Islam, a victim of politics (Part 2 of Relgion in Politics)
May 24th, 2006 at 6:19 PM By: Reyne
The cycle of terror is relentless, but straightforward. Wealthy, powerful old men use the lives of young, poor men to fight wars for power. In the process, pain, death, and suffering are caused, which leads to hate and revenge. This propagates further violence, death, and revenge. Whether these zealous old men want political power, money, or fame, they all feed on the desperation and anger of the youth. A happy, healthy youth population could never be talked into suicide bombings or any other terrorist activities. The easy answer to stopping the cycle of terror would be to end the desolate, despondent state of living for the millions of Islamic youths in the world. How do you do that?
Some would say that money is the answer. Terrorism would then be a socio-economic matter. Thus, if you can alleviate the dismal economic state of the poor Islamic population, terrorism would be over. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Young Muslims living in decent economic situations across Europe and the United States are not safe from the draw of terrorist groups. Three of the men responsible for the July 7, 2005 bombings of London were from the Beeston district of Leeds in England. One of bombers was even described to be "an apparently integrated, happy, western-thinking man." Imams with their own political agendas are attracting thousands of young Muslims across Europe while preaching a message of hate. The problems plaguing the Islamic youth goes deeper than economics.
Regardless of how they are treated individually, as a whole, young Muslims have nothing to hold onto. Muslims abroad might seemingly be accepted by their host countries, but how can they truly feel settled when popular opinion and the media are constantly degrading their religion? Politicians in the West and the media have painted an ugly picture of the Islamic faith. The words Muslim, Islam, violence, deaths, and terrorism have been connected so many times by politicians and the media that it is difficult to hear one word without thinking of the other key words. With so much prejudice against Islam, no Muslim can live with any kind of pride for their identity. In such isolation, it is easy for radical leaders to attract followers by offering acceptance, collective pride, and unity. It is even easier for radical leaders to attract supporters in the Middle East. They can use numerous video clips from Western media to depict utter disregard towards Islam. Without real interactions with Western cultures, it is only natural for Muslims to believe that they must unite to fight for their culture.
To stop the extremist leaders from recruiting young Muslims, an effort must be made to better understand Islam, which is no easy task. The misunderstanding of the Islamic world by the West is rooted in events spanning several centuries, but it is the events of the past few decades that are most fresh in people's minds. In the 70's and 80's, Pan Am and TWA airplanes were hijacked. In the mid 80's, American and European hostages were held for years in war torn Lebanon. In recent years, suicide bombers have destroyed the lives of countless people, including killing a bus full of women and children in Tel Aviv. Foreign tourists have been massacred at holiday resorts around the Middle East like those who died in Luxor, Egypt. Villages upon villages have been annihilated in places like Algeria. Of course, 9/11 happened. Such acts are atrocious, but they are done by a minority of Muslims. To group all Muslims together, even unintentionally, would be spreading intolerance, which can only lead to more violence.
The Western world easily forgets that the Muslims are suffering, too. We must remember that Arabs deal with bloodshed and personal losses daily. Since the start of the war in Iraq, over 34,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. During the invasion into southern Lebanon by Israeli forces, over 2,000 Arab civilians died. There are four million Palestinians living in refugee communities scattered around the Middle East. According to Human Right Watch, " 4,500 Palestinians arrested in the massive military sweep through the West Bank in March-April 2002 were subjected to widespread ill-treatment such as kicking, beatings, squalid conditions and deprivation of food and drink." The Muslims have suffered too many injustices to list. Politicians do not like to dwell on such things when they are trying to sell a war to the public, and the media avoids focusing attention on news that negatively portrays Western countries.
Terrorism has no easy answer; however, understanding the problem is vital to finding a solution. We must understand that Arabs are living in wretched, hostile conditions, and desperate people do desperate things. What the suffering need is validation. The media and politicians refuse to validate the crimes done to the Muslims. The offenses against the Muslim people are not given the same attention and regard as those suffered by the Western world. Nothing is more frustrating than to suffer in silence, with the feeling that no one believes you deserve sympathy because of the violent actions of others.
Further Reading
BBC News: Europe's angry young Muslims
BBC News: Cartoons and the globalisation of protests
BBC News: US Muslims fight 9/11 backlash
BBC News: The Struggle for Iraq
BBC News: Isreal and the Palestinians
Wikipedia: 1982 Lebanon War
May 24th, 2006 at 6:19 PM By: Reyne
The cycle of terror is relentless, but straightforward. Wealthy, powerful old men use the lives of young, poor men to fight wars for power. In the process, pain, death, and suffering are caused, which leads to hate and revenge. This propagates further violence, death, and revenge. Whether these zealous old men want political power, money, or fame, they all feed on the desperation and anger of the youth. A happy, healthy youth population could never be talked into suicide bombings or any other terrorist activities. The easy answer to stopping the cycle of terror would be to end the desolate, despondent state of living for the millions of Islamic youths in the world. How do you do that?
Some would say that money is the answer. Terrorism would then be a socio-economic matter. Thus, if you can alleviate the dismal economic state of the poor Islamic population, terrorism would be over. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Young Muslims living in decent economic situations across Europe and the United States are not safe from the draw of terrorist groups. Three of the men responsible for the July 7, 2005 bombings of London were from the Beeston district of Leeds in England. One of bombers was even described to be "an apparently integrated, happy, western-thinking man." Imams with their own political agendas are attracting thousands of young Muslims across Europe while preaching a message of hate. The problems plaguing the Islamic youth goes deeper than economics.
