Terrorist Events Research Articles

Latent Markov time-interaction processes

We present parametric and semiparametric latent Markov time-interaction processes, that are point processes where the occurrence of an event can increase or reduce the probability of future events. We first present time-interaction processes with parametric and nonparametric baselines, then we let model parameters be modulated by a discrete state continuous time latent Markov process. Posterior inference is based on a novel and efficient data augmentation approach in the Markov Chain Monte Carlo framework. We illustrate with a simulation study; and an original application to terrorist attacks in Europe in the period 2001-2017, where we find two distinct latent clusters for the hazard of occurrence of terrorist events, negative association with GDP growth, and self-exciting phenomena.

The identity of religion always comes up: the war, the mass media and the reproduction of Muslim identity in the west

Islamophobia in the media occurs when media sources present hostile, inaccurate, and/or deceptive stories about Islam, Muslims, or Arabs. Islamophobia is the term used to describe strong antipathy or prejudice toward Muslims, intense hatred or fear of Islam, particularly as a political force, and the study of how and to what extent the media promotes There has been a lot of scholarly and political discourse on Islamophobia. The discourse around Islamophobia in the media often focuses on the rhetorical strategies utilized by individual media outlets or by the mass media of a given nation or region, such the US or Europe. A few instances of this are when Islam is portrayed in a poor light relative to other religions, when Muslims are linked to terrorism, when Muslims and their followers are portrayed as aggressive or primitive, and when Muslim viewpoints are excluded from discussions on politics and academia, among other subjects. On the other hand, reactions to talks about Islamophobia in the media frequently cast doubt on what actually qualifies as Islamophobia, how frequently, how severe, and how effective Islamophobic language is, as well as the political reasons for such talks. This study aims to determine whether or not there was obvious inherent bias by examining the tone, structure, and topics offered by the print media prior to a terrorist event. This study examines how the world press has connected Islam to terrorism and emphasizes how subliminal print messages might contribute to Muslim racial profiling and the spread of Islamophobia. The editorials of six prominent international newspapers between 2014 and 2017 provided the data for this study, which created strata of ten significant worldwide terrorism incidents at random. The investigator examined editorials for a month following the event. The researcher’s results and conclusions are obtained by statistical interpretation following data analysis using event methodology and content analysis.

Transitional justice and terrorism: socio-legal reflections on the problem of trials, perpetrator responsibility and accountability

Scholars have only recently begun to link transitional justice frameworks to legal settlements after terror. In the wake of Anders Breivik’s 2011 attacks, Norway has witnessed a series of terror and mass violence events, each followed by extensive legal proceedings. These include the 2019 mosque attack, the 2021 Kongsberg killings, and the 2022 Islamist attack during Oslo Pride week. This article examines these trials as a societal, ongoing process. This research contributes to the field of transitional justice by examining how legal systems grapple with the aftermath of terror in the absence of clear-cut criminal narratives. Focus is given to how we can expand our understanding of the meaning of legal accountability in terror contexts. The central contribution of the article is to problematise the relationship between terror trials as vehicles for perpetrator responsibility, and justice and healing. Starting from the mental health narratives surrounding all the perpetrators, the article suggests that there is a tension between holding terrorists accountable and defining them as patients. To contribute to alternative ways of construing legal accountability, the article puts forward examples of how accountability for terror is being navigated and negotiated in bureaucratic, political, and international legal discourse and practice. The article is part of a special issue honouring the contributions of the late Professor Thomas Mathiesen.

Terror and taxes: how attacks impact corporate tax avoidance

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of terrorist attacks on tax avoidance. Further, the authors identify the possible channel leading to our main result and examine the role of social pressure. Design/methodology/approach Data pertaining to terrorist attacks within the USA are procured from the Global Terrorism Database. The final sample consists of 45,524 firm-year observations from 1993 to 2017. The methodology uses ordinary least squares regressions. Findings The authors find that firms located in close proximity to terrorist attacks (i.e. impact firms) significantly decrease their tax avoidance practices after the attacks. The authors further find that these impact firms are willing to pay more taxes post attack when their headquarters are located in higher social capital regions. Originality/value Studies have mainly focused on the macroeconomic effects of terrorism, and only recently have researchers shifted their focus to firm-level impacts. The authors provide strong evidence that extends the second line of the literature by exploring corporate tax activities attributed to terrorist events.

