From: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May)
Date: Fri, 5 Jul 1996 04:04:11 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Net and Terrorism.
Message-ID: <ae013a2a030210040b66@[205.199.118.202]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 5:58 AM 7/4/96, attila wrote:

>        U.S. cash has eliminated a lot of Soviet weapons, including, I
>believe
>    some chemical.  however, keep in mind: the obsolete, and expensive to
>    maintain, hardware predominated.  However, you will never be able to
>buy out
>    the religious terrorists --they are on a "mission."
>
>        The Western world faces far more threat from fundamentalist religious
>    terrorists than it does from the Soviet Union, etc.
>
>        There is no cure for the "revolutionary" terrorists --just death
>for their
>    own brand of glory.  If we do not even print their obit, there is no glory!

I recall that Attila is one of several Mormons on the list, from a recent
thread where I happened to mention Mormons as an example (and got comments,
including a statement that "Mormon" is a slur).

Anyway, I should point out that Mormons (or Latter Day Saints, I guess) are
spreading quickly around the world...all WITHOUT using "conversion by the
sword," as some other well-known religions are wont to do.

Islam, notably, was known for this policy of conversion by the sword:
entire national populations were given the choice of converting to Islam or
being put to the sword. Most converted, naturally enough.

(cf. various histories, incl. Wright's "Sacred Rage.")

Islam is one of the religions teaching that "martyrs" go directly to
Paradise/Heaven/Valhalla. A terrorist who explodes himself goes directly to
sit at Allah's dinner table. His relatives, too, as I understand their
beliefs, though the surviving relatives have to wait until they die to get
this benefit.

Further, if a large Middle Eastern city, e.g., Tel Aviv or Haifa, were to
be nuked by Believers, then all of the vaporized Muslims in the city would
automatically be martyred, and would also go to Paradise. This makes it
more "acceptable" to Believers to hit targets which may contain their own
kind. (The famous "Kill them all and let God sort them out" line really
does apply to many Muslims.)

(Two other religions come to mind as having similar beliefs about death in
battle and afterlives: the Viking "berserkers" circa 800-1100 A.D. and the
Japanese/Shinto suicide pilots in WW2. I'm sure there are other examples.)

Most other religions which have strong beliefs about an afterlife,
including Mormons, Catholics, and other flavors of Christianity,
nevertheless have not adopted this "martyr" concept. This may explain why
few suicide bombings and suchlike come from these groups.

(There are exceptions. Many Christian sects believe that abortion is
immoral and a grave sin, and that those who bomb or shoot up abortion
clinics, a la John Salvi, are doing God's work and are ensured a place in
Heaven. Personally, I expect to see more such "terrorist" acts in the
coming decades, in the U.S.)

Calling a spade a spade, Islam is in some sense a "terrorist religion," in
that physical force is seen by many Muslims as a legitimate mechanism of
conversion. The wrinkle that those who die in the service of Allah go
directly to sit at his side is of course a major incentivizing factor for
more truck bombs, nerve gas attacks, and even nukings.

We should all be thankful that Mormons, as economically powerful and as
well-organized as they are, steer far clear of this kind of recruiting and
service to their beliefs.

(It's been 30 years since I've been in Salt Lake City, but I understand
that strip clubs exist there--from reading certain news groups!--and that
alcohol is not illegal there. This government tolerance of things inimical
to the dominant religion would be unthinkable in, say, Mecca.)

There are of course other flavors of Islam, including arts-loving,
peace-loving, and scholarly sorts. The propagation of science and math
through the Dark Ages owes much to Arabic scholars, of course. Hence, we
cannot blanketly condemn Islam.

However, for the sake of the discussion about terrorism, it's important to
recognize that some significant fraction of Muslims believe these notions
of martrydom and are willing to engage in horrific acts to accomplish
certain ends.

(The Arab world is very poorly connected to the Net at this time. It'll be
interesting to see what happens if and when they become well-connected,
with PGP, remailers, information markets, etc.)

--Tim May

Boycott "Big Brother Inside" software!
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, we know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
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