The fourth wave: religion, albeit grossly distorted, is a common characteristic among most of the international terrorist groups that are active today. (Terrorism - The Groups).

Say the word terrorist and most of us get a mental picture of a young, olive-skinned male who speaks Arabic and is a devout Muslim.

Well, that description doesn't fit Timothy McVeigh or Terry Nichols, both of whom had links to extreme right-wing Christians. They conspired to blow up a government building in Oklahoma City in 1995, killing 168 people. Nor does it fit Dhanu, a suicide bomber who killed India's Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and 17 other people in 1991. A Tamil from Sri Lanka, Dhanu was a woman and a Hindu by religious faith. Dr. Baruch Goldstein doesn't look like our imagined terrorist either. Born into an orthodox Jewish family in New York, he shot and killed 29 Muslims as they worshipped in a mosque in Hebron, Israel in 1994.

So, there you have it; some of the most notorious terrorists of the 1990s and none of them fit the stereotype.

There are more terrorist groups in the world today than we have room to identify, among them:

* Kach, whose members are Jews who target Palestinians;

* The Revolutionary People's Struggle (ELA) is an extreme leftist group that developed from opposition to the military junta that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. ELA is a self-described revolutionary, anti-capitalist group, and it seeks the removal of U.S. military forces from Greece;

* The Red Hand Defenders is composed largely of Protestant hardliners trying to prevent a political settlement with Irish nationalists by attacking Catholic civilian interests in Northern Ireland;

* Sikh terrorists in groups such as Babbar Khalsa, International Sikh Youth Federation, Dal Khalsa, and Bhinderanwala Tiger Force want to set up an independent Sikh state carved out of India.

Again, none of the members of these groups are Arab or Muslim.

On the other hand, Saeed Hotari fits the profile perfectly. His photograph shows a dark-haired young man with a straight nose and dark eyes that have a kindness in them. Even with the moustache he looks younger than his 22 years. He came from the Palestinian village of Kalkilia, spoke Arabic, and was a Muslim by religious faith.

On the evening of 1 June 2001, Saeed Hotari strapped a deadly mix of powerful explosives and hundreds of ball bearings to his chest. Then, he rode by car into Tel Aviv and joined the line-up outside The Dolphinarium, one of the city's most popular discos. At 11:26 p.m., he triggered the bomb, killing himself and 21 Israelis, mostly young girls.

To most people, suicide missions such as Hotari's and those of the September 11 hijackers are the acts of madmen. Surely, no rational person would behave this way. But, the people who study terrorism say one of the worst mistakes to make is to think of suicide attackers as irrational people who have gone completely off their rockers.

Psychiatrists have spent a lot of time studying terrorists who have been captured before they could carry out their missions. In most cases, these people are rational, logical, deliberate, and deeply devoted to their cause. Mark Juergensmeyer interviewed several terrorists for his book Terror in the Mind of God. Shortly after the events of September 11 he told a Globe and Mail reporter: "My impression of virtually everybody with whom I talked was that they seemed not only normal but pleasant, affable, with above average intelligence. If you didn't know they were associated with terrorism, you'd think they were good people."

Others, such as Walter Laqueur, Chair of the Research Council of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in the U.S., beg to differ. He says most terrorists believe in conspiracies by powerful, hostile forces and suffer from some form of delusion and persecution mania. He has written that, "In the bloodiest terrorist campaigns the element of crime and madness plays an important role."

Certainly, one big difference between terrorists and ordinary folk seems to be that today's terrorists whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Sikh, or of some other persuasion -- are so highly focussed on their goal that nothing else matters.

John Quinones of ABC News tried to find out what made Saeed Hotari tick. How did he become so intensely committed to his cause that his own death in pursuit of it was perfectly acceptable to him?

Mr. Quinones reported that: "A feeling of desperation and helplessness ... is what fuels the suicide bomber.

`A sense of mission empowers him,' explained Dr. Eyad Sarraj, a Palestinian psychiatrist and one of the world's foremost experts on suicide bombers. `The identification with his people tells him that out of this misery, out of this despair, you have to act.'"

This is the so-called "root causes" theory of terrorism. The argument is that the lives of terrorists are so filled with misery and oppression that they strike out violently against the cause of their wretchedness. For Palestinians such as Saeed Hotari, the cause of their grievances is Israel.

The nation of Israel was created as a Jewish homeland in 1948 out of Palestine. Both Arabs and Jews had lived in the area since the beginning of time, but, with the creation of Israel, several hundred thousand Arabs fled. They went to live in what they saw as more secure areas in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and in neighbouring Arab states. During a war in 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip where the Palestinian Arabs were living. Since then, Israel has continued to occupy that land although a United Nations resolution ordered it to leave decades ago.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians now live in squalid refugee camps; ideal places, according to the root causes theory, to breed terrorists.

Thomas Homer-Dixon of the University of Toronto has written that the growing gap between rich and poor nurtures terrorism. "These differences breed envy and frustration, and, ultimately, anger. The problem will never go away if we don't address the underlying disparities that help motivate such violence."