Terrorist Attacks, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Firm Value

Synopsis Research problem According to the World Economic Forum, terrorism is one of the main managerial concerns for companies worldwide. However, there is surprisingly scant research on how terrorist attacks impact managerial decision-making. To fill this gap, we investigate how terrorist attacks influence firms’ socially oriented activities, as measured by their investments in corporate social responsibility (CSR). Motivation or theoretical reasoning In light of the crucial role of CSR in financial markets and the growing apprehension regarding terrorism risk, this study explores whether and to what extent firms’ CSR investments contribute to the resilience to terrorism risk. The motivation for our research question is grounded in the idea that terrorist attacks create a unique set of circumstances that prompt firms to reconsider their socially oriented initiatives. We argue that firms impacted by such events tend to recognize the importance of demonstrating commitment to social responsibility in the aftermath of a crisis. Overall, the theoretical underpinnings of this study revolve around the notion that CSR becomes a strategic response for firms affected by terrorism, through which they address various stakeholder concerns, maintain legitimacy, and strategically manage their public image in the aftermath of a crisis. The test hypotheses We empirically examine two key research questions in this study. First, we examine the effect of terrorist attacks on the CSR investments of publicly traded firms. Second, we examine whether and how the increase in CSR investments of publicly traded firms after terrorist attacks affects firm value. Target population Our study extends the limited research on the impact of terrorism on capital markets, which is an area of great concern to various stakeholders, including shareholders and corporate managers. The findings will also help researchers understand the determinants of CSR and the potential channels through which CSR creates value for shareholders. Adopted methodology Using a multivariate regression model and controlling for all other determinants of corporate CSR investment documented by prior studies, we test the effect of terrorist events on firms’ CSR investment. To reduce the concern that a growing awareness of the importance of CSR may explain the changes in firms’ investment in CSR over time, we use a difference-in-differences research design. Analyses Using a sample of 53 major terrorist attacks occurring in the U.S. between 1994 and 2015, this study examines the causal effect of terrorist attacks on firms’ CSR activities. Findings Our findings indicate that public firms located in close proximity to terrorist attacks (i.e., the impact firms) substantially increase their investment in CSR following those terrorist events, and that the increase in CSR investment is positively associated with firm value. We further observe a strengthened association between increased CSR and firm value when the CSR efforts of the impact firms attract greater media attention. In conclusion, our findings substantiate the hypothesis that firms exposed to higher levels of terrorism risk are more inclined to enhance their CSR investments. This inclination is driven by the dual impact of CSR efforts: not only do they contribute to bolstering stakeholders’ confidence in firms’ future performance, but they are also linked to increased returns in the aftermath of a terrorist attack.

Do Blasphemy Restrictions Restrict Terrorism?

ABSTRACT Although several countries have repealed their laws banning blasphemy in recent years, a majority of the world’s countries still ban some forms of blasphemous expressions. It is often argued in political debate that such legislation is necessary to prevent conflicts and terrorism. The empirical literature on the topic nevertheless remains tiny and it is an open question if blasphemy bans ‘work’ in this way. In this paper, we therefore explore the association between types of blasphemy legislation and terrorist events. We do so using a large cross-country panel dataset of up to 162 countries observed between 1970 and 2016. Exploring determinants of terrorist attacks, we find that while blasphemy legislation in general is not associated with terrorism, countries with constitutionalised blasphemy bans experience a higher terrorism risk.

Mitigation of Fetal Radiation Injury from Mid-Gestation Total-body Irradiation by Maternal Administration of Mitochondrial-Targeted GS-Nitroxide JP4-039.

