--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: terrorism is interesting to a novelist…" description: "\"terrorism is interesting to a novelist because it's a crime that's driven by an idea, as opposed to some kind of base materialist impulse. It's not lik..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/230/karan-mahajan-6691_abstract_terrorism-is-interesting-to-a-novelist-b_822944.jpg" --- # terrorism is interesting to a novelist because it's a… ![“terrorism is interesting to a novelist because it's a crime that's driven by an idea, as opposed to some kind of base materialist impulse. It's not like stealing from someone's house, or even assassinating someone. There are very complex ideological reasons behind these almost abstract acts of…” quote by Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/230/karan-mahajan-6691_abstract_terrorism-is-interesting-to-a-novelist-b_822944.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/230/karan-mahajan-6691_abstract_terrorism-is-interesting-to-a-novelist-b_822944.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/230/karan-mahajan-6691_abstract_terrorism-is-interesting-to-a-novelist-b_822944.jpg) > “terrorism is interesting to a novelist because it's a crime that's driven by an idea, as opposed to some kind of base materialist impulse. It's not like stealing from someone's house, or even assassinating someone. There are very complex ideological reasons behind these almost abstract acts of violence.” [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Violence driven by ideas is more complex than simple material motives, making it compelling for storytellers. **In simple terms:** Ideas make violent acts complex and story-worthy. Key Takeaway Explore ideological roots of conflict. Themes violence ideology storytelling politics psychology Mood thoughtful analytical Type explanatory critical When to use this quote - novel writing - journalism - policy analysis - education - conflict resolution Key Concepts political theory human motivation narrative construction Questions to Reflect On - How do ideas shape violent behavior? - What narrative tools reveal ideological motives? A Different Perspective Ideas alone may not fully explain individual actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Acts of violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acts-of-violence/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Ideological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideological/) [Impulse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impulse/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interesting Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-novelist-488611/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Novelist Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist-crime-488610/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stealing/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) [Terrorism Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism-interesting-488609/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [There's no way of preventing the media from covering attacks as huge events and until the media stops doing that, they will be huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/there-s-no-way-of-preventing-the-media-from-covering-attacks-as-huge/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [Another bigger problem is the fact that these incidents of police violence continue to occur because far too often the officers on the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hakeem-jeffries/another-bigger-problem-is-the-fact-that-these-incidents-of-police/) [Hakeem Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hakeem-jeffries/) > [I feel like acts of violence against women are detestable, and they need to be dealt with, and they are important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-priestley/i-feel-like-acts-of-violence-against-women-are-detestable-and-they/) [Jason Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-priestley/) > [We have agreed with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to cease all acts of violence against the Israelis and against the Palestinians wherever they are.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-abbas/we-have-agreed-with-prime-minister-ariel-sharon-to-cease-all-acts-of/) [Mahmoud Abbas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-abbas/) > [Of course I tensed up when he touched me. 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The fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-sarsour/we-would-never-ask-any-other-faith-community-to-stand-up-and-condemn/) [Linda Sarsour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-sarsour/) > [“By the time they're out of preschool, most children have already seen thousands of acts of violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-k-vaughan/by-the-time-they-re-out-of-preschool-most-children-have-already-seen/) [Brian K. Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-k-vaughan/) > [There was a man named Robert Dear who in court said he was a warrior for the babies, whose ex-wife talked about his Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/there-was-a-man-named-robert-dear-who-in-court-said-he-was-a-warrior/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) ## More by Karan Mahajan > [When we talk about 9/11 and 26/11 - which is the shorthand for the Mumbai attacks in 2008 - we're talking about the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karan-mahajan/when-we-talk-about-9-11-and-26-11-which-is-the-shorthand-for-the/) [Karan Mahajan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karan-mahajan/) > [I'm more interested than Philip Roth in understanding women, even if I do it imperfectly. 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