This is closely linked to my post "Aggressive Proselytizing", but it will go into more depth about the mindset that seeks hatred. To the Fanatic, being hated gives him energy. In truth, success for his cause seems to be more damaging to him than failure. This seems a type of paradox, until we understand that a Fanatic wants to fight. If victory was really achieved, he would have to either become a fanatic to a new cause, or become a rebel to the very cause he put into place. It is not a historical rarity that former Fanatics are among the first to swing from the gallows mere days after the success of their cause.
The Fanatic would rather be rejected by those outside his group than accepted. He is not a stickler to principle, yet it is for this "principle" that he fights so hard, at least-that's what he wants to believe. His actions are more to convince himself than anyone else, for he is not really a genuine believer. It is then, primarily his own pride that is the source of his boundless arrogance and viciousness.
Unless he throws himself into some great fight in which he loses himself to the moment, he can't help but feel useless. It is the fight that gives his life meaning, and he cannot perhaps help but feel disdain for the actual believers who are content to live life according to their principles-the very ones that the Fanatic fights so hard to uphold in his own mind. To him, the content and happy believer is not pulling his weight and should step aside for those who do. The irony of course is that it is the Fanatic who undermines the very principles he claims to uphold. It was Fanatics, not genuine believers that launched the Inquisition which causes so much misery and pain. Likewise, it was Fanatics who yelled, "Deus Vult" when they slaughtered countless Jews and Muslims when Jerusalem fell to their forces.
But this is not unique to any religion, as terrorism in our day and age is the work of Fanatics, which is widely known. By now, word of Osama Bin Laden's massive pornography stash (forbidden in Islam) has spread far and wide, and even the 9/11 hijackers themselves visited strip clubs (again, also forbidden in Islam). In reality the Fanatic does not really believe what he spews-and it is to convince himself, not you or I-that is at the heart of his hateful rhetoric. I will cover this aspect of the Fanatic at a later time, but suffice to say, this hypocritical element to the Fanatic is a key part of their mentality.
The fact that you will oppose what he says only re-affirms in his mind that he's right. After all, he would be told that you would hate him, fear him and oppose him every step of the way. So he seeks your hatred, for it is the only thing that can keep him feeling validated in this-the struggle which gives meaning to his life, for outside of the cause, all is "vile, wicked and worthy of destruction". Certainly by being attacked, one has only reaffirmed to the Fanatic that those outside his cause are "vile, wicked and worthy of destruction."
Finnaly, I will leave off with a quote by Eric Hoffer-
"We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves."
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