Terrorism in the Middle East is mainly due to the conflict between the Arabs and Israelis. Most of the violent terrorist activities that are conducted there are done with the goal of destroying Israel and are due to political reasons involving possession of land area. Another reason is Islam, since Israel is the only nation, which is non-Muslim. Similarly, even in Africa, religious conflicts have given rise to terrorism and the goals of these terrorist movements are mainly to control revenues from oil, diamond trade and achieve political representation of the states. (Davis, 2007) While terrorism in the Middle East is mainly due to religion and sometimes-even power, the terrorist movements in Africa have emerged due to their social and economic problems and growing issues like AIDS, poverty and draught that have been neglected for decades. (Alexander & Hoenig, 2008)
The terrorist movements in the Middle East are well known for their obsessive tactics and more for suicide bombings and sometimes even hijacks. They recruit religious people, convince them to either strap explosives on their body or take them in cars or planes, and then detonate them not only destroying the target but also themselves. These fanatic Muslim terrorists believe that by giving their own life for destroying their enemies will bring them eternal salvation and even martyrdom. However, these are not the methods of the African terrorist movements. The African radicals are very different from that of the Middle Eastern, as most of them do not participate in suicide bombings and hijacks. They are sometimes linked with the Middle Eastern terrorist groups since they too fight for Islam. (Davis, 2007) Both the African and middle eastern terrorist groups goal towards lessening American influence in their nation which is corrupting the people and making them greedy such that they may even abandon their religious beliefs. However, there is more Muslim fundamentalism in the Middle East than in Africa fueling the terrorist movements. (Alexander & Hoenig, 2008) The methods used by these African terrorist movements were mainly armed banditry and guerilla warfare.
The Middle Eastern terrorist groups aim towards the destruction of mainly Israel since they believe that Israel being a non-Muslim nation has corrupting influence on them and even hold the rest of the world, mainly the West, responsible for these demeaning influences. (Alexander & Hoenig, 2008) However, the terrorist movement in Africa occurred when organized rebellion was used in order to overthrow the inexorable rulers of Africa who were not ready to give up their power after their prearranged constitutional tenures expired. Other than Islam, both the African and Middle Eastern terrorist groups have another common goal – power. They both want to be acknowledged as powerful forces on the earth so that they are recognized worldwide. However, unlike the Middle Eastern terrorist movements who recruit religious people to carry on the movement, the African terrorist movements recruit displaced masses and hungry starved people who are the victims of the government and other leaders. (Davis, 2007)
The Middle Eastern terrorist movements have a huge influence on the Islamic people of Africa and since Africa too has a large number of Arabs and Muslims, they are sympathetic towards the Middle Eastern terrorist movements. Thus, the Islamic militants in Africa, supported by the Middle Eastern terrorist groups, have developed a new method of terrorism and are training these vulnerable people and communities to form militant organizations for creating contemporary suicide bombers among these Africans. (Davis, 2007)
References
Alexander, Y. & Hoenig, M. M. (2008). The new Iranian leadership: Ahmadinejad, terrorism, nuclear ambition, and the Middle East. London: Greenwood Publishing Group
Davis, J. (2007). Africa and the war on terrorism. New York: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.