Extremist Groups: Opposing Viewpoints is a book, in the Opposing Viewpoints Series

Opposing Viewpoints series

The Opposing Viewpoints series is a series of books on current issues which seeks to explore the varying opinions in a balanced pros/cons debate...

, examining the issue of extremist groups

Extremism

Extremism is any ideology or political act far outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards...

: religious, racial, environment

Environmentalism

Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...

al, animal rights

Animal rights

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...

, militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

, and socialist. It was edited by Tamara L. Roleff, with assistant editors Helen Cothran and James D. Torr.

It was published by Greenhaven Press

Greenhaven Press

Greenhaven Press has been an imprint of Gale since 2000. Greenhaven primarily publishes books on social issues for middle school and high school students, and is best known for its Opposing Viewpoints series...

 (San Diego) in 2001 as a 171-page hardcover (ISBN 0-7377-0656-2) and paperback (ISBN 0-7377-0655-4).

Contents

Chapter	Viewpoint	Author	Notes
Why Consider Opposing Viewpoints?
Introduction
Chapter 1: Does Religious Fundamentalism Fundamentalism Fundamentalism is strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology. The term "fundamentalism" was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the...  Benefit Society?	1. Religious Groups Tend Toward Extremist Views	Samuel Brittan Samuel Brittan Sir Samuel Brittan is a British columnist for the Financial Times and an author.At Cambridge he was taught by Peter Bauer and Milton Friedman...
	2. Religion Is a Positive Force in Society	Adam Maida
	3. The Religious Right Religious right The term religious right may refer to religiously motivated right wing movements such as:*Christian right*Hindu nationalism *Islamism*Jewish right*Theravada...  Has a Harmful Agenda	Rob Boston Rob Boston Robert Boston has been Assistant Director of Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Assistant Editor of Church & State magazine since 1987. Boston is an advocate of separation of church and state and has authored three books on the subject. He frequently...
	4. The Religious Right Has a Beneficial Agenda	Charles Colson Charles Colson Charles Wendell "Chuck" Colson is a Christian leader, cultural commentator, and former Special Counsel for President Richard Nixon from 1969 to 1973....
	5. Radical Islamic Fundamentalists Islamic fundamentalism Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...  Pose a Serious Threat	Steven Emerson Steven Emerson Steven Emerson, is an American journalist and author, who writes about national security, terrorism, and Islamic extremism.Emerson is the author of six books, and co-author of two more. His television documentary Jihad in America won the 1994 George Polk Award for best Television Documentary, and...
	6. Most Followers of Islam Islam Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...  Are Not a Threat	Jonah Blank Jonah Blank Jonah Blank is an American author, journalist and foreign policy expert, specializing in the culture, history and affairs of the Indian subcontinent.-Writing career:...	Excerpt from "The Muslim Mainstream".
Chapter 2: Do Liberal Liberalism Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...  Groups Benefit Society?	1. Radical Animal Rights Groups Harm Society	Teresa Platt
	2. Radical Animal Rights Activism Is Justified	Interview with Darius Fullmer	Reprint of "Interview with an ALF Activist".
	3. Socialists Encourage Violent Extremism	Balint Vazsonyi Balint Vazsonyi Balint Vazsonyi was a Hungarian pianist, international recitalist, soloist with leading orchestras, and political journalist. He made performance history in playing chronological cycles of all 32 piano sonatas by Beethoven over two days in New York, Boston, and London...	Reprint of "Socialism: The Ultimate Evil".
	4. Socialism Would Benefit Society	Gus Hall Gus Hall Gus Hall, born Arvo Kustaa Hallberg , was a leader and Chairman of the Communist Party USA and its four-time U.S. presidential candidate. As a labor leader, Hall was closely associated with the so-called "Little Steel" Strike of 1937, an effort to unionize the nation's smaller, regional steel...	Excerpt from "Marxism-Leninism: Science for Our Times"
	5. Environmental Groups Encourage Violence	Stephen Budiansky Stephen Budiansky Stephen Budiansky is an American author who writes primarily about history and science. He is a former national security correspondent, foreign editor, and deputy editor of U.S. News & World Report and former Washington editor of the scientific journal Nature. He was also for many years a...
	6. Radical Environmental Activism is Justified	Earth First! Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group that emerged in the Southwestern United States in 1979. It was co-founded on April 4th, 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, and less directly, Bart Koehler and Ron Kezar....	Reprint of "Direct Action Gets the Goods".
Chapter 3: Do White Supremacist White supremacy White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...  Groups Promote Hate and Violence?	1. White Supremacist Groups Promote Hate and Violence	Loretta Ross	Reprint of "White Supremacy in the 1990s".
	2. The Danger from White Supremacist Groups is Exaggerated	Samuel T. Francis	Excerpt from "Witchfinder: The Strange Career of Morris Dees"
	3. Racial Hatred is Necessary to Save the White Race White people White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...	Matt Hale Matthew F. Hale Matthew F. Hale , more commonly known as Matt Hale, was the third Pontifex Maximus of the white supremacist religion, Creativity, and the founder of the group formerly known as the World Church of the Creator and now known as The Creativity Movement. The organization's headquarters were based in...	Reprint of "The Value of Hatred".
	4. Racial Hatred is Immoral	Howard Kleinberg	Reprint of "Cult's hateful rhetoric leads to murder".
Chapter 4: Does the Militia Movement Pose a Threat to Government?	1. The Militia Movement Poses a Serious Threat to the Government	Klanwatch Project
	2. The Danger from the Militia Movement is Exaggerated	William Norman Grigg William Norman Grigg William Norman Grigg has authored several books from a Constitutionalist perspective. He used to be a senior editor of The New American magazine.-Biography:...
	3. Militias Protect Against Authoritarian Government	Walter Williams Walter Williams Walter Williams, Walt Williams and Wally Williams may refer to:*Dootsie Williams , American record executive and producer...
	4. Militias are Unnecessary	Carl Levin Carl Levin Carl Milton Levin is a Jewish-American United States Senator from Michigan, serving since 1979. He is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
	For Further Discussion
	Organizations to Contact
	Bibliography of Books
	Index