Christian extremist terrorism
Encyclopedia
Christian terrorism comprises terrorist acts by groups or individuals who claim Christian
motivations or goals for their actions. As with other forms of religious terrorism
, Christian terrorists have relied on idiosyncratic or literal interpretations of the tenets of faith
– in this case, the Bible
. Such groups have used Old Testament
and New Testament
scriptures to justify violence and killing or to seek to bring about the "end times
" described in the New Testament, while others have hoped to bring about a Christian theocracy
.
in Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation
and the introduction of Protestant
state churches. The Gunpowder Plot
was a failed attempt to blow up the Palace of Westminster
, the English
seat of government. Peter Steinfels
characterizes this plot as a notable case of religious terrorism.
has also argued that some acts of terrorism were "religious terrorism... – in these cases, Christianity". Others, such as John Hickey, take a more guarded view. 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".
The Orange Volunteers
are a group infamous for carrying out simultaneous terrorist attacks on Catholic churches.
Self-styled pastors Clifford Peeples
, previously convicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, John Somerville, and their associates, were dubbed by RUC chief constable, Ronnie Flanagan
"the demon pastors" – specialising in recounting lurid stories of Catholic savagery towards Protestants, and in finding biblical justifications for Protestant retaliation.
(NLFT), a rebel group operating in Tripura
, North-East India
, has been described as engaging in terrorist violence motivated by their Christian beliefs. It is classified by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism
as one of the ten most active terrorist groups in the world, and has been accused of forcefully converting people to Christianity. The insurgency in Nagaland
was originally led by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland
(NSCN), and it is continued today by a faction named "NSCN–Isaac Muivah", which explicitly calls for a "Nagalim for Christ". The state government reports that the Baptist
Church of Tripura supplies arms and gives financial support to the NLFT. In April 2000, the secretary of the Noapara Baptist Church in Tripura, Nagmanlal Halam, was arrested with a large quantity of explosives. He confessed to illegally buying and supplying explosives to the NLFT for two years. The NLFT has threatened to kill Hindus celebrating the annual five-day religious festival of Durga Puja
and other religious celebrations. At least 20 Hindus in Tripura have been killed by the NLFT in two years for resisting forced conversion to Christianity. A leader of the Jamatia tribe, Rampada Jamatia, said that armed NLFT militants were forcibly converting tribal villagers to Christianity, which he said was a serious threat to Hinduism. It is believed that up to 5,000 tribal villagers were converted to Christianity by the NLFT in two years.
In August 2000, a tribal Hindu spiritual leader, Shanti Tripura, was shot dead by about ten guerrillas belonging to the NLFT who said it wanted to convert all people in the state to Christianity. In December 2000, Labh Kumar Jamatia, a religious leader of the state's second largest Hindu group, was kidnapped by the NLFT, and found dead in a forest in Dalak village in southern Tripura. According to police, rebels from the NLFT wanted Jamatia to convert to Christianity, but he refused. A local Marxist
tribal leader, Kishore Debbarma, was clubbed to death in Tripura's Sadar (north) by militants belonging to the Biswamohan faction of the NLFT in May 2005. He was dragged away at gunpoint by a group of NLFT militants. His body was found with multiple head injuries in a roadside ditch in the Katabon area.
In Assam
, the Manmasi National Christian Army (MNCA), an extremist group from the Hmar
tribe, were charged with forcing Hindus to convert at gunpoint. Seven or more Hmar youths were charged with visiting Bhuvan Pahar, a Hindu village, armed with guns, and pressuring residents to convert to Christianity. They also desecrated temples by painting crosses on the walls with their blood. The Sonai police, along with the 5th Assam Rifles
, arrested 13 members of the MNCA, including their commander-in-chief. Guns and ammunition were seized.
John Joseph, the Christian representative of the National Minority Commission, stated in 2000 that foreign funds used for Christian terrorism in the northeast are routed through Christians in Kerala
.
