Journal of Global Peace and Conflict

Religious Fundamentalism and Terrorism
Elijah Onyango Standslause Odhiambo

Abstract
The study of terrorism is multidisciplinary, which includes fields like Religion, sociology, criminology, political science amongst others. There are diverse reasons and motivations for terrorist activities. Some can be attributed on the socio-political exigency that fosters authoritarianism, however religion fans the ember and gives it legitimacy. Religion which occupies a central position in human life becomes a medium of translating this socio-political conflict into a moral one. It is by religion that secular conflict acquires a cosmic nature. Any conflict understood in cosmic terms acquires stateless and timeless status and as such become recurring. This paper surmises that Religious terrorism which is executed by those whose motivations and aims have a predominant religious influence is rooted in the misinterpretation of theological epithets, or it could be the result of extreme forms of delusion that may alter reality, and thus subject an individual or a group of people to distorted versions of religious facts and episodes like the Crusades. I survey three major religions Judaism, Islam, Christianity and one sect Zionism and a case study of Crusades.

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