SOME people call them night commuters. But these youngsters are not going to work on the night shift. They leave home at dusk because when darkness falls over the bush, home is a dangerous place.

For almost two decades, guerrilla forces have been invading rural settlements and kidnapping children. Each year they steal hundreds of boys and girls from their homes and then disappear into the dense jungle. The children are snatched mainly at night and provide the rebels with a pool of young soldiers, porters, and sex slaves. If the entrapped children do not cooperate, their captors may cut off their nose or lips. Those caught trying to escape face a death too horrible to describe.

There are other young victims of terrorism. The maimed teenagers in Sierra Leone were tots when machete-swinging men chopped off their hands and feet. Boys and girls in Afghanistan play with mines shaped like butterflies and lose fingers and eyes when those colorful “toys” explode.

Some young people affected by terrorism meet with a different fate. For example, in a 1995 terrorist attack on Oklahoma City, U.S.A., among the 168 people killed were 19 children, some of them in diapers. Like a blast of wind on flickering candles, the bomb instantly ended those tiny lives. The terrorist act stole their right to be children, to play and laugh and cuddle in the arms of their mothers and fathers.

These events are recent, but terrorist violence has plagued mankind for centuries, as we will see.

JUST a few years ago, terrorism seemed to be restricted to a few isolated places, such as Northern Ireland, the Basque Country in northern Spain, and some areas of the Middle East. Now​—especially since September 11, 2001, with the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York—​it has mushroomed into a worldwide phenomenon, springing up in paradisaic Bali; Madrid, Spain; London, England; Sri Lanka; Thailand; and even Nepal. Yet, terrorism is not a new development. What is meant by the term “terrorism”?

Terrorism has been defined as “the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.” (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language) However, writer Jessica Stern observes: “The student of terrorism is confronted with hundreds of definitions . . . But only two characteristics of terrorism are critical for distinguishing it from other forms of violence.” What are they? “First, terrorism is aimed at noncombatants. . . . Second, terrorists use violence for dramatic purpose: instilling fear in the target audience is often more important than the physical result. This deliberate creation of dread is what distinguishes terrorism from simple murder or assault.”

Violence Rooted in the Past

In first-century Judaea, a violent group called the Zealots pushed for Jewish independence from Rome. Some of their most ardent adherents became known as Sicarii, or dagger men, a name that comes from the short swords they hid under their garments. Mingling in Jerusalem’s festival crowds, the Sicarii slit the throats of their enemies or stabbed them in the back.a

In 66 C.E., a group of Zealots seized the fortress of Masada near the Dead Sea. They butchered the Roman garrison and made the mountaintop fastness their base of operations. For years they sortied from there and harassed the imperial authorities. In 73 C.E., the Roman Tenth Legion led by Governor Flavius Silva retook Masada, but they did not conquer the Zealots. A contemporary historian claims that rather than give in to Rome, 960 of them​—everyone up there except for two women and five children—​committed suicide.

Some view the Zealot revolt as the start of terrorism as we know it. True or not, since then terrorism has left deep tracks in history’s path.

Terrorism With Roots in Christendom

Beginning in 1095 and continuing for two centuries, crusader armies repeatedly crossed between Europe and the Middle East. Opposing them were Muslim forces from Asia and North Africa. The issue was control of Jerusalem, and each side tried to gain the advantage. In their many battles, those “holy warriors” hacked one another to pieces. They also used their swords and battle-axes on mere bystanders. William of Tyre, a 12th-century clergyman, described the crusaders’ entry into Jerusalem in the year 1099:

“They went together through the streets with their swords and spears in hand. All them that they met they slew and smote right down, men, women, and children, sparing none. . . . They slew so many in the streets that there were heaps of dead bodies, and one might not go nor pass but upon them that so lay dead. . . . There was so much blood shed that the channels and gutters ran all with blood, and all the streets of the town were covered with dead men.”b

In later centuries terrorists began using explosives and firearms with gruesome, fatal results.

Millions Dead

June 28, 1914, is viewed by historians as a turning point in European history. A young man, regarded by some as a hero, shot the Austrian crown prince, Archduke Francis Ferdinand. That event brought mankind into World War I. Twenty million deaths later, the Great War ended.

World War I had its sequel in World War II, with its concentration camps, slaughter of civilians in bombing raids, and acts of retribution on innocent people. After the war, murders continued. Over a million people died on Cambodia’s killing fields in the 1970’s. And the people of Rwanda are still reeling from the massacre of over 800,000 in the 1990’s.

