newprotest.org: TERRORISM VS. TERRORISTS

TERRORISM VS. TERRORISTS

August 01, 2006
by: jovial_cynic
Given the 80% Lebanese Christian support of Hezbollah (this is the same link in a previous post of mine), a question has come up about the view of Hezbollah from other Christians around the world. If Lebanese Christians are uniting with Hezbollah in their struggle against Israel, what do Christians in surrounding countries think?

That may be a difficult question to answer. Many Christians in Muslim countries suffer persecution (perhaps not much different than the persecution the Muslims suffered during the Crusades?). Both groups have found themselves targets of persecution, and whether that's based in spiritual warfare or just land-ownership politics is difficult to determine.

Martin Accad, writer for Christianity Today recently wrote this article on the subject. One particular piece he mentions is on the nature of terrorism and terrorists.

Through the responses that I received, it became clear to me that there are many misunderstandings about certain realities in the Middle East. The first has to do with the use of the term "terrorist." The term has been so grossly misused for political rhetoric in the past few years that only those who are willing to question deeply-rooted conventions will be able to hear me. "Terrorist" cannot-should not-be used as a noun or in the substantive. It can only be an adjective to describe an act. The fact is that the "terrorists" of one group are the "heroes" of another. The French resistance that used terrorist methods in their resistance to Nazi occupation would have retained their 'terrorist' label had their enemies eventually won World War II. Anti-apartheid units that used terrorist methods in their fight against racism in South Africa also only became heroes after they achieved victory. Examples are endless, but the point is that whenever an armed force carries out military operations so indiscriminate that they repeatedly result in the killing of non-combatant civilians, these should be called "terrorist" acts.

np category: politics
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