But, if poverty and being powerless were the causes of terrorism, then there would be large numbers of African suicide bombers. Africans, in general, have the lowest standards of living and the fewest human rights of any of the planet's peoples, yet African terrorists are a rarity.

Osama bin Laden came from a wealthy family in Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Atta, who seems to have been the leader of the September 11 attacks, as the son of a well-to-do Egyptian doctor received an excellent education.

Clearly, some other factors must be involved in creating terrorists. One of the most important extra ingredients is religion. It seems to have played a role in turning Saeed Hotari into a suicide bomber. He was a devout Muslim who attended prayers in the mosque, and studied the Koran -- the holy book of Islam. No doubt Saeed Hotari heard stories all his life from family and friends about how evil the Israelis were. No doubt too he was subjected to anti-Israeli propaganda in the mosque where he worshipped, and in the cafes where he socialized.

A lifetime of exposure to hatred directed against one group made an extremist out of Mr. Hotari. He would have sought out others who believed as he did and, sooner or later, he would have found or been found by a terrorist group such as Hamas, The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and others. These organizations are active in the Palestinian community, where they recruit and train men such as Saeed Hotari. He would come to believe his act of destruction to be part of a holy war; a struggle for the survival of the world that justified any amount of bloodshed.

But, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians grow up to become shopkeepers, electricians, doctors, and police officers. If they're all exposed to messages of hate and vengeance why don't they all become extreme fanatics willing to die for the cause?

Again, something else must be involved. This is where we bump into the extremists who convince the Saeed Hotaris of this world that they are engaged in a titanic struggle of good against evil. Many of them don't fit the stereotype.

The Reverend Ian Paisley is a fundamentalist Protestant who has preached venomous sermons of hate for four decades. He detests Roman Catholics, and routinely refers to the Catholic Church as a limb of Satan, to the Pope as the Scarlet Whore of Rome, and so on.

Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a leader of the Sikhs who called for the killing of Hindus to further the Sikh goal of setting up an independent Sikh nation in the Indian state of Punjab. Sikh extremism led to the worst act of terrorism in Canadian history; the blowing up of an Air India jumbo jet over the Atlantic in 1985 killing all 329 people (most of them Canadians) on board.

Rabbi Meir Kahane founded the Jewish Defence League in the United States in 1968, and sent armed patrols of young Jews into black neighbourhoods. He moved to Israel where he campaigned to remove Arabs (violently, if necessary) from Israel and all Israeli-occupied areas.

On the other hand, many of the religious fanatics look and behave exactly as we expect them to. Mullah Mohammed Omar (leader of the Taliban), Ayatollah Khomeini (leader of Iran's Islamic Revolution of 1979), Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman (one of the people behind the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993) -- all were senior Muslim religious leaders who preached intolerance and hate.

These men of God have found ways of twisting the teachings of those they worship. For example, Islam forbids suicide and the killing of civilians. But, radical mullahs dress up suicide attacks as acts of self-martyrdom, and the victims are portrayed as sub-human and evil to the core. Those who die in the service of God are promised an eternal existence in Paradise.

Islam stresses that life on Earth is only a period of transition. The next life is the real one. Sermons idealize the afterlife as being spent in a peaceful garden filled with golden palaces. There is abundant and delicious food, plus scores of beautiful women eager to serve each man. A suicide bomber's death is described by Muslim militants as "The Martyr's Wedding;" it's an occasion for joy and celebration. "In fact," says psychiatrist Dr. Eyad Sarraj, "you find in the last seconds of people acting this act, they smile."

With heavy doses of indoctrination, people recruited into terrorist cells soon resemble cult members.

And it's not just Muslims who swallow the propaganda without question. Here's what Shane Paul O'Doherty wrote in 1996: "Growing up in Northern Ireland, I had been taught that with the sacrifice of blood, we would force the British out of Ireland forever. My childhood heroes were the `executed patriots' the British called `criminal terrorists.' I wanted to be like them. And, emulate them I did."

Mr. O'Doherty worked as a bomber for the Irish Republican Army for many years, but eventually renounced violence as futile.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. The United States has a history of sponsoring terrorist groups. During the 1920s, American citizens as well as the U.S. government gave enormous support to the Irish Republican Army in its violent struggle to achieve independence from Britain. Irgun terrorists fighting against the British administration of Palestine received money, weapons, and volunteers from American Jews. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration funded the "Contra" rebels in Nicaragua who were fighting to overthrow the Sandinista government. Appoint teams of students to research these activities as the basis for a discussion about American foreign policy.

2. Invite clergy from a variety of faiths to discuss the use of religion as a justification for terrorism.

3. In December 2001, terrorism expert Walter Laqueur wrote that "Muslim states or Muslim minorities are involved in almost 90 percent of all substate terrorist conflicts." However, the people who study global terrorism have a hard time explaining why Islam, a religion that preaches peace, should have become associated with such violence. Some say it's because most Islamic countries have stagnated economically and politically while nations of the West and Asia have become richer and more democratic. Military too, Islamic nations have suffered many defeats. The suggestion is that this sorry state of affairs has produced a wish to blame foreigners for the misery. Discuss whether or not this analysis makes sense to you, and offer your own suggestions if you disagree with it.

