It has long been a word that usually bears a positive connotation, but the term “radical” takes on a whole new meaning in a world where trans-national terrorism poses as a real and serious threat to national security.

We are heralding an era of terrorism, where extremist groups often seek to demand the attention of the government and media in order to manipulate the masses.

With the advent of a plethora of media portals, it seems the only way these extremists can demand our attention is by permeating every, and any, media platform available.

Now more than ever, it is imperative that we realize the dangers of religious fundamentalism and how it manifests itself into twisted radical ideologies often advocated by extremist groups.

Radicalism itself serves no purpose. It is when it is used as a form of psychological weaponry that it poses the greatest threat to civilization.

Radicalism is the main cause for acts of terrorism and violence across the globe.

Former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair recently wrote in “The Observer“ that, “the acts of terrorism are perpetrated by people motivated by an abuse of religion.”

He continues to say that, “It is a perversion of faith.“

Radical ideologies are often used as a tool by terrorist organizations to spread their sphere of influence and recruit members for their cause.

They draw upon false premises and twist contextual information from religious texts to suit their whims and fancies.

They then embellish this with numerous otherworldly rewards that they claim will be bestowed upon the righteous follower who has obeyed his every order.

Roger Farhat, “War On The Rocks” writer, further supports this argument in one of his articles which states that “extremists who selectively interpret Islamic scripture and issue religious rulings declaring jihad, defined as a call for violence against both non-Muslims and Muslims they deem ‘inferior,’ have ramped up threatening rhetoric on jihadi forums and social media platforms.”

This form of radical ideology is at its most dangerous when it is used to encourage self-sacrificial acts like suicide bombings, all in the name of their cause.

These events occur when relentless zealots, who are so impassioned by their radical ideology, will stop at nothing to attain their final, twisted objective.

With recent events transpiring in the Middle East, and the legions of extremists who have recently pledged to join the Islamic State group, there is a pressing need to raise awareness on the dangers of radical ideologies.

The Islamic State group is just the most recent example of a radical Islamist group, and history itself bears witness to a multitude of extremist groups whose radical ideologies stem from several orthodox religions.

It is vital for our society to understand of the dangers of radicalism in our society today.

We do this with the knowledge that peaceful conflict resolution is sometimes hardly attainable in a field as volatile as politics, but with the hope of one day eradicating the threat of terrorism from our world.