Let's get something straight: terrorists aren't really interested in getting people to convert to their religious belief systems. Nor are they trying to fulfill some religion-directed goal of destroying nonbelievers.
Wanting others to join their beliefs would necessitate a kinder, gentler approach. No one would voluntarily pledge oath to any religion that treated women so badly, that destroyed more than it built, that created a pervasive sense of anxiety and uncertainty. Oh wait a minute, some men would!
Well, I think it's clear that terrorists are simply creators of chaos, lovers of entropy, in disguise. They have anarchy written all over them. They appear to despise all order, all social structures, all ideologies. Islamic terrorists pretend to honor the Koran, but clearly do not speak for the vast majority of Islamic believers. They are actually fighting against their own religion.
In all these ways they are nothing more than anarchists! It has been convenient to create this disguise, because it gives them more credence and power - which is exactly what they need and want so desperately.
I'd be willing to bet money that the overwhelming majority of those who "join" any terrorists groups are either "lost" souls or are themselves miscreants. Just look at the shoe bomber, the underwear bomber, and the Times Square bomber.
I am most fearful of my consistent observation of people over the years: there is clearly a chaotic component in almost everyone. That characteristic, or drive, is closely related to Freud's Thanatopsis. It can be unmasked and energized in a variety of circumstances and it should never be underestimated. As the world and its resources shrink, there will be less and less for more and more. There will be greater pressures and fewer global-level coping mechanisms. I fear that terrorism is a spreading, not an isolated, phenomenon.
I so very much hope I'm wrong.
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