Introduction
Nowadays, one of the most urgent issues of modern society is the problem of global terrorism. Every day new terroristic networks appear all over the world. Every day violent terroristic activity takes away the lives of innocent people. Unfortunately, today, this problem constitutes a serious menace to global security. All terrorist organizations have some characteristic features in common. Regardless of the goals and ideas, which are followed by the terrorists, their methods of achieving them are the same: extremist acts, attacks on civilians, bombings of civilian targets. There are different types of terrorism, depending on the intentions of this or that organization. There is Islamic, religious, political, and national terrorism.
Main body
Radical Islamic terroristic organization is the form of international terrorism. This type of terroristic grouping does not have any obvious hierarchy. Frequently, there is some authoritative Islamic mastermind, who inspires the members of these organizations. Islamists reject any form of legislation and man-made laws, the only law they obey is the strict form of Shariah. Islamic terrorism is one of the most widespread types of religious terrorism. The most well-known examples of Islamic extremist groupings are al-Qaeda, ISIS (the Islamic State), Boka Haram, etc. All these terroristic organizations are distinguished by particularly violent reprisals against their opponents. Their operators find the ideological rationale and justification of their activity in the interpretation of Islamic doctrine aimed at protecting the Islamic world against the aggression and impact of non-Muslim countries and ideologies, especially those in the Western world. Currently, it is one of the most developed forms of terrorism. Since the Islamists use ideological and religious propaganda, they gained the wide support of Muslim youth. Highly motivated sympathizers of this ideology join the ranks of the Islamic terroristic organizations every year. For many years of their activities, the Middle East terrorist groups have established networks all over the world. Today, they constitute a threat to the safety of all mankind. Despite the weak management within the organizations, Islamists have rich experience in conducting terroristic actions. Every day the number of Islamic operators is replenished from among the Islamic volunteers and foreign sympathizers. In almost every Western country, there is an underground terroristic group. Their main task is to destabilize the political and economic situation in the Western countries and carry out extremist attacks all over the world. Thousands of infidels were killed by terrorists, thousands of people were forced to leave their homes escaping their aggression, a multitude of women and children are becoming the hostages of terrorists and are kept in the concentration camps. In addition, Middle East terrorists are not inclined to participate in any form of peaceful negotiations. Thus, the diplomatic solution to this issue is almost impossible. The requirements of the Islamists contradict the democratic values, inherent in Western society. Today, the international community has joined forces in the fight against this plague of the 21st century.
One of the well-known examples of national terrorism is the struggle of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). It tried to achieve the independence of Northern Ireland from Great Britain with the help of terroristic actions. Great Britain is a multinational and multicultural state. One of the ways out from this national conflict is a joint achievement of consent and peace and the observance of regional rights. The struggle for the independence of Northern Ireland has a long history. It is the result of a rigid policy, held in the UK in the religious and cultural spheres against the indigenous population of Ireland. The armed conflict between the two religions grew into terror. Nevertheless, one of the characteristic features of the IRA was the warning telephone call 90 minutes before the explosion. It gave the chance to save the civilians. Their main target was to annihilate the soldiers of the British Army, police, and judges. The IRA was formed by the catholic extremists, who waged a guerrilla war for many decades. Their activity was financed by Libya. The Irish Republican Army gained support among the Catholic population of Northern Ireland. The main cause of the military conflict was that radical forces, both Catholics, and the Protestants, took a more proactive stance in the contradiction than more moderate participants of the conflict. Unlike Islamists, the representatives of the Irish Republican Army demonstrated their adherence to the peace agreements. For a long time, the British government was refusing to negotiate with the terrorists. They used military means in order to suppress the activity of the IRA. These tactics appeared to be ineffective and were causing new and new human losses. Today, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, party “Sinn Fein”, is involved in the political process in Northern Ireland. This party follows the policy of the struggle against poverty, protection of the rights of minorities, migrants, and persons with disabilities, the democratization of education, the official status of the Irish language, increasing the public sector in the economy, and free medical attention. Although, some Irish republican groups still use violence as the main tactic and do not want to solve the conflict by diplomatic means.
Terrorism in Northern Ireland is a striking example of the peaceful settlement of the protracted armed conflict. It took a multitude of efforts and attempts to establish peace in Northern Ireland and to satisfy the interests of the warring parties. There still remain the forces unsatisfied with the results of the prolonged fighting. Thus, the threat of the recurrence of terrorist attacks on the territory of Great Britain is actual to the present day.
Conclusion
Terrorism is one of the global problems of modern society. Mankind should unite in order to solve this international issue. Some cases, for example, terrorism in Northern Ireland, demand any form of peace talks, but Middle East society is subjected to totally different laws. Thus, diplomacy demonstrates its ineffectiveness in facing the problem of Islamic terrorism. Authoritative Islamic leaders should be engaged in the propaganda of peace and equality all over the world in order to influence the ideology of the Islamic militants. The first step to overcoming the resistance between two warring parties is to negotiate for peace. Thus, both sides should understand human life as the primary value in order to reach a consensus. There is no universal instrument to end terrorism all over the world, but profound analysis of the nature, structure, and types of this phenomenon is one of the primary measures for the solution of this issue. Every year, a number of decisions are taken to combat the acts of extremism and the financing of global terrorism.
References
Fierke, K. M. (2009). Terrorism and trust in Northern Ireland. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 2(3), 497–511. Web.