From 1914 to our time, mankind has suffered from terrorist activity in many countries. Yet, some people today act as if history had no lessons for modern man. On a regular basis, terrorist attacks kill hundreds, maim thousands, and rob millions of their right to peace of mind and safety. Bombs explode in marketplaces, villages burn to the ground, women are raped, children go into captivity, people die. In spite of laws and universal condemnation, this sadistic routine does not stop. Is there hope that terrorism will end?

SOME believe that only through violence will they attain political freedom and spiritual purity​—that only destructive force will eliminate unwanted rulers. Also, some governments use terror to maintain order and to keep subject peoples under control. But if it is true that terrorism is an effective tool of rulership and social reform, it should produce peace, prosperity, and stability. After a while, violence and fear should subside. Have we seen those results?

The truth is that terrorism breaks down respect for life and leads to bloodshed and cruelty. Because of their pain, victims often retaliate, which leads to further repression and, in turn, to more retaliation.

Violence Does Not Solve Our Problems

Humans have been trying to solve their political, religious, and social problems by themselves for thousands of years. But all their attempts have failed. It is as the Bible says: “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” (Jeremiah 10:23) Jesus said: “Wisdom stands or falls by [its] results.” (Matthew 11:19, The New Testament in Modern English, by J. B. Phillips) By extension, these Biblical principles imply that terrorism is a false hope. The fruits of terrorism have not been freedom and happiness but, instead, death, misery, and ruin. This bad fruitage has filled the 20th century and is starting to overwhelm the 21st. Many would say that rather than the solution, terrorism is one of the problems.

“Every day I hope that none of my family or my friends die . . . Perhaps we need a miracle.” So wrote a young girl whose homeland had been set afire by terrorist violence. Her words point to a conclusion that many have drawn: The solution to man’s problems lies beyond the human realm. Only man’s Creator can solve earth’s present difficulties, including terrorism. But why should we trust God?

Why God Is Worthy of Our Trust

One reason is that as the Creator, Jehovah gave us life and wants us to enjoy it with peace and satisfaction. God’s prophet Isaiah was moved to write: “Now, O Jehovah, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are our Potter; and all of us are the work of your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8) Jehovah is the Father of mankind, and people of all nations are precious to him. The injustice and hatred that lead to terrorism are not his fault. Wise King Solomon once declared: “The true God made mankind upright, but they themselves have sought out many plans.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29) Human badness and demonic influence, not incompetence on the part of God, lie at the root of terrorism.​—Ephesians 6:11, 12.

Another reason why we can trust Jehovah is that since he created humans, he understands better than anyone the cause of mankind’s problems and how to solve them. The Bible states this truth at Proverbs 3:19: “Jehovah himself in wisdom founded the earth. He solidly fixed the heavens in discernment.” With full trust in God, a man from the ancient past wrote: “From where will my help come? My help is from Jehovah, the Maker of heaven and earth.”​—Psalm 121:1, 2.

There is a third reason why we should trust God: He has the power to halt violent bloodshed. In Noah’s time “the earth became filled with violence.” (Genesis 6:11) God’s judgment was sudden and complete: “[God] did not hold back from punishing an ancient world . . . when he brought a deluge upon a world of ungodly people.”​—2 Peter 2:5.

The Bible states a lesson we should learn from the Flood of Noah’s day: “Jehovah knows how to deliver people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people for the day of judgment to be cut off.” (2 Peter 2:9) God can distinguish between those who sincerely want a better life and those who make life miserable for others. He has set the latter apart for the “destruction of the ungodly men.” But for those desiring peace, he is preparing a new earth in which righteousness is to dwell.​—2 Peter 3:7, 13.

Lasting Peace on Earth!

Bible writers often used the word “earth” to refer to humanity. Genesis 11:1, for example, states that “all the earth,” the humans alive at that time, spoke the same language. The apostle Peter had that meaning in mind when he wrote of “a new earth.” Jehovah God would renew human society in such a way that righteousness and justice would replace violence and hatred as permanent “dwellers” in the land. In a prophecy recorded at Micah 4:3, the Bible tells us: “He will certainly render judgment among many peoples, and set matters straight respecting mighty nations far away. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. They will not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.”

How will people live when that prophecy is fulfilled? Micah 4:4 states: “They will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making them tremble.” In that earthly Paradise, no one will live in fear of the next terrorist attack. Can you trust that promise? Yes, “for the very mouth of Jehovah of armies has spoken it.”​—Micah 4:4.

So, as terrorist threats proliferate and nations shudder because of violence, the solution for lovers of peace is to trust in Jehovah. No problem exists that he cannot solve. He will remove injury, suffering, and even death. The Bible states: “He will actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces.” (Isaiah 25:8) The precious lands of many peoples, now filled with pain and fear as a result of terrorism, will soon overflow with the fruitage of peace. That peace, promised by the God “who cannot lie,” is what mankind desperately needs.​—Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:17, 18.