Running head: Terrorism and cultural relativism 1

Terrorism and cultural relativism

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Terrorism and cultural relativism 2

Terrorism and cultural relativism

War refers to armed conflict, which has been declared by a state and country which is

planned and is executed for the purpose of realizing political objectives which are publicly

known. Peace, on the other hand, is a social concept which has generally been defined as the

absence of war or conflict. However, Galtung further defined peace as a harmonious coexistence

between groups that is based on the aspect of equity and respect[ CITATION Gal64 \l 1033 ]. Finally,

terrorism can be defined as deliberate acts of violence that is directed towards civilian and non-

combatant targets that is motivated by political considerations. It is often executed outside the

confines of armed conflict and does not usually target the legitimate advisory

The events of 9/11 and the aftermath

On 11th of September 2001, terrorists hijacked four passenger jets flying out of airports

on the east coast of the United States. Of the four jets, two were deliberately crushed into the

twin towers of the world trade Centre while another one hit the Pentagon. The two towers

subsequently crushed while the Pentagon was partially damaged. Moreover, nearly 3000 people

including the terrorists lost their lives, the worst terror incident to have happened on American

soil. This terrorist attack is suspected to have been executed by terrorist organization Al-Qaeda.

This attack changed president’s Bush focus and led to what he declared as the global war

on terrorism. As a result, the Bush administration increased the scope of their military operations

while also exercising political and economic sanctions on groups deemed to be terrorists and the

government regimes harboring terrorists.

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Cultural relativism and its application to terrorism

Cultural relativism is a social concept that focuses on understanding other people point of

view. It involves understanding the cultural practices or beliefs of others in that particular

context without judging or interfering[CITATION DoM02 \l 1033 ].

In an attempt to discover the root cause of these terrorist activities, studies have been

focused on understanding the cultures of these terrorists in an attempt to discover their reasons

for carrying out terrorist activities. However, in my opinion, we cannot apply cultural relativism

to terrorist activity for one reason. The potential motivation for carrying out terror acts cannot

stem from the attackers’ collective culture but from their evil intent. Instead, the conversations

should be about the factors, be it social, political or economic, may be motivating execution of

terror activities.
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References
Abu-Lughod, L. (2002). Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural
Relativism and Its Others. American Anthropologist, 104(3), 783-790.

Galtung, J. (1964). Astructural Theory of Aggression. Journal of Peace Research, 2, 95-119.