Am I a Terrorist?

Exploding the bombs of hatred and cancellation inside us

Introduction: a provocative title

When you read this title, you may think only of violence, bombs or hatred. But here “terrorist” also means wishing for or celebrating someone's death. I am talking about something much more intimate: exploding inside myself the bombs of hatred, intolerance and cancellation to make room for the love that transforms.

This reflection was born from several recent conversations, about the book Son of Hamas, about the murder of Charlie Kirk, about social media and political polarization. In all these situations I saw the same mechanism: we cannot even stand to listen to the other. We cancel, we label, we dehumanize. And I asked myself: Don't I carry this seed too?

The spirit of terrorism without bombs

Classic terrorism is using physical violence to cause fear and impose an agenda. But there is a “symbolic terrorism”: when we cancel, humiliate, wish for death or celebrate the destruction of the other. It is what J.K. Rowling wrote in a post that circulated recently:

“If you believe that free speech is for you, but not for your political opponents, you are illiberal.
If no contrary evidence can change your beliefs, you are a fundamentalist.
If you believe the State should punish those with contrary opinions, you are a totalitarian.
If you believe that political opponents should be punished with violence or death, you are a terrorist.”

This text is an uncomfortable mirror. It shows that the path to hatred has no single side, anyone can fall into it.

Real-world examples

• Charlie Kirk: a conservative commentator murdered in the USA. On social media, thousands celebrated his death. That celebration is a kind of “psychological terrorism”: dehumanizing the other until their end seems legitimate.
• Social media: they applaud cancellation. Each group feels morally superior and turns the other into an enemy. Cancellation seems harmless, but at its extreme it is symbolic lynching, and every symbolic lynching is a step toward real violence.
• The “Christian” West: it speaks of freedom, but often wishes to eliminate the opponent, whether politically, socially or religiously. The name is Christian; the practice is intolerant.

Personal examples

I saw this happen up close. When I told a friend about the book Son of Hamas, I explained the son's conclusion: his father was a leader respected and loved by everyone who knew him, but bound to an ideology that defended eliminating Israel. My friend had shown interest in the book, but he shut down immediately and rejected the subject when he heard that the father was against violence, except violence against Israel. And I was not accusing or defending anything, only commenting on a fact with someone of an ideological position similar to mine!?

Another time, I shared articles with a friend with a political position different from mine. He argued and argued, and finally left the group indignant, unable to bear hearing opposing positions.

These experiences made me think: How many times do I also act this way? How many times do I cancel, run away or label?

When I read Son of Hamas, I began to understand the mentality of a terrorist. I realized that, with that mentality, there will never be peace as long as Israel exists, it is not just a question of territory, as many in the West think, but a question of mentality. And that is exactly the risk we all run: because deep down no one thinks of himself as a terrorist, but, in the light of the wise words of J.K. Rowling, many Christians also show a terrorist mentality. When we cancel, when we hate, when we wish for the symbolic or literal death of the other, we are repeating the same logic, only at another level.

The Bible as light

• James 1:20, “Man's anger does not produce the righteousness of God”.
• Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”.
• Matthew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”.

Pilate realized that Jesus had been handed over out of envy (Mt 27:18). Envy comes from the Latin invidere: not wanting to see, not being able to bear seeing. Today we also cannot even bear to see the opposing opinion. The spirit that canceled and crucified Jesus still acts when we eliminate or dehumanize those who think differently from us.

The true “terrorist” according to this metaphor

Being a “terrorist” here does not mean doing evil in the name of good. On the contrary: it is exploding inside oneself the bombs of hatred, intolerance and cancellation, to make room for love and reconciliation:

• the bomb of envy,
• the bomb of pride,
• the bomb of intolerance,
• the bomb of cancellation.

It is disarming the heart so the Holy Spirit can work. It is refusing the broad road of anger and choosing the narrow road of love.

Practical care

• Listen before reacting.
• Recognize the humanity of the other, even when disagreeing.
• Pray for those who disagree with you.
• Confront ideas without attacking people.
• Remember that Jesus also died for the one you call an enemy.

So, let the Holy Spirit put the words in your message, spoken or written, thus allowing your own transformation. For it is the kindness of God that leads us to a change of mentality, and only the Holy Spirit can convince the other.

Climax: the true way

Jesus said: “I am the Way” (Jn 14:6), and the apostle Paul reminds us of an “even more excellent Way” (1Co 12:31), the way of love.

We were born to walk this way, not following the majority. And there is no alternative path that passes through the death of the other for those who believe in the Word of God. The true way passes through the cross, but it is the cross of the ego, of intolerance and of hatred. The true way is the way of love, of reconciliation and of life.

Inspiring conclusion

We live in a world where everyone thinks they are right, and everyone cancels the others. Our calling is to walk the most excellent way: to love our enemies, to forgive those who hurt us, to see the humanity in the adversary.

Being a “terrorist” in this metaphor, or, better said, a defuser of spiritual bombs, is to detonate the bombs of hatred inside oneself, not to blow up others. This is the way of Christ formed in us.

Summary of the message

• There is no Gospel that authorizes wishing for or celebrating the death of the other.
• There is no true Christianity that feeds on cancellation.
• True power lies in dying to oneself, not in killing or even celebrating the death of the other.