Victims of a radiation terrorist event will include pregnant women and unborn fetuses. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are key pathogenic factors of fetal radiation injury. The goal of this preclinical study is to investigate the efficacy of mitigating fetal radiation injury by maternal administration of the mitochondrial-targeted gramicidin S (GS)-nitroxide radiation mitigator JP4-039. Pregnant female C57BL/6NTac mice received 3 Gy total-body irradiation (TBI) at mid-gestation embryonic day 13.5 (E13.5). Using novel time-and-motion-resolved 4D in utero magnetic resonance imaging (4D-uMRI), we found TBI caused extensive injury to the fetal brain that included cerebral hemorrhage, loss of cerebral tissue, and hydrocephalus with excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Histopathology of the fetal mouse brain showed broken cerebral vessels and elevated apoptosis. Further use of novel 4D Oxy-wavelet MRI capable of probing invivo mitochondrial function in intact brain revealed a significant reduction of mitochondrial function in the fetal brain after 3 Gy TBI. This was validated by ex vivo Oroboros mitochondrial respirometry. One day after TBI (E14.5) maternal administration of JP4-039, which passes through the placenta, significantly reduced fetal brain radiation injury and improved fetal brain mitochondrial respiration. Treatment also preserved cerebral brain tissue integrity and reduced cerebral hemorrhage and cell death. JP4-039 administration following irradiation resulted in increased survival of pups. These findings indicate that JP4-039 can be deployed as a safe and effective mitigator of fetal radiation injury from mid-gestational in utero ionizing radiation exposure.

Reported Increase in Substance Use Following Mass Terrorism and the Role of Psychosocial Factors

Research has shown evidence of increased substance use (ISU) in populations affected by mass terrorism; however, less is known regarding how psychosocial factors interact to estimate ISU following such events. To examine which factors are associated with reporting ISU, test whether psychological distress (PD) mediated the association between exposure to trauma and reporting ISU, and whether the mediation effect differed among those with prior mental health (MH) difficulties and those without. A partially representative cross-sectional survey of the adult Jewish population in Israel (aged 18-70 years) was conducted 4 weeks after October 7, 2023 (October 31 to November 5, 2023). A national Web panel using quotas based on national distributions was used. Randomly chosen adult Jewish members were invited to participate until a predetermined sample size was reached. The study measures included reporting ISU (outcome), PD (mediator), exposure to terror events and sociodemographic characteristics (variables), and prior MH difficulties (moderator). Hypotheses regarding outcome and variables were formulated before data collection. A total of 7000 invitations were distributed, 2679 individuals consented, 1432 were excluded owing to quota limits, 74 failed attention tests, and 205 opted out, resulting in 968 participants (490 women [50.6%]; mean [SD] age, 41.5 [14.6] years). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that participants were significantly more likely to report ISU if they had experienced direct exposure (odds ratio [OR], 5.75; 95% CI, 2.53 to 13.05), indirect exposure (OR, 1.84; 95% CI, 1.27 to 2.67), media exposure (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.09 to 1.36), PD (OR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.44 to 2.25), or previous MH difficulties (OR, 2.76; 95% CI, 1.86 to 4.09). PD partially mediated the association between indirect exposure (b = 0.20; 95% CI, 0.11 to 0.31) and media exposure (b = 0.14; 95% CI, 0.10 to 0.19) and reporting ISU. No evidence was found to support previous MH difficulties as a moderator of these indirect effects (indirect exposure, b = -0.003; 95% CI, -0.28 to 0.28; media exposure, b = 0.01; 95% CI, -0.06 to 0.08). This study contributes to the research on the association of mass terrorism with ISU while shedding important light on the role it may play in the self-medication of PD following exposure, even in those who might have no previous MH difficulties. These insights are crucial for planning essential health services and preventive measures.

Does Fiscal Decentralization Mitigate Domestic Terrorism?

