The number of terrorists who are actually Muslim or religiously motivated will surprise you

[Jazzy]

While the fear of religious extremists has reached a new high since the terrorist attacks in Paris last week, you might be surprised to learn how many instances of terrorism in the EU over the past five years were actually religiously motivated.

According to statistics from Europol, less than two per cent of all recorded acts of terror were perpetrated with religious motivations, with an even smaller number being committed by Muslim extremists.

Estimates suggest only around two per cent of all terrorist attacks were committed by Islamic groups or individuals.

For example, out of the 152 terrorist acts in the EU in 2013, only two were religiously motivated. In 2011, none of the 174 attacks were ‘inspired’ by religious organisations.

The reason for this is that the majority of terrorist activity concerns ethno-nationalist organisations, who often commit acts of terrorism that have low, if any, casualty rates, meaning they do not get extensive news coverage.

However Europol added: ‘Islamist terrorists still aim to cause mass casualties.’

Islamist terrorist groups are also far less of a danger than they nationalist counterparts in the USA, with researchers at Princeton University finding that Islamist extremists were responsible for only 6 per cent of attacks between 1980 and 2005.

Thoughts?

 

[mrldii]

My thoughts are Praise Allah that some don't let facts interfere with their opinions, otherwise the little wheels would fall right off their delusional little wagon.

 

[Dee]

The reason for why it seems like the opposite? Media. Stop allowing every news source you read/watch to sully your opinions because all they do is plaster every foreign terrorism story 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

 

[beowulf]

maybe all muslims are not terrorists, but it does seem all terrorists are muslim

 

[Dee]

maybe all muslims are not terrorists, but it does seem all terrorists are muslim

But why does it seem that way to you? Because that's all that's reported on, that's why. You rarely hear of the other terrorist threats/injuries/deaths carried out in our country and in the world because the media has made a conscious choice to focus on one type of terrorism only, to paint one group of people as terrorists and make the "most important" ones out to be saints. *shrug*

 

[beowulf]

But why does it seem that way to you? Because that's all that's reported on, that's why. You rarely hear of the other terrorist threats/injuries/deaths carried out in our country and in the world because the media has made a conscious choice to focus on one type of terrorism only, to paint one group of people as terrorists and make the "most important" ones out to be saints. *shrug*

as im not american i cant comment on how things get reported over there......fortunatly we get a more free news ........the last few terrorist attacks in the uk have been commited by muslims.............did you hear about the off duty soldier who was hacked to death by two muslims on the streets on London?.......the last six terrorist activities in france were all commited by muslims....in the last couple of years we have had islamic attacks in belgium to bulgaria to denmark and elsewhere......im struggling to think of any that are NOT islamic caused

when did you last hear of a Catholic Suicide bomber?..........a Jew flying a plane into a skyscraper?.....a Mormon slaughtering students in a school?

always seems to be a muslim from where im sat

 

[mrldii]

maybe all muslims are not terrorists, but it does seem all terrorists are muslim

Nahhh...Timothy McVeigh was home-grown and claimed Christian leanings. As did David Koresh. Oh, and Ted Kaczynski wasn't Muslim.



There goes that "100%" presented-as-fact blown all to hell, right out of the water.


Some of you make this waaaaaay too easy. That should tell you a little sumpin'-sumpin' about the *validity* of your beliefs.

 

[beowulf]

Nahhh...Timothy McVeigh was home-grown and claimed Christian leanings. As did David Koresh. Oh, and Ted Kaczynski wasn't Muslim.



There goes that "100%" presented-as-fact blown all to hell, right out of the water.


Some of you make this waaaaaay too easy. That should tell you a little sumpin'-sumpin' about the *validity* of your beliefs.

erm....all american......i was speaking from a euro point of view

 

[mrldii]

Regardless of which viewpoint you were using, the facts of the matter completely refute your previous statement, in which you'd included no qualifier:

maybe all muslims are not terrorists, but it does seem all terrorists are muslim

ETA: Besides, the original post was citing European statistics...and is a newsource from the UK.

 

[Sinon]

as im not american i cant comment on how things get reported over there......fortunatly we get a more free news ........the last few terrorist attacks in the uk have been commited by muslims.............did you hear about the off duty soldier who was hacked to death by two muslims on the streets on London?.......the last six terrorist activities in france were all commited by muslims....in the last couple of years we have had islamic attacks in belgium to bulgaria to denmark and elsewhere......im struggling to think of any that are NOT islamic caused

when did you last hear of a Catholic Suicide bomber?..........a Jew flying a plane into a skyscraper?.....a Mormon slaughtering students in a school?

always seems to be a muslim from where im sat

What about that uh. Swedish? guy a few years back who killed like 100 people with guns and bombs. He claimed Christianity, iirc.

 

[Dee]

Couple years ago, there was a guy who drove from California to Michigan with bombs and what not in his car who intended to blow up a mosque while over 500 members were attending a funeral.

 

[mrldii]

Would this be a good time to mention the Catholic-Protestant war of terrorism which raged in the UK - especially in Northern Ireland - for centuries?

http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/christian/blfaq_viol_northernireland.htm


"Later events indicate that such a fear may have been justified. In the 1950's, the Irish Republican Army was formed and began a terrorist campaign in and around Ulster to force reunification with the south. Protestants formed their own paramilitary organizations to retaliate. When British troops arrived to enforce peace, their heavy-handed and inexperienced tactics ended up alienating both sides, making British soldiers targets for both Catholic and Protestant terrorists.

Violence was perhaps worst during the 1970's when hundreds of terrorist acts were recorded year after year. Eventually, things settled down to the intensity of a small scale war. As James A. Haught has reported:

...in 1985, a relatively quiet year, authorities recorded fifty-four assassinations, 148 bombings, 237 shootings, 916 woundings, 522 arrests on terrorism charges, 31 kneecappings (shooting out a person's kneecaps) and 3.3 tons of explosives and weapons seized. All this in a tiny country with a population of 1.5 million people.

August 15, 2002, will be the fourth anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in over 30 years. In Omagh, 500 pounds of explosives shattered the downtown, killing 29 people and injuring over 100, including children and tourists. Even today, no one has been arrested. The anniversary was marked by riots in Londonderry as Catholic protestors hurled Molotov cocktails at police to express anger at the fact that Protestants had been granted permission to march in memorial of some ancient and forgettable battle."


Gotta love those Christians who've equated "terrorism" with "Muslim", thus washing their own [bloody] hands of any part of it.