For centuries, colonial and imperial powers have relied on their most effective tactic to legitimize conquest: redefine resistance as violence and position the occupier as the victim. Today, this tactic continues, only the labels have evolved. “Civilizing missions” have become “counter-terrorism operations,” and freedom fighters are now “extremists.” But we must ask: who is truly terrorizing whom? 

The latest example comes from the UK government’s move to designate Palestine Action, a direct-action group targeting the arms trade, as a terrorist organization. Their crime? Spray painting weapons factories and dismantling machinery that produces tools of death for Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. No deaths. No weapons. Just resistance against weapons. And yet, the British state, which sells millions in arms to Israel, has chosen to label nonviolent protest as terrorism. 

It’s a pattern that echoes across continents. In the United States, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) continues to raid homes, detain children, and disappear families in militarized operations. Now, with Trump-era tactics resurfacing through recent budget expansions, ICE’s operations look less like immigration enforcement and more like a nationwide intimidation campaign. Dissent is punished. Questioning authority is met with surveillance. 

When you zoom out, a pattern emerges: whether it’s Palestine, Kashmir, Xinjiang, or the U.S.-Mexico border, resistance to oppression is always criminalized, while the systems enacting mass-scale violence remain above reproach. The law changes shape depending on the power it protects. 

The Colonial Blueprint 

This is nothing new. When Indians in the subcontinent rose up in an 1857 Rebellion – what British textbooks still call a “mutiny” – they were labelled savages and insurgents. When enslaved people in the Caribbean fought for freedom, they were deemed dangerous and animalistic. Every anti-colonial movement has faced the same smear: that their desire for dignity made them a threat. 

Today, that label has simply morphed into “terrorist.” 

But international law offers a different perspective. According to Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, the right to resist occupation is protected under international law, particularly when a people are denied self-determination. The United Nations General Assembly has affirmed this repeatedly, most notably by UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, who educated reporters touting “Israel’s right to exist” that international law protects and reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle against colonial domination for any people by any means, including armed resistance. 

So why does the West continue to ignore its own laws? The answer is quite simple and undeniably obvious: it’s never been about legality, but about state control. 

The Real Threat to Power 

When people stand up against authoritarianism, they threaten the very structure that sustains the ruling order: imperialism, colonialism, and racial hierarchy uphold capitalism. Palestine Action disrupts profits. ICE protestors expose cruelty. Kashmiris fighting militarization challenge a geopolitical chessboard built on resource extraction for profit. The state’s response? Smear them all as threats to “national security.” 

But the idea of national security itself has been hollowed out. It no longer means protection of the people – it means protection of state-sanctioned violence. It means crushing anything that interrupts profit or questions authority. It’s a PR campaign dressed in the language of law and order. 

If we’re going to reclaim our authentic histories and futures, we must first reclaim the tainted vocabulary inherited from our oppressors. “Terrorist” is not a neutral word. It has always been used to control the narrative – to mask colonial violence and undermine the legitimacy of resistance. 

So, we ask again: who is really terrorizing whom? 

Because when a factory that builds bombs to partake in genocide is protected by law more than the child who loses their family to one, the answer becomes painfully clear. We can no longer afford to feign ignorance. 

This article is part of Restless Beings’ “More Alike Than Different” series, where we explore and interrogate how colonial powers continue to divide oppressed peoples for profit. It’s time to name the true enemy: not each other, but the system that keeps us divided. 

Written by Khadejah Khan