Is the definition of terrorism impossible to reach? Since we cannot offer a true or correct definition of terrorism. Certainly this is true for many of the objects of social science, and social class for example, which are defined differently according to opposing theories.

Terrorism is not merely a matter of explosives. A bomb thrown against a military target is a horrible thing, and may result in tragedy, but it is not by itself an act of terrorism. Neither is terrorism simply a matter of ideology. The ramming of a police station by a truck loaded with C4 does not become an act of terrorism simply because the explosive was packed by a fanatic’s hands, or the vehicle was driven by a true believer. Again the act is unconscious, and again the consequences may be terrible, but it is not necessarily the work of a terrorist. It is time to remind ourselves, what defines terrorism is the use of violence against the innocent, to achieve political, certain beliefs, or religious ends. The conversion of a commercial airplane into a weapon, the destruction of a crowded office tower, or the parking of a car bomb outside a heavily trafficked restaurant. These are doubtless acts of terrorism, but so is the shooting of entire residential areas, whose only sin is to crowd one house hiding, suspected enemies of the state. (read full text…)