorists still link their cause with religion
• Under Indian law, terrorists can receive the death penalty
• Why does Hindu writer and broadcaster Akhandadhi agree with capital punishment for terrorists?


  Hindu thinking is that terrorists deserve to be protected from committing further aggression
• Why was Gandhi against the death penalty?

  He believed that God alone should take a life - Many Hindus would agree with this view
• "The purpose of terrorism lies not just in the violent act itself . It is in producing terror" - Tony Blair