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In What Ways, If Any, Have Terrorists Exploited Religion, the Media and Democratic Processes to Pursue Their Goals?

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In What Ways, If Any, Have Terrorists Exploited Religion, the Media and Democratic Processes to Pursue Their Goals?
TOPIC: In what ways, if any, have terrorists exploited religion, the media and democratic processes to pursue their goals?

The events of September 11 brought the issue of terrorism to the forefront of world affairs through global mass media. The media linked the terrorists to the religion of Islam. Due to international human rights, democratic governments are finding it difficult to combat terrorism. In this essay I will critically discuss how terrorists group has exploited the media, the religion of Islam and democracy to pursue their goals.

Media
Terrorism is the use of violence against innocent 's victim to bring about political change through fear. It is a combination of indoctrination and drama. With the aid of the present day media, acts of terrorism are now becoming designed to grasp the attention of the entire world and thrust the terrorist organisation 's message into the spotlight for the whole world to examine (Weimann and Winn 1994).

The relationship between terrorism and the media is symbiotic. As terrorists require widespread attention, the media needs news (Miller 1982). Terrorism in effect is a form of advertisement of the terrorist 's goals and what they want accomplished.

In 1980 the New York Times, printed a total of 916 articles on terrorist events. This means that terrorists were getting their message out nearly three times a day to the American public (Miller 1982).

Terrorists have usually used the media for four main reasons. The first reason is to have their message heard and to strike fear into their target group. The second is to win over the public 's support for their cause, by highlighting themes like, the righteousness of their cause, and the assuredness of their victory. Third they use media to disrupt government and security responses. By suggesting that they are overreacting and their efforts are counterproductive. Finally, the fourth is to raise the moral of their current members, raise recruitment, and



Bibliography: Alali, O, A. 1991 Media Coverage of Terrorism. Newbury Park: Sage Publications. Alexander, Y, and Latter, R. 1990 Terrorism & the Media. New York: Brassey 's (US), Inc. Becker, G. 2004 The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us From Violence Dell Pub Co, New York, U.S.A Bunch, C. 2003 Centre for Women’s Global Leadership, “Terrorism and War”. Fischer, N. 2003 “Reasons to be paranoid: The campaign to enlarge the powers of ASIO”, Overland Heymann 2005 Terrorism and America Hook, B, H. 2001 The USA Patriot Act and Information. Washington, DC Mahathir M 2003 Speech by Prime Minister of Malaysia to the Tenth Islamic Summit Conference Putrajaya, Malaysia, October 16, 2003 Malik, S, K. 1991 The Quranic Concept of War. Lahore Miller, A, H Nacos, B, L. 1994 Terrorism and the media. New York: Columbia University Press. Paletz, D, L., and Schmid, A, P. 1992 Terrorism and the Media. Sage: Newbury Park. Schmid, A, P. and Graaf, J. 1982 Violence as Communication. Beverly Hills: Sage Publications. Weimann, G. and Winn, C. 1994 The Theatre of Terror: Mass Media and International Terrorism. Longman. NY http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s733186.htm

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