Lethal Certainty: A Philosophy of Extremism Without Religion

Abstract

Public debate about terrorism keeps asking which religion is to blame. This article argues that the question is badly posed. Terrorism is better explained by a structure of belief called lethal certainty: certainty that has sealed itself against revision and granted itself permission to kill. The structure has four components. Revision is closed, a moral licence lets the end sanctify any means, a manufactured enemy keeps a victim identity coherent, and an oath of obedience transfers the member's judgement to a leader. The framework draws on Popper, Kant, Arendt and Fromm, on the Islamic rationalism of Ibn Rushd and Taha Abdurrahman, and on the radicalisation research of Kruglanski, Moghaddam and Sageman. It is applied to the Muslim Brotherhood's founding instructions, read from an Emirati perspective, and then tested on Nechayev's circle, Shining Path, ETA and the Christchurch attack, where religion plays no part. The article ends by asking how a state can draw Popper's line against intolerant organisations without adopting their structure, and it argues for prevention through education in doubt.