Extremism

• B-What all religious extremism have in common is that they all believe and have strong personal conviction that what they are doing is right. Under article 19 of the Human Rights Act, individuals are free to have extreme views and it would be difficult to stop people believing something. It only becomes a crime when they act on it.

  E.g This is has been seen in cases such as 9/11 and the work of other terrorists groups. When extremism becomes violent it may be referred to as terrorism.
• Terrorism is defined as:

  • Mass intimidation- Trying to make lots of people scared to go about their normal lives
  • Unlawful violence or the threat of violence against the public or a group of people
  • Violence intented to change law, culture or political system or to enforce a view on someone.
• Some scholars have argued that not all extremism is negative extremism. The term itself just refers to having a strong belief in or acting upon ideas that go against the 'norm'. For example, some have suggested that prominent and well-respected figures like Martin Luther King could be seen as extreme in that he had an unwavering commitment in the belief in the fact that all people were equal and deserved the same rights.
• Extremism can be seen in many other groups outside of religion such as:

  • Anti-Abortion groups
  • Animal rights activists
  • Political groups and activities
  • Human Rights campaigners
  • Extreme Feminist groups
• Martin Luther King: "I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, but I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love"
• Examples:

  Humanist Richard Dawkins: "Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense... where's the harm? September 11th changed that"-9/11 attack

  
  

  Hitler is seen as an extremist due to the holocaust and killing millions of innocent Jews due to his strong extreme beliefs (anti-semitism)