Abstract Many countries have embarked on decentralization as a way to mitigate separation tendencies. Even though decentralization could satisfy some separation tendencies, the central government might be unable or unwilling to award the localities the level of decentralization they require to stay in the union. This mismatch may give rise to domestic violence and internal conflict. We propose a simple two-stage model that combines the decentralization and domestic terrorism literature in a single structural model, which can be readily tested using existing data in the disciplines. As long as the actual decentralization level meets the unobserved desired value by the localities, there will be a high likelihood of observing a zero incidence of domestic terrorism. Otherwise, the incidents happen regularly with mitigating effects from decentralization. Our model also accounts for the left-censoring of the terrorism data at zero. We examine our model using 5-year interval panel data of more than 60 countries based on the information for 1970–2019. Our results indicate a strong negative and statistically significant relationship between fiscal decentralization and domestic terrorism events. One percent increase in fiscal decentralization is associated with a two to three percent decline in domestic terrorism incidents. The coefficients of the selection model and domestic terrorism model generally conform to the literature.

Endogenous and exogenous effects in self‐exciting process models of terrorist activity

A model based on the cluster process representation of the self‐exciting process model is derived to allow for variation in the excitation effects for terrorist events in a self‐exciting or cluster process model. The model's derivation and implementation details are given and applied to data from the Global Terrorism Database (National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), 2015) from 2000 to 2013. Results regarding the practical interpretation and implications for a theoretical model paralleling existing criminological theory are discussed.

Irradiation and Alterations in Hippocampal DNA Methylation.

The response of the brain to radiation is important for cancer patients receiving whole or partial brain irradiation or total body irradiation, those exposed to irradiation as part of a nuclear accident or a nuclear war or terrorism event, and for astronauts during and following space missions. The mechanisms mediating the effects of irradiation on the hippocampus might be associated with alterations in hippocampal DNA methylation. Changes in cytosine methylation involving the addition of a methyl group to cytosine (5 mC) and especially those involving the addition of a hydroxy group to 5 mC (hydroxymethylcytosine or 5 hmC) play a key role in regulating the expression of genes required for hippocampal function. In this review article, we will discuss the effects of radiation on hippocampal DNA methylation and whether these effects are associated with hippocampus-dependent cognitive measures and molecular measures in the hippocampus involved in cognitive measures. We will also discuss whether the radiation-induced changes in hippocampal DNA methylation show an overlap across different doses of heavy ion irradiation and across irradiation with different ions. We will also discuss whether the DNA methylation changes show a tissue-dependent response.

Heterogeneous impacts of geopolitical risk factors on stock markets in the Middle East: A quantile regression analysis across four emerging economies

This study investigates the heterogeneous impacts of eight categories of geopolitical risk on stock market performance across different market conditions in four Middle Eastern economies: Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Utilizing Quantile regression analysis and datasets spanning from September 2002 to August 2023, our findings reveal the complex and varied relationships between geopolitical risk factors and stock market performance. These results underscore the significance of comprehending specific political risk factors and their influence under various market conditions. We observe a consistent negative relationship between military buildups and stock market performance in Egypt and Israel, while other categories exhibit mixed effects. The Saudi Arabian and Turkish markets demonstrate varied sensitivity to different risks, with terrorism and war-related events significantly affecting market dynamics. Notably, all four markets consistently displayed negative reactions to terrorist activities, indicating the universally disruptive nature of such events. Understanding these dynamics assists investors and policymakers in adapting to global political changes.

Understanding the Dynamics of Human Security, Terrorism and Sustainable Peace in Pakistan

Human security has been succeeded by national security, particularly in the interest of protecting the public, economy, food, health and environment and particularly due to the fear of terrorism. Questions of human security and terrorism trouble the Asian community enormously, particularly in the post-9/11 era. For those living in tribal areas of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, may face events of violence, crime, brutality, terrorist attacks and insecurity any time. Nations like Pakistan, Afghanistan and India are always at unexpected hazard of conflict emerging to serious threats of terrorism and instability. While other states enjoy their peaceful environment. Therefore, weaker states have serious shortcomings that call for global investigation and commitment. Throughout history, when aggressive conflict took place, security became a dream. Similarly, Pakistanis have suffered a lot due to the events of terrorism. Human security may perform as a systematic and calculated type of protection for entire community that is basically connected with multiple areas of the individual’s security, security of groups and society in general as compare to previous methods for protection from external threats. The present article is based on content analysis and it addresses the practices of human security to promote sustainable peace and highlight the challenges posed by terrorism in Pakistan. The concept of human security is focused and discussed at different scales and with reference to emerging threats from it. Moving through from broader to narrower definitions, it can be treated as the security of individual, or as the security of community and society.

