Individual Report Belief Systems By Hur Fatima Khan Subtopic - Personal Belief Possible Areas of Research Personal beliefs depend on differences in: • Religious backgrounds • Ethnicities • Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity • Education • Generation • Traditions Main key issues • Rise of conflicts • Mental health issues due to the persecution • Difference of opinions and views • Subject to racism or discrimination • Brainwashing that results in crimes and killings or terrorism • Possible arise of crusade or boycott because of hurted religious beliefs Research Question How does brainwashing people’s religious beliefs turn them into terrorists? What is Brainwashing? Brainwashing is the term for the concept that specific psychological techniques can modify or control the human mind. It is also known as forced re-education, forceful persuasion, thought reform, thought control, and menticide. It most frequently refers to any strategy intended to persuade people to act against to their desires, wills, or beliefs. Why is it practiced? This persistent attempt is made to convert non-believers to a certain group, law, or belief. Several theories argue that brainwashing limits people's capacity for critical or free thought, exposes them to the invasion of unwanted ideas, and influences their behaviors, morals, and beliefs. What will happen if this continues? It is clear that terrorism, a major problem of brainwashing in ethnic communities, has a very serious and direct impact on human rights, with terrible effects for the enjoyment of victims' rights to life, liberty, and physical integrity. In additional to these consequences, terrorism has the possibility to destroy civil society, weaken governments, threaten peace and security, and limit economic and social development. Each of these has a major impact on the practice of human rights. How do terrorist organizations brainwash people into joining them? These days, young people spend a lot of time online, chatting on their smartphones, watching videos on YouTube, and using social media. To persuade young people, cult recruiters use Hollywood-style marketing. Young people are drawn in by well-known literature like The Lord of the Rings, movies like The Matrix, and video games like Call of Duty. The plot is twisted so that the reader would believe they are the brave hero battling evil. But there are various ways to influence things. Daesh, also known as ISIS, has proven to be skilled at using the web and social media to find students and brainwash them to become terrorists over the period of years. Eight criteria that can be used to assess any group or setting were outlined by Robert Jay Lifton in 1961. The BITE model for mind control—which stands for behavior control, information control, thought control, and emotional control—was created by Steven Hassan based on his research and Dr. Margaret Singer's model. One can start to notice various criteria that separate healthy from unhealthy conditions by looking at these four elements in the framework of his Affect Continuum. Statistics of the people affected by terrorism Around the world, terrorism is thought to have killed 22,847 lives in 2020.The average yearly death rate over the previous ten years was 26,000 people. However, there can be a considerable difference from year to year. The number of casualties worldwide during this period fluctuated from its lowest point of 8,200 in 2011 to its greatest point of 44,600 in 2014. A Terrorist Group A terrorist Islamist group called Lashkar-e-Taiba has been fighting India, in Pakistan. The organization's stated goal is to include Pakistan into the entirety of Kashmir. Despite focusing just on Kashmir so far, the group has adopted a realist mission of worldwide jihad. The group uses verse 2:216 of the Quran to support its beliefs. The group claims that all Muslims have a religious duty to participate in military jihad by deriving from this text. It labels Israel, India, and the United States as "existential rivals of Islam." During the Soviet-Afghan War, Hafiz Saeed, Abdullah Azzam, and a number of other Afghan mujahideen created it with money from Osama bin Laden. While the Kashmir Valley is the main theater of the LeT's terrorist operations, their stated objectives extend beyond destroying India's authority in Jammu and Kashmir. Even though the group's efforts have only reached as far as Kashmir so far, it has adopted a maximalist agenda of worldwide jihad. According to the group, all of India and numerous other nations were originally ruled by Muslims and were Muslim territory, and it is their responsibility to reclaim it from the non-Muslims. The last surviving terrorist from Mumbai's most terrifying attack on the Hotel Taj, Ajmal Kasab, revealed in 2012 that the terrorists were Lashkar-e-Taiba members who were directed from Pakistan. The terrorists who carried out the fatal attack cruelly massacred 175 people, and the police shot and killed 9 of the terrorists. Perspectives Global Perspectives The President Bush, in a speech after the two fatwas before the 9/11 attack on the world trade center from Osama Bin Laden in a speech gave his view on why the terrorists targeted the US. “They hate us for our freedoms”, he claimed “They hate the democratically elected government we see in this room. They elect themselves as their leaders. They