Demons and Angels: The West at War with Radical Islam - Essay Example

Demons and Angels DEMONS AND ANGELS THE WEST AT WAR WITH "RADICAL ISLAM" Identifying the "Enemy" Does "religious terrorism" lead to more intense violence and claim more lives than "secular terrorism" This question, which the paper will attempt to discuss and answer, should be viewed within a global context, especially since the US, UK and other allied countries have declared war on terror. US President George Bush has described the enemy of the West as "evil Islamic radicalism," militant jihadism," and "Islamo-fascism." UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has referred to the enemy as that "strain of extremism" in Islam that has given rise to terrorism (Rauch, 2006). Both the US and UK leaders are careful not to cross the line and publicly condemn Islam in its entirety, offend Muslim allies and fail to get the support of the "moderate" Muslims. However the terms that Bush and Blair have used are clear condemnations of at least a part of Islam. Demons and Angels 2 In the official and formal language of diplomacy, the target of West is "the ideology of radical Islam." However, other statements from official and unofficial sources and media's treatment of the issue have gone further, reducing the world's perception of the situation to a battle between civilizations, between demons and angels, good and evil, black and white. Former US Speaker of the House and neo-conservative Newt Gingrich has openly spoken of World War III between "the West and the forces of Islam" and ruled out the possibility, and even desirability, of accommodation and compromise between the two parties (Lobe, 2006). The grandson and namesake of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke of "radical Islam" as a threat equal to the WWII Nazis and Soviets in the Cold War era. The concept of Islam as the "main threat to Western civilization" has also been popularised by writers such as Samuel Huntington in his work, The Clash of Civilizations (Nasser, 2006). Demons and Angels 3 Reality Check The question that must first be addressed is how big a threat terrorism actually is to global peace and human security. The US State Department has defined terrorism as "premeditated and politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets bygroups or clandestine agentsto influence an audience" (Whitaker, 2001). In its 2006 Country Reports on Terrorism, the US State Department reported that 14,000 terrorist attacks were launched all over the world, resulting in 20,000 fatalities or an average of 1.4 fatalities per attack. These figures represent an additional 25 percent in the number of attacks and an additional 40 percent in the number of deaths compared to 2005. It should however be clarified that fully 45 percent of the incidents and 65 percent of the fatalities reported were concentrated in Iraq, a nation where the entry and continued presence of the US-led coalition has sparked off some intense resistance (often reported as terrorist activities) from many sections of the population. Demons and Angels 4 On the other hand, the Human Security Report (2005), after three years of an intensive research effort, concluded that political violence has decreased significantly since the early 1990s (with the only exception being international terrorism). The study, which was supported by the UK, Canada, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, noted an increase in the total number of terrorism-related casualties from 1982-2003. However, even with this trend, the casualties from terrorism still amount to less than 1,000 people each year for the last three decades, and comprise only a "small fraction" of total fatalities due to political violence (including wars and genocides) or even common crime. Despite that relatively low number, the public's fears and insecurities have been exacerbated by high profile terrorist attacks since the entry of the new millennium, namely the July 2005 bombings in London, which killed more than 50 and injured hundreds, the March 2004 bombings in Madrid which killed 190 and injured more than 2,000 people, and the stunning destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City in Devils and Angels 5 2001, when more than 2,500 people were killed. The fear and insecurity created by these incidents cannot be justified by the actual incidence of terrorist attacks and terrorism-related deaths. Furthermore, the report states that many more people die from secular "domestic terrorism" than from international "religious terrorism." In Peru, for instance, more than 30,000 people died as a result of the bid for power launched in the 70s by the Maoist group Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) and the government's counter-insurgency program. More than half of those deaths can be directly attributed to the activities of the Shining Path (SP), which was classified by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation. The SP activities stopped after the 1992 arrest and trial of its leader Abimael Guzman (CFR 2005). Although this can be considered a case of domestic and secular terrorism, the number of deaths (16,000+) caused by just one organization (SP) in one country (Peru) is equal to the total number of deaths caused by international terrorism in more than 15 years. The 16,000 deaths Demons and Angels 6 are equal to six September 9 tragedies, or 320 London bombings, or 84 Madrid bombings. It is clear that "secular terrorism" can and does result in far more deaths than "religious terrorism." In 2006 the Sri Lankan government and LTTE or Tamil Tigers, a Maoist organisation, launched large-scale military operations after observing a truce for four years. The Tamil Tigers (LTTE) used landmines on civilians, engaged in suicide bombings, killed political opponents, and forcibly recruited children as soldiers. (Government also committed similar abuses and atrocities). Both LTTE and government's regular/paramilitary forces were involved in the killing and disappearance of Tamils (Gordon, 2002). Unfortunately the total number of fatalities is not available. It does provide additional proof, however, that "secular terrorists" are capable of just as much violence as "religious terrorists." Demons and Angels 7 Intense Violence The second question addresses the question of intense violence. Both "religious" and "secular" terrorists use physical force to achieve their ends, but there is no evidence that "religious" terrorists tend to use more intense violence. 