Utilization of psychiatry services in the emergency department following a terror event in Israel

In October 2023, Israel sustained a massive terror attack, with 1,300 people murdered, over 240 kidnapped, and millions exposed to the horrors. This study's aim is to examine the profile of patients arriving to the emergency department (ED) for psychiatric services during the month following the attack, compared to a similar period the year prior. In this cohort study, we compared patients arriving to the ED of a large general hospital in the center of Tel Aviv for psychiatric services during the month post-attack with the previous year using t-tests and chi-square exams. In 2023, 256 patients arrived in the ED for psychiatric evaluation and/or treatment, 46 % more than in 2022. Of these, 64 % were examined due to symptoms related to the terror attack. In 2023, significantly fewer patients had a prior psychiatric diagnosis (68% vs. 89 %). Significantly more patients were diagnosed with acute stress reaction or acute stress disorder in the ED, compared to almost no such diagnoses in 2022 (14 % and 43% vs. 0 % and 1 %). Major terror incidents profoundly influence psychiatric ED visits. Planning efforts for major emergencies should be adapted accordingly.

Compliance & Enforcement in International Law: Achieving Global Uniformity in Aviation Safety

无人遵守且无法实施的法律与诗歌无异——虽悦耳动听，但对我们生活的现实世界鲜有影响。现有的研究并未完全把国际规范和遵守国际法律义务统一起来;甚至需要达成广泛共识来实现国际协作的领域，也没有完全达成一致。受各国固有主权、参差不齐的经济发展水平、以及种类繁多的政治优先事项影响，遵守国际义务并不是一件容易的事。本文将考察有关国际航空安全的法律法规，同时也会论及在遵守国际义务中单边及多边所做出的努力。国际商业航空提供了有价值的研究案例，让国际社会在守法的前提下，得以共同探寻互利的可能性。国际习惯法、国际组织颁布的类法律准则，以及国内法规与程序法，增进了我们对复杂国际企业的理解，比如，商业航空公司是如何在国际舞台发挥其影响力的。1944年，国际社会急待通过统一的立法来保障航空安全。这需要一个管理国际航空的组织，其不仅享有制定国际航空安全规则的准立法权，同时也有权强制让成员国通过国内法来执行这些规则。然而，除了主要成员国和国际组织所做的努力，这一目标推进得十分缓慢。因此，把航空安全作为一个典型课题，不仅可以研究国家遵守国际义务的意愿和能力，还可探索激励或强制履行国际义务的方式。这一研究之所以重要，还有一个更加现实的原因，即安全（safety）和保安（security）密切相关。对二者进行规定，除了可以避免人身损害和财产损失，最重要的是可以防止人们失去生命。不过，二者也存在区别。安全的规定用来预防意外伤害，而保安的规定则用来预防故意伤害。正如普通法中过错责任（fault-based negligence）和故意侵权（intentional torts）的区别：后者比前者的过错更大，且会面临更加严格的惩罚。2001年9月11日的悲剧后，保安成为国际航空界最为关心的目标。可实际上，乘客死于航空安全的概率比死于空中恐怖袭击的概率高出10倍。因此，研究航空安全在实践中的重要性，其意义远大于充满感情色彩的航空保安研究。在商业航空中，安全的优先级一定是最高的。统计数据表明，国际航空的安全性近年来显著提升。究其原因，一方面归功于日益进步的技术，另一方面也得益于不断完善的法律。本文关注的是后一个问题。 Law without compliance and enforcement is like poetry – it is pleasing to the ear, but has little to do with the practical world in which we live. The study of efforts to achieve uniformity in international norms and compliance with international legal obligations reveals mixed success, even in areas where there is widespread consensus for the need to have international harmony. Given the inherent sovereignty of states, the heterogeneous levels of economic ability, and the diversity of political priorities, securing compliance with international obligations is rarely an effortless task. This article addresses legal norms governing international aviation safety, as well as both unilateral and multilateral efforts to achieve state compliance with those international legal obligations. Commercial international aviation provides a useful case study of how the world community seeks to achieve mutual self-interest by securing global harmony in law. The interplay between conventional international law, quasi-legal standards promulgated by international organizations, and national laws, regulations, and procedures offers insights as to how complex international enterprises, such as commercial aviation, play on the world stage. In 1944, the world community acknowledged the need to achieve safety in international aviation through uniformity in law by establishing an organization to govern international aviation, conferring upon it quasi-legislative power to prescribe standards governing international aviation safety, and obliging member states to implement these standards through their domestic laws. Despite the efforts of major aviation nations and international organizations, those goals are only sluggishly being achieved. Thus, aviation safety can serve as a case study to inquire into the ability and willingness, on the one hand, or inability and unwillingness, on the other, of states to conform to their international obligations and the means by which they can be encouraged, or coerced, to comply. This inquiry is important for another less theoretical and more practical reason. Safety and security are two sides of the same coin. The regulation of both is designed to avoid injuries to persons and property, and the deprivation of man’s most valuable attribute – life. Yet the two are quite different, as well. Safety regulation focuses on preventing accidental harm. Security regulation focuses on preventing intentional harm. Like the common law difference between fault-based negligence and intentional torts, the latter involves more culpability than the former, and is deterred by more serious penalties. Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, security has become a paramount concern in international aviation community. Yet a passenger is ten times more likely to lose his life in an aviation safety-related accident than in an aviation terrorist event. Hence, the study of aviation safety is of far more practical importance than the more emotionally driven study of aviation security. Safety must be among the highest priorities in commercial aviation. All statistical evidence indicates that international aviation has become decidedly safer in recent decades. Though much of that positive result can be attributed to improvements in technology, much can also be attributed to improvements in the law. It is the latter subject that is the focus of this article.

