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, an issue that plagues our world every minute of everyday.

You never know when or

where a terrorist organization is going to strike. All groups reasons are different, some for
political or religious reasons, others for hatred.

The roots of terrorism are believed to have started in 1007 A.D. Hassan ben Sabbah born in
Qom, Iran was an Ishmaili Muslim and opposed all other Muslim groups except for the
Ishmaili¶s. He is believed to be the father of terrorism. Ben Sabbah¶s actions had started a whole
new trend, people began to follow his actions and started to form terrorist organizations.
Terrorism started back then and its motives and tactics have continued to evolve through the
reign of Stalin and Lenin in the Soviet Union and Mao Tse-tung in China. Many people consider
what Hitler did in Germany to be terrorism, and when you actually think about it, it makes sense.
When you define terrorism most definitions say it is the act of violence and/or intimidation to
achieve certain political or religious goals. The definition of a terrorist is a person that employs
terror or terrorism as a political weapon. And when you think about that definition that pretty
much fits Hitler. He wanted to create a society that fit his personal political agenda. Of course
the examples are from world history, but what about in the United States? Do we have terrorism
in our own country committed by our citizens? Of course we do, take the Oklahoma City
Bombing for example. Timothy McVeigh, out for himself and his own political agenda. The first
act of terrorism recorded in the US was in 1622 committed by Indians, when they massacred the
people in the settlement of Jamestown. Terrorism is problem everywhere not just the middle east,
contrary to what people think.

People think there is such a thing as a ³typical terrorist´, but there really is not. I guess it could
be said that terrorists are stereotyped in many ways. Many people believe that terrorists in the
Middle East are either Muslims or Islamic, which is not true either. Just because a person is of
one region of the world it does not mean they are a terrorist. As far as I am concerned it could be
a next door neighbor. But to understand what terrorism is you must first understand the causes;
the motivation to commit these acts of violence.

First, at the government level states may use terrorism against their own people or other nations
for several reason. One states may wish to force their message of ideology, politics, or religion
upon people or other nations. Second states may use terrorism to eliminate dissent among the
population. Third governments may resort to terrorism to eliminate normal political systems or
because of fear of another system developing and being embraced by citizens. Fourth, the
government may use terror to harass, control, or eliminate political, religious, or radical
minorities. Fifth, the government may be in constant conflict with external enemies. Sixth, the
government may be in business purely for itself and for what it can get without regard to the
welfare of its citizens(Mullins 90).

Then there is the reasoning behind individual terrorism. An individual terrorist¶s act is very
different from that of a group or how a government would use terrorism. Although the ideology
and motivation is the same; to invoke a violent act to achieve some political ends, how it is
wanted by the individual. Some reasons for an individual committing terrorist acts are: First,
minorities that are economically or politically repressed with poor job opportunities are prone to
terrorism. Second, rising employment and inflation can result in people turning to terrorism in
and attempt to force improvements in economic and workforce conditioned.