n the section, Sword of Sikhism, it is stated by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Sikh traditionordinarily applauds nonviolenceit is a great sin to keep weapons and kill anyone.(pg.99). It is the next part that affirms the theme, which is, it is even a greater sin to have weapons and not seek justice.(pg.99). With Buddhism, the teachings require that five conditions be satisfied in order to certify that an act of violence indeed took placethe killer must intended to kill(pg.113). Because of this third rule, there is so called room to play with in terms of whether the act of violence has taken place. The way someone could get around this third rule is to take the position of defense. This means that the intention was to defend oneself, and the outcome of this defense would be the death of the other party involved. All these examples prove that these groups have used, in one way or another, their religious beliefs to justify the actions they have taken whether it be blowing up abortion clinics, government buildings, or assassinating political leaders that do not support the righteousness of the religion. He goes on to say, religion has supplied not only the ideology but also the motivation and the organizational structure for the perpetrators. (pg.5). By doing this in the first chapter he is setting up the way the case studies should be perceived and also tries to help us understand the way others are influenced by religion. Juergensmeyer makes a very clear and distinctive point in which the reader has to keep in mind the while reading this book. The point being that people around the world grow up in different environments. A person who grows up in Bosnia will have a different view on what a terrorist act is considered as opposed to someone who grew up in Westlake of Austin. Bombings, shootings, stealing, is all a part of daily life for some people, so in a way it could be said by western standards, they are desensitized by their ...