, accused Radhakant Nayak
, chief of a local chapter of World Vision
, and a former Rajya Sabha
member from Orissa
in the Indian National Congress
party, of plotting to assassinate him. The Swami also said that World Vision was covertly pumping money into India for religious conversion during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and criticized the activities of Christian missionaries as going against tribal beliefs. In 2008, he was gunned down along with four disciples on the Hindu festive day of Krishna Janmashtami by a group of 30–40 armed men. Later, Maoist terrorist leader Sabyasachi Panda admitted responsibility for the assassination, saying that the Maoists had intervened in the religious dispute on behalf of Christians and Dalits. The non-governmental organization
Justice on Trial
disputed that there had been Maoist involvement, and quoted the Swami as claiming that Christian missionaries had earlier attacked him eight times.
was arrested and charged with terrorism after a car bombing in Oslo
and a mass shooting on Utøya
island. Subsequent news reports have noted Breivik's self-description as a "Christian crusader" who believed that Muslim immigrants were undermining Norway's traditional Christian values. However, some of his writings indicate that he values Christianity primarily as a foundation of European cultural identity, as he himself is not "a very religious person" and sees religion as a "crutch". Analyses of his motivations have recognized a complex interplay of Christian terrorist inclinations with non-religious, right-wing beliefs. Some commentators have stated that the events were unambiguously Christian terrorism, whereas others have rejected the Christian terrorist label.
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.
, 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, and forced child labour as soldiers, porters, and sex slaves. A quasi-religious movement that mixes some aspects of Christian and Islamic beliefs with its own brand of spiritualism, 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. LRA fighters wear rosary beads and recite passages from the Bible before battle.
Beginning after the Civil War, members of the Protestant-led, Ku Klux Klan
organization began engaging in arson
, beatings, cross burning
, destruction of property, lynching
, murder
, rape
, tar-and-feathering, and whipping against African American
s, Jews, Catholics, and other social or ethnic minorities.
They were explicitly Christian terrorist in ideology, basing their beliefs on a "religious foundation" in Christianity. 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." Their cross-burnings were conducted not only to intimidate targets, but to demonstrate their respect and reverence for Jesus Christ, and the lighting ritual was steeped in Christian symbolism, including the saying of prayers and singing of Christian hymns. 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."
During the twentieth century, members of extremist groups such as the Army of God began executing attacks against abortion clinic
s and doctor
s across the United States. 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
. 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." The motive for anti-abortionist Scott Roeder murdering Wichita doctor George Tiller
on May 31, 2009 was a belief that abortion is criminal and immoral, and that this belief went "hand in hand" with his religious beliefs. The Centennial Olympic Park bombing
in 1996, as well as subsequent attacks on an abortion clinic and a lesbian nightclub, were made by Eric Robert Rudolph
; Michael Barkun
, a professor at Syracuse University, considers Rudolph to likely fit the definition of a Christian terrorist, whereas James A. Aho, a professor at Idaho State University, argues instead that Rudolph was inspired only in part by religious considerations.
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 device
s, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. Terrorism scholar Aref M. Al-Khattar has listed The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
, Defensive Action, The Freemen Community
, and some "Christian militia" as groups that "can be placed under the category of far-right-wing terrorism" that "has a religious (Christian) component".
In a 2005 Congressional hearing about radicalization in U.S. prisons, Sheila Jackson Lee
stated that investigators needed to analyze Christian militants in America because they might try to "bring down the country."
have been cited by Christian individuals and groups that are responsible for threats, assault, murder, and bombings against abortion clinic
s and doctors across the United States and Canada.
Christian Identity
is a loosely affiliated global group of churches and individuals devoted to a racialized theology that asserts that 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
.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
motivations or goals for their actions. As with other forms of religious terrorism
Religious terrorism
Religious terrorism is terrorism by those whose motivations and aims have a predominant religious character or influence.In the modern age, after the decline of ideas such as the divine right of kings and with the rise of nationalism, terrorism more often involved anarchism, nihilism and...
, Christian terrorists have relied on idiosyncratic or literal interpretations of the tenets of faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
– in this case, the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. Such groups have used Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
scriptures to justify violence and killing or to seek to bring about the "end times
End times
The end time, end times, or end of days is a time period described in the eschatological writings in the three Abrahamic religions and in doomsday scenarios in various other non-Abrahamic religions...
" described in the New Testament, while others have hoped to bring about a Christian theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
.