BLOWBACK 

blowback n., word invented by the Central Intelligence Agency to describe an unintended consequence of American foreign policy.

The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. It did so in an effort to prevent its neighbour and ally from descending into tribal warfare. Members of the Communist government of Afghanistan had already spent several years squabbling among themselves and had bumped off a couple of leaders. So, the Soviets sent in 100,000 soldiers to stabilize the country and install their own puppet government.

The people of Afghanistan were having none of this. Afghans have a long history of fierce independence and can be relied on to fight to the last person to defend their homes. Although divided among several often-hostile tribes, the Afghans are united under Islam. Resistance to the Soviet invasion quickly took on the shape of a holy war, the Arabic word for which is jihad. Soon, young men from all over the Muslim world were going to Afghanistan to join the jihad. Of course, they needed money and weapons. The United States and its ally Saudi Arabia were pleased to supply both.

The Soviet Union was an enemy of both countries and they wanted to see it hurt and humiliated. Go-betweens were needed to deliver the weapons and dollars into the hands of the Muslim fighters. One of these intermediaries was a tall, rich young Saudi named Osama bin Laden.

It was during the fight against the Soviets that bin Laden cut his teeth as a holy warrior. He started as a supplier of funds, then recruited fighters, and finally joined the combat himself. Although outnumbered and outgunned, the mujahideen, as the Muslim fighters were called, inflicted heavy casualties on the Soviet Union's forces. After a decade of bloodshed and with its regime on the point of collapse, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan. The success of the Afghan jihad was seen by many of those who took part in it as a miracle from God. Osama bin Laden apparently learned something important from this conflict; a combination of spiritual strength and unyielding commitment to a cause could defeat a superpower.

In 1990, the United States began setting up camp in Saudi Arabia. A U.S.-led coalition was using bin Laden's home country as a staging point from which to launch Desert Storm; the battle to end Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. Osama bin Laden then saw the United States as another invading force intent on dominating the Muslim world. The country that had helped fund and arm the mujahideen was now the enemy.

FACT FILE

During the 1970s, the hijacking of aircraft was happening at the rate of more than 100 a year, but none of these incidents involved the deliberate crashing of the plane.

PATHS OF ISLAM

Islam has two major sects: the Sunnis and the Shi'ites. Most Muslims belong to one of these two groups. About 90% of Muslims are orthodox Sunnis. They are the mainstream of the Islamic religious community whose beliefs have changed little since their development more than years ago. The Sunni, which means majority, tolerate diversity and encourages its followers to worship Allah (God) on an individual basis. The Sunnis also believe that any Muslim can be a leader and that religious leaders do not have superior wisdom. Most Muslims follow this balanced approach.

The Shi'ites took a different path after the death of the prophet Mohammed. The split came over a dispute about who should lead Islam. The Shi'ites claimed that Mohammed passed on his hereditary rule to his son-in-law Ali and his descendants, and through him to a series of "imams" or spiritual leaders. Sunnis do not recognize these claims. Orthodox Shi'ites, called Twelvers, believe that there were 12 imams, the last of whom disappeared in the ninth century. Today's Shi'ite spiritual leaders claim to be able to communicate with this imam who exists in the spiritual realm. Only they can interpret Islamic law and rule the believers. Today, there are more than 50 million Shi'ites, most of whom live in Iran, where this branch of Islam has been the official religion since the 16th century. But, there are substantial numbers of Shi'ites in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, and Yemen, although they are sometimes seen as second-class citizens in these areas. Most Islamic terrorists come from the Shi'ite branch.

There is a small and very conservative branch of Islam called Wahhabism. Its eight million members are followers of the teaching of Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-92). Wahhabism took root in the Arabian Peninsula where nomadic peoples endured extremely harsh living conditions. Wahhabis reject all luxury, dancing, gambling, music, and the use of tobacco. Osama bin Laden came from this very puritanical branch of Islam.

This poster of Saeed Hotari praises his suicide attack. Palestinian psychiatrist Dr. Eyad Sarraj says Hotari's act "Gives his family the highest status ever. His name becomes immortal"

Community support is important; in a recent opinion poll 78% of Palestinians said they support suicide bombings against Israel. Hotari's family may benefit in other ways; the extremist group Hamas is reported to pay pensions to the families of suicide attackers. After the attack, Hotari's father Hassan was congratulated by the community. "I am proud and I will never forget it until the last day of my life," he said. `This kind of death is better than any other kind of death. Thanks to God."

Saeed Hotari's father told USA Today: "He has become a hero. Tell me, what more could a father ask?" Which brings to mind the comment of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir who said that "As long as they (the Palestinians) hate us more than they love their own children, we will not have peace."

FACT FILE

In December 1994, French authorities foiled an attempt by Algerian terrorists to blow up an airliner and its passengers in the sky over Paris.

Websites

Anti-Defamation League Terrorism page - http://www. adl.org/main_terrorism.asp

Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence - http://www.st-and. ac.uk/academic/intrel/ research/cstpv/

The Terrorism Research Centre - http://www. terrorism.com/index.shtml

Terrorist Group Profiles - http://web.nps.navy.mil/~library/tgp/tgpmain.htm