Some Issues of the “Great terror” Problem in Azerbaijan Historiography

The main purpose of writing this article is to assess, from the point of view of Azerbaijani historiography, the event known as the “Great Terror” that occurred in the Soviet Union in 1937–1938. The article, using the example of the Republic of Azerbaijan, examines this wave of repression carried out by the head of the USSR, Joseph Stalin, which entailed the murder of a large number of innocent people in all Soviet republics. In the course of the study, a number of questions are posed and attempted to be resolved. First of all, attention is paid to why and when repression occurs and how it begins. At the same time, the role played by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Azerbaijan, Mir Jafar Bagirov, during the repressions is revealed, as his influence on the events, how many people became victims of repressions, and so on. The answers to these questions allow us to fully understand the nature of the Great Terror event and get an idea of the current situation. The materials collected during the study were analyzed, and the results obtained were synthesized, taking into account cause-and-effect relationships. During the study, to obtain more objective results, the opinions of individual researchers are critically evaluated, and, if necessary, the inductive method is used. In particular, the use of the inductive method allows us to obtain a general conclusion from individual facts and fully determine the position of Azerbaijani historiography on this issue. To obtain an overall result, the work of researchers studying repression was classified as research conducted by historians, philologists, journalists, archivists, and relatives of the repressed. Since our scientific direction is in the historical aspect, preference was given to the works of historians, but works written in other directions, depending on the topic, were also involved in the research.

Deep Fake Video Detection

Deep learning algorithms have become so strong due to increasing processing power that it is now quite easy to produce an identical human-synthesized video, sometimes known as a "deep fake.". Scenarios where these realistic face swapped deep fakes are used to create political distress, fake terrorism events, revenge porn, blackmail peoples are easily envisioned. In this work, we describe a deep learning-based method that can effectively distinguish AI-generated fake videos from real videos. Our technique can recognize the replacement and reenactment automatically. deepfakes. We are trying to use Artificial Intelligence(AI) to fight Artificial Intelligence(AI). Our system uses a Res-Next Convolution n e u r a l network to extract the frame-level features and these features and further used to train the Long Short Term Memory(LSTM) based Recurrent Neural Network(RNN to classify whether the video is subject to any kind of manipulation or not, ie whether the video is deep fake or real video. In order to improve the model's performance on real-time data and replicate real-world circumstances, we assess our approach using a sizable, well-balanced, and diverse set of prepared data by mixing the various available data-set like FaceForensic++, Deepfake detection challenge, and Celeb-DF. We also show how our system achieved competitive result using very simple and robust approach