Great Britain
The early modern periodEarly Modern Britain
Early modern Britain is the history of the island of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the...
in Britain saw religious conflict resulting from the Reformation
Reformation
- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
and the introduction of Protestant
Protestantism in the United Kingdom
Protestantism is the most popular religion practiced in the United Kingdom today. It has also played a huge role in the shaping of political and religious life in these nations...
state churches. The Gunpowder Plot
Gunpowder Plot
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I of England and VI of Scotland by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby.The plan was to blow up the House of...
was a failed attempt to blow up the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, the English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
seat of government. Peter Steinfels
Peter Steinfels
Peter F. Steinfels is an American journalist and educator best known for his writings on religious topics.A native of Chicago, Illinois, and a lifelong Roman Catholic, Steinfels earned his Ph.D from Columbia University and joined the staff of the journal Commonweal in 1964...
characterizes this plot as a notable case of religious terrorism.
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. Professor Mark JuergensmeyerMark Juergensmeyer
thumb | right | 150px | Mark Juergensmeyer Mark Juergensmeyer is an American scholar and writer best known for his studies of religious violence and...
has also argued that some acts of terrorism were "religious terrorism... – in these cases, Christianity". Others, such as John Hickey, take a more guarded view. Writing in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Susan McKay discussed religious fundamentalism in connection with the murder of Martin O'Hagan
Martin O'Hagan
Owen Martin O'Hagan, was an Irish investigative journalist from Lurgan, Northern Ireland. He was the most prominent journalist to be killed as a consequence of the Troubles and the only one to be specifically assassinated as a result of his work.-Life:Martin O'Hagan's father served in the British...
, a former inmate of the Maze prison
Maze (HM Prison)
Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....
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".
The Orange Volunteers
Orange Volunteers
The Orange Volunteers or Orange Volunteer Force is an Ulster loyalist and Protestant fundamentalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland.-Origins:...
are a group infamous for carrying out simultaneous terrorist attacks on Catholic churches.
Self-styled pastors Clifford Peeples
Clifford Peeples
Clifford Peeples is a Northern Irish pastor who has been associated with Ulster loyalist activity...
, previously convicted under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, John Somerville, and their associates, were dubbed by RUC chief constable, Ronnie Flanagan
Ronnie Flanagan
Sir Ronald Flanagan, GBE, QPM, was the Home Office Chief Inspector of Constabulary for the United Kingdom excluding Scotland...
"the demon pastors" – specialising in recounting lurid stories of Catholic savagery towards Protestants, and in finding biblical justifications for Protestant retaliation.
Tripura and Assam
The National Liberation Front of TripuraNational Liberation Front of Tripura
The National Liberation Front of Tripura is a Tripuri nationalist militant organization based in Tripura, India.The NLFT seeks to secede from India and establish an independent Tripuri state, and has actively participated in the Tripura Rebellion...
(NLFT), a rebel group operating in Tripura
Tripura
Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are...
, North-East India
North-East India
Northeast India refers to the easternmost region of India consisting of the contiguous Seven Sister States, Sikkim, and parts of North Bengal...
, has been described as engaging in terrorist violence motivated by their Christian beliefs. It is classified by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism
National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism
The National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism is a United States-based non-profit training and professional development center dedicated to improving the skills of police officers.-Role and focus:...
as one of the ten most active terrorist groups in the world, and has been accused of forcefully converting people to Christianity. The insurgency in Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
was originally led by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland
National Socialist Council of Nagaland
The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland is a Naga nationalist militant group operating in Northeast India. Its aim is to establish a Christian socialist state based on Maoism in the areas inhabited by the Naga people in Northeast India and Burma.-Formation:The National Socialist Council of...
