Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Militia Movement Essay

Introduction

Although terrorism has no universal criminal law definition, it is widely known to bring horror and deaths to countries it is exercised at. Some people deem terrorism to be a farfetched issue that is used by the government to cover their own deeds. However, there are several dismaying Islamic organizations with their agendas that this essay will talk about. The Federal Bureau of Investigation divides terrorism into two groups, “one of which is domestic terrorism and the other is transnational” (Sauter, 2005, p.53).

The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine is an Arabic military organization that had gained the name of a terrorist organization by the activities it exercises. The United States, the European Nations, Japan, and other countries have claimed the organization to be dangerous and terrorist. Their main purpose is to replace the state of Israel with an Islamic state via destruction and terror.

The Militia Movement is a domestic terrorist political movement. The group is paramilitary and acts within the United States. The members became active during the middle 1990s when disagreements with political leaders took place. After that, the groups extended in number and managed to spread within the 50 states of America. They believe the federal government limits their freedoms, bearing armor in particular – the Second Amendment. The quantity of the Militia Movement is about 60,000 people.

Comparison

Ideology

The ideology of the PIJ movement is Pan-Islamism. They believe that all the Islamic nations have to be gathered together in one theocratic state. Islamic fundamentalism is what they adhere to. They strive to go back to the fundamentals of their religious beliefs and appeal to all the Islamic nations to resort to Quran and Sunnah (Emerson, 2006). Although modern times suggest the usage of modern technologies and trends, the Islamic world seems to adhere to fundamental beliefs tightly throughout generations and nations. Moreover, the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran is considered to be a great breakthrough of Islamic fundamentalism. Anti-Zionism is what PIJ considers to be the central idea or one of the central ideas. Anti-Zionism is against Israel.

The ideologies of the Militia movements are largely conspiratorial and are exercised for the sake of the community, as they believe. They believe that the democratic values presented by the United States government give them the freedom to express the citizenry’s views through violence. Moreover, some of the groups of the movement regard the government as a tyrant. They express the thought that it is illegal to limit local government rights, issue gun control, and impose taxes as this threatens the liberties of American citizens (Levitas, 2004).

Organization

PIJ has been established in 1981. Being initially based in Egypt, it moved to Gaza Strip from where they were exiled and settled in Lebanon. In 1989 their headquarters is based in Damascus until today. They operate in Lebanon, Syria, and Israel largely. Iran is the one to support PIJ financially together with a little share from Syria. The organization is actually a small group; however, the followers who believe and struggle for the same ideology are numbered in thousands. The groups are organized particularly to execute armed attacks. Surprisingly, PIJ does have branches that provide services to civilian women and young people.

The Militia movement is a gathering of paramilitary groups that consist of 10-30 members, which is not a lot but enough to get together and share ideas in order to build up a plan of terrorist actions. Militia umbrella groups failed, however. Nevertheless, the members from different groups can meet and share expertise. Although the average age of the members is 40 years, the recent use of the Internet for recruitment has brought a large influx of youth.

Tactics

PIJ tactics known to the entire world is suicide bombing. Moreover, the organization, being a terrorist and violent one, has showcased guerrilla tactics during the start of the second intifada – kidnappings, explosions, and even ambushes. The goal of PIJ to destroy Israel and establish an Islamic state has brought them to bloody and truly horrible means of pursuing the goal; except for suicide bombing, they use rocket attacks that significantly derail the peace process. Unlike the Militia movement, PIJ does not have an extended network of social services; it focuses on violent attacks largely.

Starting with the Militia movement, it has to be said that their tactics are very interesting as it ranges from rescuing barricaded criminals up to saving people being turned out of their house. They deem their necessity in contradicting the tyrant government that issues its laws and threats the citizenry. The most famous tactic was ‘militia confrontation’ when the groups identified ‘victims of the government’. Interestingly enough, the Militia movement established such an agenda after Ruby Ridge and Waco. There were many more situations to remember that proved the Militia movement to be extremist and violent in reinforcing their ideas. Moreover, in 2000 militia groups stood for the Indianapolis Baptist Temple until the actual church members asked them to leave because of the terror danger. The Militia movement confronts the government all the time and a slip of mistake or just an accident may cause a tragedy next time if they are not stopped on time.

Summary comparison of JIP and Militia Movement

The two organizations are obviously harmful to both society and the political orders. It is completely clear that PIJ is a disaster to the society of Israel. They not only present a threat to the peaceful being of the citizenry, but PIJ also happens to be an implementation of utmost egoistic features. Unlike the Militia movement, PIJ brings deaths of peaceful people and ids. They exercise suicidal bomb explosions just for the sake of proclaiming Islam a major religion. This is the main difference between the two organizations – the number of lethal termination as a cause of their activity. Militia movement does exercise violent methods in order to achieve their goals, though there have not been any serious consequences of their activity. Both organizations do not see the evident mistaken sense of what they are doing, though they are absolutely confident they are fighting for something they deserve. While the Militia movement approaches their pursuits somewhat lawfully, though violently, PIJ is a total contradiction to everything natural, human, and societal. Bombing suicidal attacks by PIJ and pseudo-rescuing agendas of Militia are totally different in their concepts. While one organization deems the government to be threatening democracy, the other one is a total tyrant for the neighboring nation. The two organizations have different motifs – religious and political and exercise different methods that are stipulated by the countries’ traditions.

Law Enforcement Challenges

In the fight against terrorism, there are several main challenges that have to be overcome. One of the primary problems in the war against terrorism that the government faces is the exchange of information. During the twenty-first century when technologies are a brilliant means of passing on information, the law enforcement problem has to carry on very thorough research on the security of the data because sharing info on terrorists may be dangerous – leaking of info is possible (Bunt, 2003). The law enforcement challenge is the National Intelligence Strategy and Plan. The government has faced an economical problem in financing rural areas – the crucial ones – in order to keep an eye on seaports, airports, etc. to watch the borders crossing.

As per the law enforcement in the scope of internal terrorism, the democracy of the country does let it act against its own citizens. Since every American citizen has a right to freedom, it becomes nearly impossible to contradict their own constitutional rights when talking about the Militia movement. The members of the Militia movement rely on the Second Amendment of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. So, the legislature has to take thorough care of the laws’ amendment in order to ensure future understanding by the citizens of their rights correctly.

Conclusion

Terrorism is a disaster that strikes the world and does not let the development of democracy spread around the globe. The two organizations explored in this essay are non-governmental groups that exercise violence or the threat of violent activities. Both of them act illegally and inhumanly towards other nations or the government they actually are supposed to serve. Although the Militia movement has not had the death involving consequences, the slightest mistake could have driven many deaths of innocent citizens. The ideology of the PIJ and the Militia movement contradicts the obedient and adequate views on the political and religious order within a separately taken country. However, there is no one to decide on the supremacy of one nation over the other. And there is hardly an organization that can undermine the democratic values of a free and lawful country.

References

Bunt, G.R. (2003). Islam in the Digital Age: E-Jihad, Online Fatwas and Cyber Islamic Environments. Sterling: Pluto Press.

Emerson, S. (2006). Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US. New York: Prometheus Books.

Levitas, D. (2004). The Terrorist Next Door: The Militia Movement and the Radical Right. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin.

Sauter, M. (2005). Homeland Security: A Complete Guide to Understanding, Preventing, and Surviving Terrorism. New York: McGraw-Hill.