Hostility on Twitter in the aftermath of terror attacks

This study investigates the relationship between major Jihadist terror attacks and manifestations of ethno-religious hostility on social media. Analyzing approximately 4.5 million time-stamped Tweets from 1.2 million users across five European countries, the study focuses on content discussing migration and related topics in the weeks before and after ten significant terror attacks. The findings show a notable and robust increase in hostile Tweets after an attack. An interrupted time series analysis demonstrates a 10% point surge at the time of the attack, followed by a gradual decline. Accordingly, the impact of such attacks on online hostility diminishes approximately seven days after the event. Further analyses reveal that while attacks have the strongest effect on Tweets about Muslims and Islam, the attacks also increase hostility in Tweets about migration in general. We find that the overall attack effect is driven by both intra-user changes in Tweeting and changes in the composition of users posting after an attack. The findings underscore the importance of understanding the interplay between terrorist events and online discourse, shedding light on the dynamics of ethno-religious hostility in the digital realm.

The Undeserved Indignity: Making a Case for Muslim Dignity

A simple definition of Human dignity describes it as a worth attached to every human being, by virtue of being born as a human. But is the situation really so simple? Several instances reveal that the notion, nature and operation of dignity evade such simplistic definitions. As we delve deeper, an important question surfaces: how is it that dignity remains most elusive for the Muslim populations? The so-defined age of Terror further justifies such loss of dignity for the Muslim populations. It must be stressed however, that while terror events like 9/11 (the USA) or 7/7 (London, UK) or 9/7 (New Delhi, India), have served to resuscitate the fear of the radical other (that is, the Muslims) these attitudes go back a long time in history. It is reflected in the general outlook towards Muslims. Undoubtedly, there remain a section of terrorists, who borrow from a particular interpretation of Islam. But is this cause enough for the wholesale othering of the Muslim community? Having to live as second- rate people despite being citizens, being saddled with assumed linkages to terrorism; these are just a few dimensions of the otherising discourse. Islam comes into the picture not only because the ‘terrorists’, in some cases, have been Muslims, but also because these radical sections forward Islam as the source of their actions. We need to question the uncritical homogenizing that follows such revelations, viz. all Muslims are terrorists, Islam is a violent religion, Muslims are disloyal and radical, so on and so forth. The perpetual tagging as the potential terrorists causes not only an irretrievable loss of identity, but also a fatal blow to one’s dignity. Here, Kant’s notion of dignity becomes useful for understanding the problem of Muslim indignity.

Understanding posthumous sperm retrieval during war through a terror management theory perspective

Terror Management Theory (Tmt, solomon et al., 1991) claims that individuals use three anxiety buffer mechanisms to regulate their death awareness – cultural worldviews, self-esteem, and proximity seeking. In this article, we use these three TMT anxiety buffers to explain the phenomenon of posthumous sperm retrieval, requested by spouses or parents, usually of young soldiers who died during their military service. Whereas this phenomenon has been known for some time, it increased dramatically in the initial days following the massacre conducted by the Hamas terrorist organization in Israel on October 7, 2023. We claim that this was an immediate reaction to this terror event, which posed a direct, existential threat to those who were exposed to the massacre and the soldiers who defended the country, but also to the entire Israeli society, as well as for Jews around the globe. We use interpretive phenomenology to qualitatively examine the phenomenon of retrieving sperm from dead young men, analyzing the requests to retrieve sperm posthumously as a sign of the need to provide these young men with symbolic immortality, on both personal and national levels. We integrate this explanation with the military ethos and the tendency of Israeli society to endorse familyist and pronatalist values to expand our understanding of this contemporary phenomenon in Israel.