(NSCN), and it is continued today by a faction named "NSCN–Isaac Muivah", which explicitly calls for a "Nagalim for Christ". The state government reports that the Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
Church of Tripura supplies arms and gives financial support to the NLFT. In April 2000, the secretary of the Noapara Baptist Church in Tripura, Nagmanlal Halam, was arrested with a large quantity of explosives. He confessed to illegally buying and supplying explosives to the NLFT for two years. The NLFT has threatened to kill Hindus celebrating the annual five-day religious festival of Durga Puja
Durga Puja
Durga puja ; দুর্গা পূজা,ଦୁର୍ଗା ପୂଜା,‘Worship of Durga’), also referred to as Durgotsava ; , is an annual Hindu festival in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu goddess Durga. It refers to all the six days observed as Mahalaya, Shashthi, Maha Saptami, Maha Ashtami, Maha Navami and...
and other religious celebrations. At least 20 Hindus in Tripura have been killed by the NLFT in two years for resisting forced conversion to Christianity. A leader of the Jamatia tribe, Rampada Jamatia, said that armed NLFT militants were forcibly converting tribal villagers to Christianity, which he said was a serious threat to Hinduism. It is believed that up to 5,000 tribal villagers were converted to Christianity by the NLFT in two years.
In August 2000, a tribal Hindu spiritual leader, Shanti Tripura, was shot dead by about ten guerrillas belonging to the NLFT who said it wanted to convert all people in the state to Christianity. In December 2000, Labh Kumar Jamatia, a religious leader of the state's second largest Hindu group, was kidnapped by the NLFT, and found dead in a forest in Dalak village in southern Tripura. According to police, rebels from the NLFT wanted Jamatia to convert to Christianity, but he refused. A local Marxist
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
tribal leader, Kishore Debbarma, was clubbed to death in Tripura's Sadar (north) by militants belonging to the Biswamohan faction of the NLFT in May 2005. He was dragged away at gunpoint by a group of NLFT militants. His body was found with multiple head injuries in a roadside ditch in the Katabon area.
In Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, the Manmasi National Christian Army (MNCA), an extremist group from the Hmar
Hmar
Hmar is the name of one of the numerous mizo/kuki/chin tribes of India, spread over a large area in the northeast. The Hmars belong to the Chin-Kuki-Mizo group of tribes, and are recognised as Scheduled Tribe under the 6th Schedule of the Constitution of India. Literally, Hmar means North or...
tribe, were charged with forcing Hindus to convert at gunpoint. Seven or more Hmar youths were charged with visiting Bhuvan Pahar, a Hindu village, armed with guns, and pressuring residents to convert to Christianity. They also desecrated temples by painting crosses on the walls with their blood. The Sonai police, along with the 5th Assam Rifles
Assam Rifles
The Assam Rifles are one of the Paramilitary forces of India. The unit can trace its lineage back to a paramilitary police force that was formed under the British in 1835 called Cachar Levy. Since then the Assam Rifles have undergone a number of name changes before the name Assam Rifles was finally...
, arrested 13 members of the MNCA, including their commander-in-chief. Guns and ammunition were seized.
John Joseph, the Christian representative of the National Minority Commission, stated in 2000 that foreign funds used for Christian terrorism in the northeast are routed through Christians in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
.
Orissa
In 2007 a tribal spiritual Hindu monk, Swami Lakshmanananda SaraswatiSwami Lakshmanananda
Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati was a Hindu monk and a highly revered spiritual leader who lived a life dedicated to tribal welfare. The Swami was a native of Gurujanga village in Talcher and a tribal himself. Over four decades ago, he left his wife and one year old son to become monk, and moved to...
, accused Radhakant Nayak
Radhakant Nayak
Radhakant Nayak is an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress party. He is a Member of the Parliament of India representing Orissa in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament. Radhakant Nayak, a 1962 batch IAS officer...
, chief of a local chapter of World Vision
World Vision International
World Vision International, founded in the USA in 1977, is an evangelical relief and development umbrella organization whose stated goal is "to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good...
, and a former Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
member from Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
in the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
party, of plotting to assassinate him. The Swami also said that World Vision was covertly pumping money into India for religious conversion during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, and criticized the activities of Christian missionaries as going against tribal beliefs. In 2008, he was gunned down along with four disciples on the Hindu festive day of Krishna Janmashtami by a group of 30–40 armed men. Later, Maoist terrorist leader Sabyasachi Panda admitted responsibility for the assassination, saying that the Maoists had intervened in the religious dispute on behalf of Christians and Dalits. The non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
Justice on Trial
Justice On Trial (NGO)
Justice On Trial is a Gujarat based non governmental organization that aims to promote unity and integrity of the nation through exposure of injustice prevailing in various areas of India, with the goal of suggesting ways to eradicate them...
disputed that there had been Maoist involvement, and quoted the Swami as claiming that Christian missionaries had earlier attacked him eight times.
