Radicalism rooted in an inferiority complex
Asher Tauran, Jakarta
Finally our public debate about terrorism has reached a reasonably transparent level. Many may doubt whether the articles entitled Poverty not a cause of terrorism and enlisting clerics on war on terror is strategic (The Jakarta Post, Dec. 5) could have been published some years ago as an eye opener for the 2000 Christmas bombings or the Maluku and Poso sectarian violence.
While in those days the people in Maluku and Poso were facing the realities of religious fanaticism on a daily basis, the general public and government at that time were busy competing in expressing their most fanciful conspiracy theories, linking Tommy Soeharto's jailing, Gen. (ret) Wiranto's hunger for power, Lt. Gen. (ret) Prabowo Subianto's megalomania, the Indonesian Military (TNI) and much more.
In the meantime, many clerics in our country were totally convinced that their law-abiding, God-fearing, pious and religious followers simply could do no wrong and quickly pointed their fingers to their favorite whipping boys, the perpetually naughty Americans.
Now, we have finally stopped burying our heads in the sand and are all wondering why? What sort of people become terrorists and why? Now this is tricky. Without clearly defining "terrorism" any discussion regarding the subject may be more often than not an exercise of finding common ground in its definition.
The essence of terrorism for a large part lies in the unwillingness and/or inability to achieve one's objective through peaceful means. One can only guess about the reasoning for following a path of violence as a consequence.
When we talk about people who do not get what they want and then react using violence as a consequence, we are merely talking about the human psyche. Religion, ideology, politics all matter and are all relevant, but it would be wise to scrutinize the psychology behind the killer in greater detail.
I remember my college days when the "Mr. A" and not "Miss B" question regarding Nazi cruelty was highlighted from a psychological angle. Central to this theory was a sense of pride and belonging, (the Nazi party, the SS, Hitler Jugend and other select affiliated organizations, etc.), loyalty to one leader (Hitler) and one credo (Heim ins Reich), an easily identifiable and vulnerable enemy (the "bloodsucking" Jew, untermenschen in general), a vision of greatness (the Third Reich), symbols (the Hitler salute, reverse swastika, the black, Totenkopf SS uniforms) reference to past glories (Bismarck) and a sense of being unjustly victimized (treaty of Versailles).
The bottom-line of the psychology behind the Nazi madness was a longing for greatness. What more could trigger such longing then a long period of a (perceived) sense of inferiority? For some that sense of (perceived) inferiority is simply unbearable.
To escape that sense may be worth killing for, or better yet, dying for as a (superior) martyr for whatever religious, ideological or political reason.
The writer is a graduate from the University of Amsterdam (European Studies). He can be reached at principe@indosat.net.id.