Regardless of how they are treated individually, as a whole, young Muslims have nothing to hold onto. Muslims abroad might seemingly be accepted by their host countries, but how can they truly feel settled when popular opinion and the media are constantly degrading their religion? Politicians in the West and the media have painted an ugly picture of the Islamic faith. The words Muslim, Islam, violence, deaths, and terrorism have been connected so many times by politicians and the media that it is difficult to hear one word without thinking of the other key words. With so much prejudice against Islam, no Muslim can live with any kind of pride for their identity. In such isolation, it is easy for radical leaders to attract followers by offering acceptance, collective pride, and unity. It is even easier for radical leaders to attract supporters in the Middle East. They can use numerous video clips from Western media to depict utter disregard towards Islam. Without real interactions with Western cultures, it is only natural for Muslims to believe that they must unite to fight for their culture.
To stop the extremist leaders from recruiting young Muslims, an effort must be made to better understand Islam, which is no easy task. The misunderstanding of the Islamic world by the West is rooted in events spanning several centuries, but it is the events of the past few decades that are most fresh in people's minds. In the 70's and 80's, Pan Am and TWA airplanes were hijacked. In the mid 80's, American and European hostages were held for years in war torn Lebanon. In recent years, suicide bombers have destroyed the lives of countless people, including killing a bus full of women and children in Tel Aviv. Foreign tourists have been massacred at holiday resorts around the Middle East like those who died in Luxor, Egypt. Villages upon villages have been annihilated in places like Algeria. Of course, 9/11 happened. Such acts are atrocious, but they are done by a minority of Muslims. To group all Muslims together, even unintentionally, would be spreading intolerance, which can only lead to more violence.
The Western world easily forgets that the Muslims are suffering, too. We must remember that Arabs deal with bloodshed and personal losses daily. Since the start of the war in Iraq, over 34,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed. During the invasion into southern Lebanon by Israeli forces, over 2,000 Arab civilians died. There are four million Palestinians living in refugee communities scattered around the Middle East. According to Human Right Watch, " 4,500 Palestinians arrested in the massive military sweep through the West Bank in March-April 2002 were subjected to widespread ill-treatment such as kicking, beatings, squalid conditions and deprivation of food and drink." The Muslims have suffered too many injustices to list. Politicians do not like to dwell on such things when they are trying to sell a war to the public, and the media avoids focusing attention on news that negatively portrays Western countries.
Terrorism has no easy answer; however, understanding the problem is vital to finding a solution. We must understand that Arabs are living in wretched, hostile conditions, and desperate people do desperate things. What the suffering need is validation. The media and politicians refuse to validate the crimes done to the Muslims. The offenses against the Muslim people are not given the same attention and regard as those suffered by the Western world. Nothing is more frustrating than to suffer in silence, with the feeling that no one believes you deserve sympathy because of the violent actions of others.
Further Reading
BBC News: Europe's angry young Muslims
BBC News: Cartoons and the globalisation of protests
BBC News: US Muslims fight 9/11 backlash
BBC News: The Struggle for Iraq
BBC News: Isreal and the Palestinians
Wikipedia: 1982 Lebanon War
Islam, a victim of politics (Part 2 of Relgion in Politics)
May 24th, 2006 at 6:19 PM
By: Reyne
Is Islam a religion of terror, or is it a victim of biased press coverage? Is there anything that can be done to undermine the power of extremist leaders?
Cheating in the electronic age
May 21st, 2006 at 12:13 AM
By: Eric Watt
Educators speak out about new ways students are finding to cheat. Perhaps they should consider going back to basics?
Lesch-Nyhan syndrome - Metabolic mutilation
May 20th, 2006 at 11:29 PM
By: Lev Prasov
Lesch-Nyhan syndrome is an X-linked genetic disorder that results from a deficiency in the nucleotide "salvage pathways." This disease leads to multiple neurological deficiencies (most notably, mutilation), as well as gout.
Religion and politics part 1
May 16th, 2006 at 7:07 PM
By: Reyne
Religion is one of the most divisive subjects in this country. With a trend towards more religious conservatism, the liberals are bumbling to catch-up.
Hemophilia - Blood everywhere
May 13th, 2006 at 6:38 PM
By: Lev Prasov
Hemophilia is a group of genetic disorders that result from deficiencies in various clotting factors. The lack of clotting factors leads to significant bleeding all over the body.
Proteomics and mass spectroscopy
May 8th, 2006 at 1:23 AM
By: Eric Watt
New developments in mass spectroscopy have allowed researchers to characterize proteins in a high-throughput fashion with accuracy many orders of magnitude greater than previously possible.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy - Muscle wasting at its worst
May 6th, 2006 at 10:25 PM
By: Lev Prasov
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is an X-linked recessive disorder that results from mutations in the dystrophin gene. The loss of this protein leads to significant weakness and eventually muscle wasting and scarring.
Scientists eye insects for answers to wide-angle sight
May 1st, 2006 at 12:40 AM
By: Eric Watt
Berkeley scientists have been able to develop a camera based upon an insect's compound eye, yielding an incredible field of vision.
Guillain-Barré syndrome - Paralysis after a cold
Apr 29th, 2006 at 10:33 AM
By: Lev Prasov
Guillain-Barré syndrome is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies target the myelin sheath around peripheral nerve cells. It frequently occurs after an infection and passes after several weeks.
Pandora's (music) box
Apr 25th, 2006 at 11:40 PM
By: Eric Watt
Using a detailed database of music characteristics, Pandora is able to quickly determine your tastes in music. Using a cross platform flash player, music of this type is then streamed to your computer.
The quickest way to a man's brain is through his tounge
Apr 25th, 2006 at 3:44 PM
By: Eric Watt
Researchers at the Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition are working on a device to augment human senses through electrodes placed on the tongue. Both military personnel and civilians may benefit.