Norway
In July 2011, Anders Behring BreivikAnders Behring Breivik
Anders Behring Breivik is a Norwegian terrorist, paranoid schizophrenic and the confessed perpetrator of the Norway attacks on 22 July 2011: the bombing of government buildings in Oslo that resulted in eight deaths, and the mass shooting at a camp of the Workers' Youth League of the Labour Party...
was arrested and charged with terrorism after a car bombing in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and a mass shooting on Utøya
Utøya
Utøya is a small island in the Tyrifjorden lake in Hole municipality, in the county of Buskerud, Norway. The island is , situated off the shore, by the E16 road, driving distance north-west of Oslo city centre.-Overview:...
island. Subsequent news reports have noted Breivik's self-description as a "Christian crusader" who believed that Muslim immigrants were undermining Norway's traditional Christian values. However, some of his writings indicate that he values Christianity primarily as a foundation of European cultural identity, as he himself is not "a very religious person" and sees religion as a "crutch". Analyses of his motivations have recognized a complex interplay of Christian terrorist inclinations with non-religious, right-wing beliefs. Some commentators have stated that the events were unambiguously Christian terrorism, whereas others have rejected the Christian terrorist label.
Romania
Orthodox ChristianRomanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It is in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox churches, and is ranked seventh in order of precedence. The Primate of the church has the title of Patriarch...
movements in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, such as the Iron Guard
Iron Guard
The Iron Guard is the name most commonly given to a far-right movement and political party in Romania in the period from 1927 into the early part of World War II. The Iron Guard was ultra-nationalist, fascist, anti-communist, and promoted the Orthodox Christian faith...
and Lăncieri
Lancieri
The Lăncieri or 'Lance-bearers' were a Romanian fascist paramilitary movement who adopted a blue shirted uniform and contributed to the country's political street battles in the 1920s and 1930s....
, which have been characterized by Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem is Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953 through the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament....
and Stanley G. Payne
Stanley G. Payne
Stanley George Payne is a historian of modern Spain and European Fascism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He retired from full time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Department of History. Payne is one of the most famous modern theorists of fascism...
as anti-semitic and fascist, respectively, were responsible for involvement in the Bucharest pogrom
Legionnaires' Rebellion and Bucharest Pogrom
The Legionnaires' rebellion and the Bucharest pogrom occurred in Bucharest, Romania, between 21 and 23 January 1941.As the privileges of the Iron Guard were being cut off by Conducător Ion Antonescu, members of the Iron Guard, also known as the Legionnaires, revolted...
, and political murders during the 1930s.
Uganda
The Lord's Resistance ArmyLord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is an ongoing guerrilla campaign waged since 1987 by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group, operating mainly in northern Uganda, but also in South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo...
, a cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
guerrilla army engaged in an armed rebellion against the Ugandan government
Politics of Uganda
Uganda is a presidential republic, in which the President of Uganda is both head of state and head of government; there is a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly...
, has been accused of using child soldiers and committing numerous crimes against humanity; including massacres, abductions, mutilation, torture, rape, and forced child labour as soldiers, porters, and sex slaves. A quasi-religious movement that mixes some aspects of Christian and Islamic beliefs with its own brand of spiritualism, it is led by Joseph Kony
Joseph Kony
Joseph Kony is an African terrorist who is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army , a guerrilla group that is engaged in a violent campaign to establish theocratic government based on the Ten Commandments in Uganda...
, 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. LRA fighters wear rosary beads and recite passages from the Bible before battle.
United States
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
organization began engaging in arson
Arson
Arson is the crime of intentionally or maliciously setting fire to structures or wildland areas. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires...
, beatings, cross burning
Cross burning
Cross burning or cross lighting is a practice widely associated with the Ku Klux Klan, although the historical practice long predates the Klan's inception...
, destruction of property, lynching
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, tar-and-feathering, and whipping against African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s, Jews, Catholics, and other social or ethnic minorities.
