Historical Origin
To start talking about this issue we need to understand what is the origin of the word terrorism. Terrorism comes from part of the Latin term “terror cimbricus” that’s means “to frighten”. During the French Revolution, General Maximilien Robespierre executed thousands of innocent people who were opposed to his regime. This time is known as the Reign of Terror, which refers to “terror cimbricus”. After Robespierre death people started to use the word terrorism to refer to an act where a person or a group of people use power as a way to frighten others.
Definitions for Terrorism
When looking for definitions about terrorism on dictionaries, I found about the same general explanation in all sources:
Oxnard English Dictionary
ter·ror·ism
ˈterəˌrizəm/
noun
noun: terrorism
a. gen. The unofficial or unauthorized use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims
Merriam-webster dictionary
b. terrorism noun
Systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective.
Even scholars such as Bruce Hoffman who focused on a large research on terrorism has its definition as: “We may therefore now attempt to define terrorism as the deliberate creation and exploitation of fear through violence or the threat of violence in the pursuit of political change. All terrorist acts involve violence or the threat of violence.”
All those credible sources see terrorism as one and only act of violence. Everyone sees terrorism as a bad thing present in society. But the reality hidden and not being telling is that they have a main reason for the use of terrorist actions.