The rise of Al Qaeda, religious militancy and terrorism Essay

The rise of Al Qaeda, religious militancy and terrorism - Essay ExampleAccording to Marshall McLuhan, genius of the pillars of mass media theory, without communication, terrorism would not exist. Certainly, terrorism existed well before mass media however the latter definitely gave the former a great advantage. Before, terrorism is check to the ara that goons, thugs or soldiers can reach. Today, one can just create a newsworthy howevert and the scope of exposure is limitless. This was what bin Laden and stand exploited. He saw that mass media can be used to get attention, to gain recognition, and even to obtain a certain degree of respect and genuineness. It can be said that al-Qaedas rise to power were determined by how bin Laden used the media to get his message crossways to the world. He knew that his organization needed an international audience to gain legitimacy because without it, he would not be able to get funding and recruitment would be more difficult to accomplish . With malicious precision in manipulating the media, bin Laden was able to propel al-Qaeda as an organization that the world needs to adjourn seriously. Hoffman states that terrorists, as exemplified by bin Laden, aims to dominate and control by sending a message of fearand there is no better way to indoctrinate fear to the masses than through the media. Bin Laden recognized that when the masses are afraid for their lives, it propagates uncertainty and chaos, not only to a large population, but more importantly, to the nations democratic leaders.... 5). Hoffman (as cited in Fiore, 2011, p. 27) states that terrorists, as exemplified by bin Laden, aims to dominate and control by sending a message of fearand there is no better way to instill fear to the masses than through the media. But why instill fear? Bin Laden recognized that when the masses are afraid for their lives, it propagates uncertainty and chaos, not only to a large population, but more importantly, to the nations demo cratic leaders (p. 27 Soriano, 2008, p. 2). This instability can prompt people, and even governments, to think and react differently than they would have otherwise, making them lean towards making decisions that would favor al-Qaeda (p. 27). Aside from exploiting this strategy, al-Qaeda also became infamous for making candid on their threats and doing it in a visual manner that would gain the most attention and implant the most fear and hatred. The organizations attacks were powerful in that it was grand yet personal, vast yet meaningful. This can perfectly be seen in the 9/11 attacks, in which the entire world was treated to a visual overload of exploding buildingsthe World Trade Center and the Pentagon, no lessplanes crashing, and hundreds of people dying or jumping to their deaths. Every channel for the next some daysand even yearsbroadcasted the attacks. The attacks were large-scale, in a country considered to be a world power, against a building that is a symbol of internatio nal collaboration, and they came at a time the world least expected them. The attention al-Qaeda got was monumental. If people were not aware of the existence of al-Qaeda, they sure were made aware on the morning of September 11, 2001. And the message was clear and powerful.