They were explicitly Christian terrorist in ideology, basing their beliefs on a "religious foundation" in Christianity. 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." Their cross-burnings were conducted not only to intimidate targets, but to demonstrate their respect and reverence for Jesus Christ, and the lighting ritual was steeped in Christian symbolism, including the saying of prayers and singing of Christian hymns. 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."
During the twentieth century, members of extremist groups such as the Army of God began executing attacks against abortion clinic
Abortion clinic
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.-Canada:*There were 197 abortion providers in Canada in 2001....
s and doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s across the United States. A number of terrorist attacks were attributed to individuals and groups with ties to the Christian Identity
Christian Identity
Christian Identity is a label applied to a wide variety of loosely affiliated believers and churches with a racialized theology. Many promote a Eurocentric interpretation of Christianity.According to Chester L...
and Christian Patriot movements, including the Lambs of Christ
The Lambs of Christ
The Lambs of Christ, also known as Victim Souls of the Unborn Christ-Child, is a Christian integrist pro-life organization in the United States. It was founded in 1988 by the Rev. Norman Weslin, a Roman Catholic priest and retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel...
. A group called Concerned Christians
Concerned Christians
Monte Kim Miller formed a group known as the Concerned Christians in Colorado, during the 1980s. Created as an element of the Christian countercult movement to combat New Age religious movements and anti-Christian sentiment, it has shifted to more of a apocalyptic Christian movement as the group...
were deported from Israel on suspicion of planning to attack holy sites in Jerusalem at the end of 1999, believing that their deaths
Suicide by cop
Suicide by cop is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately acts in a threatening way, with the goal of provoking a lethal response from a law enforcement officer or other armed individual, such as being shot to death....
would "lead them to heaven." The motive for anti-abortionist Scott Roeder murdering Wichita doctor George Tiller
George Tiller
George Richard Tiller, MD was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He was the medical director of a clinic in Wichita, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three nationwide which provided abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy .Pro-life group Operation Rescue kept a daily vigil...
on May 31, 2009 was a belief that abortion is criminal and immoral, and that this belief went "hand in hand" with his religious beliefs. The Centennial Olympic Park bombing
Centennial Olympic Park bombing
The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a terrorist bombing on July 27, 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States during the 1996 Summer Olympics, the first of four committed by Eric Robert Rudolph...
in 1996, as well as subsequent attacks on an abortion clinic and a lesbian nightclub, were made by Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph
Eric Robert Rudolph , also known as the Olympic Park Bomber, is a criminal responsible for a series of bombings across the southern United States between 1996 and 1998, which killed two people and injured at least 150 others in the name of an anti-abortion and anti-gay agenda...
; Michael Barkun
Michael Barkun
Michael Barkun is professor emeritus of political science at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, specializing in political extremism and the relationship between religion and violence...
, a professor at Syracuse University, considers Rudolph to likely fit the definition of a Christian terrorist, whereas James A. Aho, a professor at Idaho State University, argues instead that Rudolph was inspired only in part by religious considerations.
Hutaree
Hutaree
Hutaree is a militia movement group adhering to the ideology of the Christian Patriot movement, based in Adrian, Michigan, in the United States.The group was formed in early 2008...
was a Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
militia group based in Adrian
Adrian, Michigan
As of the 2010 census Adrian had a population of 21,133. The racial and ethnic makeup of the population was 84.1% white, 4.4% black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 5.9% from some other race and 4.0% from two or more races...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. 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
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
to use of improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
s, teaching the use of explosive materials, and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. Terrorism scholar Aref M. Al-Khattar has listed The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord was a radical Christian Identity organization formed in 1971 in the small community of Elijah in southern Missouri, United States.- Leadership :...
, Defensive Action, The Freemen Community
Montana Freemen
The Montana Freemen were a Christian Patriot movement based outside the town of Jordan, Montana. The members of the group referred to their land as "Justus Township" and had declared themselves no longer under the authority of any outside government...
, and some "Christian militia" as groups that "can be placed under the category of far-right-wing terrorism" that "has a religious (Christian) component".
