Home / terrorism

terrorism

  • September 30, 2014
    Timor mortis and responding to Islamic State

    'Timor mortis conturbat me' – the fear of death disturbs me. These words, from the liturgy of the Roman Catholic church, first became a literary device in medieval times, bracketing human follies and fears within the ambit of our common mortality.

  • August 30, 2014
    Terror threat: Let's not fall for it again

    Do they expect us to believe it all again? With weary familiarity, I have been reading the government’s claims that we face a heightened “terror threat”. UK governments have been making this claim every so often since 2001. It is usually followed by a fresh restriction of civil liberties or the departure of British troops to yet another war zone.

  • August 23, 2014
    Home secretary promise of crackdown on ‘non-violent extremism’

    UK home secretary Theresa May has promised to get tough on “non-violent extremism” as well as terrorism. Unless this is narrowly defined, such measures may undermine civil liberties and do more to promote than to counter violence.

  • December 25, 2013
    Christians killed in Iraq bomb attacks on Christmas Day

    Two bombs have killed at least 35 people in Christian areas of the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Christmas Day.

  • October 25, 2013
    Two atrocities: how long can a piece of thread be?

    Towards the end of last month, on a Sunday of all days too, I woke up to be confronted with deeply distressing images of the ongoing and violent standoff at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi (Kenya) and also of the horrid attack on All Saints’ Church in Peshawar (Pakistan).

  • September 25, 2013
    Horror and sorrow at murderous attacks on Pakistani Christians

    Human rights activists, churches, faith groups and many others have expressed revulsion and dismay at murderous attacks on Pakistani Christians.

  • September 23, 2013
    UN chief condemns 'totally reprehensible' terrorist act in Nairobi

    The UN Secretary-General has condemned the terrorist attack in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and urged that the perpetrators be brought to justice as soon as possible.

  • May 25, 2013
    We must condemn murder - in both Woolwich and Afghanistan

    Nothing justifies the vicious murder of a British soldier that took place on the streets of Woolwich this week. We are right to condemn it. Consistency and integrity mean that we must also speak out against the killing of innocent people by the US and UK government in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

  • May 23, 2013
    Responding rationally to the Woolwich murder

    In the streets of Woolwich, south-east London, a brutal murder took place yesterday (22 May). Pictures and eyewitness accounts suggest that a man was hacked to death in broad daylight and those responsible for this horrific crime were arrested shortly afterwards. While this was a tragedy for the victim, his family and friends and a shock to the local community, the reaction by some in government risks spreading unnecessary panic.

  • February 22, 2013
    London Met: silencing staff representatives or punishing ex-extremist?

    London Metropolitan University has hit the headlines by suspending three staff at its Working Lives Research Institute.