NCJ Number
99705
Journal
American Political Science Review Volume: 78 Issue: 3 Dated: (September 1984) Pages: 658-677
Date Published
1984
Length
20 pages
Annotation
As the first comparative study of religious terror groups, the article provides detailed analyses of the different doctrines and methods of the three best-known groups: the Thugs, Assassins, and Zealots-Sicarii.
Abstract
Despite a primitive technology, each developed much more durable and destructive organizations than has any modern secular group. The differences among the groups reflect the distinguishing characteristics of their respective originating religious communities: Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. The distinctive characteristics of religious terror are discussed, and relationships between religious and secular forms of terror are suggested. (Author abstract)