9781422281413

ally seen as the enemy. Groups that are engaged in violent action to win power in their country are more likely to describe themselves as “freedom fighters” or “revolutionaries.” A former religious leader of the militant organization Hezbollah, which often attacks Israeli towns with rockets and mortars fired from camps across the border in Lebanon, named Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah once explained, “We don’t see ourselves as terrorists, because we don’t believe in ter- rorism. We see ourselves as mujahideen who fight a holy war for the people.” Fadlallah argued that Hezbollah attacks on Israeli communities were part of a larger war over disputed territory in Palestine, and noted that civilians are often killed in warfare. Just as violent groups will deny they are terrorists, repres- sive governments often accuse opposition groups of terrorism, even when the rest of the world sees these groups as brave fighters seeking freedom from injustice. Labeling such groups terrorists helps to make any violent action by governments seem more justifiable. Terrorists often accuse the governments they oppose of using terrorism in their attacks on them. However, govern- ments tend to view terrorism as something that only non-gov- ernment groups are capable of. For example, in its definition of terrorism, the U.S. State Department describes those who per- petrate terrorism as “subnational groups or clandestine agents.” It does not include governments within that defini- tion. However, this view of terrorists is relatively recent. Throughout history, there have been many governments that have used terrorism to enforce their authority. This is known as state terrorism.

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Terrorism