Cults, Violence and Religious Terrorism: An International Perspective

One of the significant changes in the field of terrorism over the past 20 years has been the increase in the number of groups claiming religious beliefs as a source of legitimacy for their actions. 1 Observers first paid attention to Islamic radical movements; however, it has become clear that some new religious movements as well could pose threats to public security. The sarin gas attack in Tokyo by Aum Shinrikyo on 20 March 1995 represented a turning point. The case of Aum Shinrikyo made a deep impression not only due to its magnitude and to a frightening scenario, but also because it made the attempt at a wide-scale use of biological and chemical weapons by a terrorist group a reality.2 Should violent actions committed by religious groups outside the mainline be considered as a specific sub-category of terrorism with distinctive patterns? To anybody familiar with the extreme variety of contemporary alternative religious groups, this obviously needs closer examination before making any statement about an alleged "global threat of religious cults."3