TOK RKS - Terrorism

• TOK
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Connecting the human sciences and religion. 

Overview

• Inquiry questions
• Text Jessica Stern
• Quiz 

What comes to your mind if you think about religious violence?

Is there a religion that has no history with violence?

1. Nope
2. No, but the Islam is clearly most violent.
3. Yes, Buddhism.
4. Yes, Christianity.

What would you like to know/understand about religious militants?

To do: 

Go to Managebac, TOK, files, and open the book. 

Read Chapter 10 Conclusion page 281 - 286.  

Be ready in 10 minutes for the quiz!

1. All terrorist Stern interviewed describe themselves as responding to a spiritual calling.

1. True
2. False

2. All terrorists interviewed by Stern believe -or at least started out believing - that they are creating a more perfect world and that God is on their side.

1. True
2. False

3. The interviewed terrorists experience the world as a mess, in which there is no clear division between good and evil.

1. True
2. False

4. Besides spiritual and emotional benefits, participating in terrorist violence brings ... benefits (1 word).

5. Stern describes the terrorism we are fighting as 'a seductive idea' rather than a military target.

1. True
2. False

6. What kind of humiliation plays a role in terrorism?

1. Personal humiliation
2. Cultural humiliation
3. Both personal and cultural humiliation
4. Humiliation plays no role.

7. To Stern it is very clear why some variables (political, religious, social) cause one person to be a terrorist and the other to be a saint.

1. True
2. False

8. Most terrorist promote traditional values and therefore DON'T make use of 'modernity' (high technology) to fight their enemies.

1. True
2. False

9. The 9-11 bombers were mostly drawn from Saudi Arabia's elite, therefore poverty and terrorism are uncorrelated.

1. True
2. False

10. Several studies have shown that states most susceptible to ethno-religious violence are those that are poorer, unstable and have a history of violence and conflict.

1. True
2. False

11. When an economy declines it is the rich who are more likely to become involved in crime, riots and other disruptive activities.

1. True
2. False

12. Refugee camps, according to Stern, are notorious hothouses not only of disease, but also of rage and extremism.

1. True
2. False

13. A culture of violence breeds more violence and terrorism.

1. True
2. False

page 284

At the interstate level or intergroup level, bad neighborhoods and failed states export crime, refugees and greivances. 

At the national level, a government's inability to provide basic services and protect human rights (...) damages the state's ability to fight extremist groups. This is true not only because terrorist can use the opportunities to act unchecked, but also because a culture of violence breeds more violence and terrorism. 

14. A country with a lot of young people is more susceptible to terrorism.

1. True
2. False

15. A country with a high ratio of women to men is more susceptible to terrorism.

1. True
2. False

16. Right wing Christian Identity groups blame feminists for their humiliation.

1. True
2. False

17. Restoring their 'wounded masculinity' is often an implicit promise used to recruit terrorist followers.

1. True
2. False

18. According to Stern, quite a large percentage of people like to kill and like violence due to a genetic predisposition.

1. True
2. False

What have you learned today?