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Terrifying Terrorists of the Ancient World and Medieval Era

Khalid Elhassan February 20, 2025 15 min

Terrorists - A Sicarius springing into action — A Sicarius springing into action. Deadliest Fiction

6. Putting the “Terror” in Terrorism

Terrorists - Kharijites — Kharijites. Islami City

As their struggle with the Umayyad Caliphate and perceived sinners intensified, the Kharijites’ viciousness grew apace. Eventually, they came to view even neutral Muslims as enemies. As they saw it, their failure to support the Kharijites despite the glaringly obvious righteousness of their position, proved their apostasy. That rendered them kafirs, and not fellow Muslims whose blood the Kharijites were prohibited from shedding. Captives were tortured and mutilated, horrific atrocities too gruesome to describe in detail abounded, and entire villages and towns were massacred.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.