Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of intentional violence, generally against civilians, for political purposes.It is used in this regard primarily to refer to violence during peacetime or in context of war against non-combatants (mostly civilians and neutral military personnel).The terms “terrorist” and “terrorism” originated during the French Revolution of the late 18th centurybut gained mainstream popularity in the 1970s in news reports and books covering the conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Basque Country and Palestine. The increased use of suicide attacks from the 1980s onwards was typified by the September 11 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. in 2001.
History
There are different definitions of terrorism.Terrorism is a charged term. It is often used with the connotation of something that is “morally wrong”. Governments and non-state groups use the term to abuse or denounce opposing groups.Varied political organizations have been accused of using terrorism to achieve their objectives. These organizations include right-wing and left-wing political organizations, nationalist groups, religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments.Legislation declaring terrorism a crime has been adopted in many states.When terrorism is perpetrated by nation-states it is not considered terrorism by the state conducting it, making legality a largely grey-area issue.There is no consensus as to whether or not terrorism should be regarded as a war crime.
Depending on how broadly the term is defined, the roots and practice of terrorism can be traced at least to the 1st-century AD.Sicarii Zealots, though some dispute whether the group, a radical offshoot of the Zealots which was active in Judaea Province at the beginning of the 1st century AD, was in fact terrorist. According to the contemporary Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, after the Zealotry rebellion against Roman rule in Judea, when some prominent Jewish collaborators with Roman rule were killed,Judas of Galilee formed a small and more extreme offshoot of the Zealots, the Sicarii, in 6 AD. Their terror was directed against Jewish “collaborators”, including temple priests, Sadducees, Herodians, and other wealthy elites.
