Does the recent killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri mean the end of that terrorist movement? I think not, given that Al Qaeda remained a serious threat and cursed the world with the Islamic State movement.
Religiously motivated terrorism, whether it claims an affiliation with Islam, Christianity, or any other faith, relies neither on strength of numbers nor on individual leaders, but on powerful ideologies. That point was made very clear to me when I watched an interrogation of a failed suicide bomber and listened to an experienced CIA agent. When he was asked how he felt about his mission, which was to kill innocent women, children, and men, the suicide bomber’s chilling response was, ‘I knew it was wrong, but my commander told me it was the will of God.’ ......
To read more, and how I think religiously motivated terrorism can be defeated in the long term, please read the full article at the The Christopher Dawson Centre for Cultural Studies https://www.dawsoncentre.org/newsletter/prof-matthew-ogilvie-education-vs-terrorism/
Thank you to Dr David Daintree and the Dawson Centre for publishing my article!