Acts of violence committed by groups that view themselves as victimized by some notable historical wrong. Although these groups have no formal connection with governments, they usually have the financial and moral backing of sympathetic governments. Typically, they stage unexpected attacks on civilian targets, including embassies and airliners, with the aim of sowing fear and confusion. Israel has been a frequent target of terrorism, but the United States has increasingly become its main target
American Psychological Association (APA):
terrorism. (n.d.). The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved January 29, 2007, from Dictionary.com website:
Terrorism= Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
In the modern sense, it is a group of people who can't defeat X government(s) militarily, so they target civilians until that government bends to their will. And its been going on in some form or another for thousands of years, but explosives have made it much easier for these people to inflict mass casualties on the local populace. Modern Islamic terrorism origins go back to Wahhabism, named after the revivalist movement founded by Muhammad Ibn'Abd al-Wahhab in 1744. Wahhab called for a return to a pure and unadulterated form of Islam closer to the ideals of the Prophet.
Personally, I'm not going to piss off any man that can kill 1,000 people with a donkey jaw bone, nomatter his ethnicity.
If the OP's original question was more along the lines of "Why do young arab men blow themselves up?", then we get can into that also.
Hard pressed on my right. My center is yielding. Impossible to maneuver. Situation excellent. I am attacking.
--Ferdinand Foch-- at the Battle of the Marne