9-11 can be considered as exceedingly intense violence, a slaughter wherein thousands of people died and two entire buildings were devastated in a few minutes. However, it is debatable whether this was a consequence of "radical Islam." Bush and Blair failed to explain what exactly in Islam serves as justification and even support for the use of such horrific and destructive force. Asghar Ali Engineer1 (2001) argues that: "All scriptures, particularly the Qur'an while permitting violence in some inevitable situations, ordain peace as a norm.The Qur'an does not permit use of violence as a norm at all." The world jihad has often been used to refer to Islam's "holy war" and its alleged modern version, radical Islamic terrorism. Imam A. Rashied 2 (n.d.) answered this and other points in his article on Islam and Violence. Demons and Angels 8 "Jihad is often incorrectly translated as and equated with aggressive holy war andhas come to symbolize Islam as a religion of violence and terrorismIn Islamic theology, war is never holy; either it is justified or notJihad is a comprehensive concept embracing peaceful persuasion, passive resistance as well as armed struggle against oppression and injustice." Both Islamic scholars point out that Islam may permit or legitimise the use of violence but only within a particular context. Peace is considered the norm, and not violence. Moreover it is not Islam alone that accepts the use of violence in a particular historical context. The World Council of Churches, for instance, supported the struggle of the South African people against apartheid and the apartheid government, including the African National Congress' use of violence to achieve their objectives. In Latin America, liberation theology supported the struggle of the poor, deprived and oppressed against oppressive structures and practices. Bush and Blair, by denouncing Islam as the culprit, diverts (consciously or unconsciously) attention from understanding the context Demons and Angels 9 of the rise of terrorism and terrorist organisations. Instead of seeking to understand the problem and move forward to solving the problem, they are using terror to justify the use of counter-terror. Counter-terror The war against terror is proving to be more costly in terms of human lives than terrorism. The 9-11 terrorist act claimed more than 2,500 lives and horrified the world. The actions of the US and allies in Iraq and Afghanistan have claimed some 655,000 lives. Britain's prestigious medical journal, The Lancet (2007) revealed that "about 655,000 people have died as a consequence of the invasion and occupation of Iraq" and Afghanistan. An Inter Press Service article by Sanjay Suri (2007) released on 6 May claimed that the figures do not include deaths from natural causes. The group that made the study, the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Heath are demanding an investigation by "an independent international body" that will ensure that the Geneva Demons and Angels 10 Convention on the conduct of war and other human rights conventions will be followed in the two countries. Since 2001, terrorism has been decontextualised. Many people have reduced terrorism to the stereotype of Islamic radicals waging jihad, or "holy war," instead of trying to understand the context of the development of terrorist groups and organisations. What is more productive, and urgently needed, is to junk these stereotypes which lead to the demonisation of Islam and Islamic peoples, and to seek to understand the historical roots and present context of terrorism. BIBLIOGRAPHY A. CITED REFERENCES A. Rashied Omar (2004). Religion, power and violence: illuminating the nexus, Current Dialogue, Issue 44, viewed 5 May at: http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/interreligious/cd44-08.html Asghar Ali Engineer (Oct. 2001). The concept of peace in Islam. Viewed 5 May at: http://www.dawoodi-bohras.com/perspective/islam_peace.htm CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) 2005. Tupac Amaru, Shining Path Backgrounder, viewed 4 May at: http://www.cfr.org/publication/9276/#1 Gordon, H. (2002). The 'suicide' bomber: is it a psychiatric phenomenon, Psychiatric Bulletin, 26, 285-287. http://pb.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/26/8/285 Human Security Centre. Human Security Report (2005). War and Peace in the 21st Century. Overview and Part 1. Viewed 5 May at: http://www.humansecurityreport.info/content/view/28/63 Imam Rashied Omar (n.d.). Islam and Violence, World Council of Churches. Viewed 4 May at: http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/interreligious/cd39-06.html Lobe, J. (2006). Neo-con favourite declares World War III, Asia Times, Front Page, 14 September, viewed May 5 at: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/HI14Aa02.html MPIT Terrorism Information Centre. 2006 Patterns of Global Terrorism. Country Reports on Terrorism. Viewed May 5 at: http://www.terrorisminfo.mpit.org/Patterns_of_Global_Terrorism.asp Rauch, J. (2006). A War on Jihadism, Not 'Terror,' Defining an enemy and an ideology, Reason Magazine, 17 April. Viewed 5 May at: http://www.reason.com/news/show/117337.html Sanjay Suri (2007). Iraq Occupation May Have Killed 655,000, Inter Press Service News Agency, London. Viewed 5 May at: http://ipsnews.net/news.aspidnews=35073 Whitaker, B. (2001). The definition of terrorism, Guardian Unlimited, May 7. Viewed May 5 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,487098,00.html 16 B. Additional References Abbott, E., Rogers, P. and Sloboda, J. (2006). Global Responses to Global Threats, Sustainable Security for the 21st Century. Briefing Paper, OxfordResearchGroup, Oxford, London. Viewed 4 May at: http://www.globalpolicy.org/empire/terrorwar/analysis/june06globalthreats.pdf Kempster, T. (n.d. ) Religion and War, Newsletter 21, Committee for Conflict Transformation Support (CCTS), viewed 5 May at: http://www.c-r.org/ccts/ccts21/religion.htm Wilson, N. and Thomson, G. (2005). The epidemiology of international terrorism involving fatal outcomes in developed countries (1994-2003), European Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 20, No. 5, p.375-381, Springer Netherlands. Viewed May 5 at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgicmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16080583&dopt=Abstract Read More