Outside the Mainstream

Religious Quest II |

Outside the Mainstream |

Research Paper |

In the Beginning

Is it possible to believe that in both Islam and Christianity, two faiths ultimately founded on notions of peace and forgiveness, that it is morally acceptable to commit sin against those who are “the real sinners”? Both the Islamic terrorist organization Al-Qaeda and the North American based Christian terrorist group the Army of God obviously sympathize with that statement. Each organization has set personal vendettas against the United States and the policies the US has established regarding their stray from the conservative, traditional practices within each of their faith traditions. Through that warring, essentially extremist ideology, Al-Qaeda and the Army of God have set themselves apart from their religious affiliates, outside the mainstream philosophies of Islam and Christianity. However, as erratic and irrational as these groups’ principles seem, their backgrounds and ideologies lend some sort of practical insight into the minds of these organizations, who have seemingly defied the very foundations of their faiths. From the warring mountain regions of Afghanistan to an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida, these two organizations, hundreds of miles apart and centered around two different religions, are eerily linked in the violence and terror they instill upon the unsuspecting public.

Al-Qaeda

In order to fully understand the Muslim jihadist group Al-Qaeda and their position outside of mainstream Islam, one must understand where they began and who helped bring them to such prominence. This is where Osama Bin Laden, America’s most wanted man following the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Centers, comes to the forefront. He was credited with the founding of Al Qaeda and was often looked to as the inspirational figurehead of the organization throughout his period of leadership.

Three major events finally drew the fundamentalist Bin Laden to...