hate all of our freedoms, including the freedoms of speech, association, and religion. They also hate the freedom to disagree with one another. As Canadian politician John Horgan puts it, "apprehension surrounds the belief that interrogating terrorists... is ultimately equal to surrender, and that any type of knowledge is the same as justifying or empathizing." Researchers worry that if they pay close attention to the narratives of terrorists, it would be said that they are supporting the terrorists' awful beliefs and actions, giving them more influence. This is a moral concern, if not a methodological one. Politicians, the general public, and even some policy officials frequently make this accusation. National Perspective The Attack on Taj Hotel case was successfully investigated by Rakesh Maria, a former Mumbai police commissioner, who questioned Ajmal Kasab, the only terrorist arrested alive. In 2012, Kasab was hanged to death. Maria elaborates on the Hindu Terror plot in the 2020 memoir "Let Me Say It Now," saying, "If all had gone according to plan, he [Ajmal Kasab, the only one of the ten terrorists to be caught alive] would have been dead with a red thread tied around his wrist like a Hindu." We would have discovered an identity card on this individual bearing the fake name Samir Dinesh Choudhari, a student at Arunoday Degree and P.G. College, and argued that its foiled Pakistan's intentions to frame the Mumbai Terror Attack as the result of a Hindu conspiracy. Kasab joined the LeT with no interest in jihad, the man said, and joined them only to commit robberies. Kasab was however made to believe that Muslims could not perform the 'namaaz' in India as a result of the brainwashing he had received." So, Maria says, he was taken aback when a mosque visits near a movie theater called Metro was made possible. Before being assigned on the assignment to attack Mumbai, Kasab received a week's leave and Rs 1.25 lakh, says the former police official. Kasab revealed that he handed the funds to his family for his sister's wedding. Different Perspective Canadian MLA, John Horgan offers a simple justification for conducting conversations with terrorists despite doubts about their reliability: “We need to consider how decisions were made, what those decisions meant, and how those decisions affected the person in question if we want to comprehend how the terrorist developed. Interviews provide deep insight into how people who engage in terrorism... see themselves, their surroundings, and their paths of engagement. Even though survey data appears to let us do the same thing, only thorough interviews allow us to comprehend the significance of each person's experience and how that significance affects motivation to act (i.e., mobilization).” Personal Perspective There was so much of hatred in Kasab. He didn’t think twice after taking lives of 175 people. I don’t find ‘him’ guilty of that. He needed money for his sister’s wedding and so started stealing with the LeT’s, unaware that they would brainwash him in doing such a heinous crime! The poor guy from a robber ended up being a terrorist! He didn’t have much knowledge or education and so believed whatever they told him, and did as they asked. Like Kasab, Osama bin Laden and his companions did wrong but don’t realize due to lack of education and awareness on the matter. Terrorism is totally wrong. We need to spread awareness so that no one tomorrow becomes Kasab or Osama bin Laden. What could be done to this issue? • We could post videos or posters on social media to educate the people • Educational Campaigns could be set up • Pamphlets could be distributed in the areas with terrorist groups • Educational speeches could be given in parts of Jammu Kashmir and other areas • Many of the conflicts could be solved without violence to educate about non-violence policy References: By Hannah Ritchie, Joe Hasell, Edouard Mathieu, Cameron Appel and Max Roser; Our World in Data- https://ourworldindata.org/terrorism By Steven Hassan; Unicri- https://f3magazine.unicri.it/?p=1353 Wikipedia- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lashkar-e-Taiba https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakesh_Maria#:~:text=Kasab%20was%20 executed%20by%20hanging,his%20wrist%20like%20a%20Hindu. The Economic Timeshttps://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/let-planned-toproject-26/11-attack-as-hindu-terror-rakesh-maria/articleshow/7419204 8.cms Jstor- https://www.jstor.org/stable/26798579?seq=3 EasyLlamahttps://www.easyllama.com/blog/cultural-issues-in-workplace-enviro nments/ Britannica- https://www.britannica.com/topic/brainwashing Evaluation Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org - I chose it as their entries are typically at the head of any web research and can be excellent resources to obtain basic knowledge on a topic and identify trusted sources through their remarks, references, external links, and additional reading sections. The Economic Times – I chose this news website as the news, updates, theoretical deals, and predictions always include the opinions of writers and sources as well as what has been spoken or communicated. Furthermore, if the occurrence has actually occurred, I have found the news to be quite accurate and fair, without the material being influenced by the writers' personal agendas or views.