In a 2005 Congressional hearing about radicalization in U.S. prisons, Sheila Jackson Lee
Sheila Jackson Lee
Sheila Jackson Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1995. The district includes most of inner-city Houston. She is a member of the Democratic Party.-Early life and education:...
stated that investigators needed to analyze Christian militants in America because they might try to "bring down the country."
Motivation, ideology, and theology
Christian views on abortionChristianity and abortion
The intersection of Christianity and abortion has a long and complex history though there is no mention of abortion in the Christian Bible. While some writers say that early Christians held different beliefs at different times about abortion, others say that, in spite of the silence of the New...
have been cited by Christian individuals and groups that are responsible for threats, assault, murder, and bombings against abortion clinic
Abortion clinic
An abortion clinic is a medical facility that primarily performs or specializes in abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers or private medical practices.-Canada:*There were 197 abortion providers in Canada in 2001....
s and doctors across the United States and Canada.
Christian Identity
Christian Identity
Christian Identity is a label applied to a wide variety of loosely affiliated believers and churches with a racialized theology. Many promote a Eurocentric interpretation of Christianity.According to Chester L...
is a loosely affiliated global group of churches and individuals devoted to a racialized theology that asserts that North European whites are the direct descendants of the lost tribes of Israel
Ten Lost Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to those tribes of ancient Israel that formed the Kingdom of Israel and which disappeared from Biblical and all other historical accounts after the kingdom was destroyed in about 720 BC by ancient Assyria...
, God's chosen people
Jews as a chosen people
In Judaism, "chosenness" is the belief that the Jews are the Chosen People, chosen to be in a covenant with God. This idea is first found in the Torah and is elaborated on in later books of the Hebrew Bible...
. It has been associated with groups such as the Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations is a white supremacist religious organization originally based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. Richard Girnt Butler founded the group in the 1970s, as an arm of the Christian Identity organization Church of Jesus Christ–Christian...
, Aryan Republican Army, Army of God, Phineas Priesthood
Phineas Priesthood
The Phineas Priesthood or Phineas Priests is a Christian Identity movement that opposes interracial intercourse, the mixing of races, homosexuality, and abortion. It is also marked by its anti-Semitism, anti-multiculturalism, and opposition to taxation...
, and The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord
The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord was a radical Christian Identity organization formed in 1971 in the small community of Elijah in southern Missouri, United States.- Leadership :...
. It has been cited as an influence in a number of terrorist attacks around the world, including the 2002 Soweto bombings
2002 Soweto bombings
The 2002 Soweto Bombings were a string of terrorist attacks that occurred in Soweto in South Africa's Gauteng province. Eight blasts took place on 30 October 2002, leaving one woman dead and her husband severely injured. One of the blasts severely damaged a mosque, while others targeted railways...
.
See also
- ChristianismChristianismChristianism had various definitions over the years. It was originally defined as "the Christian religion" or "the Christian world". In recent years, Christianism has also been used as a descriptive term of Christian fundamentalists, mostly in the United States, for the ideology of the Christian...
- Christianity and violenceChristianity and violenceThe relationship of Christianity and violence is the subject of controversy because some of its core teachings advocate peace, love and compassion while other teachings have been used to justify the use of violence. Peace, compassion and forgiveness of wrongs done by others are key elements of...
- Hate groups
- Islamic terrorism
- Religious warReligious warA religious war; Latin: bellum sacrum; is a war caused by, or justified by, religious differences. It can involve one state with an established religion against another state with a different religion or a different sect within the same religion, or a religiously motivated group attempting to...
- Sikh extremismSikh extremismSikh extremism refers to threats or acts of violence against civilians, or material support for the acts of violence.Some extremists have been separatists pursuing the formation of a Sikh state, often referred to as Khalistan....
Further reading
- Robert Spencer (author) Religion of Peace?: Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't, Regnery Publishing, 2007, ISBN 1-59698-515-1
- Rodney StarkRodney StarkRodney Stark is an American sociologist of religion. He grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota in a Lutheran family. He spent time in the U.S. Army and worked as a journalist before pursuing graduate studies at The University of California, Berkeley...
God’s Battalions: The Case for the Crusades, HarperOne, 2010,