International Terrorism and the Meaning of Islam - Essay Example

International Terrorism International Terrorism International terrorism may be defined as the acts of violence and war perpetrated by either religious, ideological, or political groups with the intention of perpetuating fear in foreign countries by terrorists who are many at times not native to that country (Miller, 2013). Acts of international terrorism are usually well planned and calculated, and done to innocent civilians with the sole aim of fulfilling ideological, political, and religious ideals. Many people are continuously affected by acts of terrorism which inflict a lot of suffering and pain. Innocent people are indiscriminately affected by acts of terrorism to such an extent that many like-minded nations have come together to try and fight terrorism. Islam has been adversely mentioned in terror related acts, and there have been numerous misinterpretations about the true social teachings of the religion (Avner, 2008). This paper will discuss how militants have altered the social meaning of Islam in the Western mind, especially in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks in America. The paper will also explore whether there are any other religions that offer violent extremism through misinterpretation. According to Rashid (2002), Muslim militants have been known to engage in a variety of terror acts ranging from beheadings, bombings, kidnappings, suicide attacks, hijackings and spree killings. Such incidences of terror have been witnessed in numerous places around the world such as America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Pacific, and Middle East. The Muslim militants commonly referred to as Jihadists, usually net out violence to non-Muslims, terming it Jihad. Many people in different parts of the world who have been hard hit by these acts of terror are usually left wondering whether Islam is a religion of piece, violence, or both. The social meaning of Islam has been to inculcate peace and love for one another. Muslims claim that Islam teaches them to be compassionate and to care for everyone in society (Nairn & Paul, 2005). However, confusion is brought about by Islamic teachings which propagate that Muslims should wrestle all those who do not trust or worship Allah, and those who do not adopt the religion of Islam. This has been one religious teaching that they have used to justify their acts of terror. This has been the main reason why the Western mind has a skewed meaning about the social meaning of Islam because it is not clear what they stand for. On one hand, they purport to teach and preach peace and love among one another, yet, on the other hand, they continuously engage in acts of terrorism, mostly against non-Muslims, which lead to mass deaths, loss of life, and destruction of property (Avner, 2008). The misinterpretation of Islam comes about as a result of the confusion that is there in the teachings of the religion. By doing this, Muslims appear to misinterpret their own religious teachings by simultaneously supporting two conflicting actions of peace and war. I do not believe that there are any other religions that offer violent extremism through misinterpretation. Religious extremism has mostly been associated with terrorism. There may be squabbles within other religions, but not the extent of violent extremism. These squabbles may come about mostly because of power and leadership issues within the organizational structures of other religions, but they do not get to the point of perpetuating acts of terrorism towards other innocent people. I do not believe that there is any other religion that teaches its followers to fight anyone who does not believe in their ideals or their maker. Nairn and Paul (2005) are of the opinion that Islam is the most notorious religions as far as violent extremism is concerned. The concept of holy war is synonymous to Islam as they are the ones who believe in fighting people who do not believe in Allah. In fact, they consider such people as traitors who should be eliminated. In the September 11 attacks for example, Muslims may have felt that they were merely revenging attacked that had been netted against them and their people by the U.S. However, no religion supports revenging against a wrong that has been done against you. This was not the case with the Muslims as they readily attacked and killed multitudes if innocent people. I am yet to come across any other religion that offers violent extremism against other people apart from Islam. The events of the September 11 attack netted against the Americans in 2001 have totally misconstrued my view of Islam. It is important to note that the attacks were launched by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda under the leadership of one Osama bin Laden. Nearly three thousand people died in the attacks and property valued at more than ten billion dollars was destroyed. Al-Qaeda, an Islamic terrorist group, claimed responsibility of the attacks and cited reasons such as sanctions against Iraq, the existence of troops in Saudi Arabia, and the American support of Israel as some of the reasons that motivated the attacks. All those who were involved in the attacks were Muslims, namely, Osama bin Laden, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Turab al-Urduni, Mohammed Atef, and Ramzi bin al-Shibh among other Muslims who conspired to perpetuate the attacks (Kent, 2006). After the attacks, many Muslims came out in praise of their “hero”, Osama bin Laden. Muslim radicals have been convening to support the attacks that led to massive deaths (Avner, 2008). For example, at a recent conference held by radical Muslims on the September 11 attacks, Britain was threatened that it would face numerous suicide bombings on the streets of UK. This was perpetuated by the al-Muhajiroun group which seeks to transform Britain into an Islamic state. The fact that many Muslims across the globe showed no remorse for the attacked perpetuated by their fellow Muslims shows that Islam is a religion that supports violence and terrorism in the name of Jihad. Also, the fact that the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks were openly considered heroes by many Muslims in the world also confuses many people on the social teachings of Islam. By supporting the attacks, Muslims appear to have no respect for human life. Whether or not the Muslims felt that they were the first to be attacked, they should not have used violence and terrorism as a means of revenge. References Avner, F. (2008). Islamic terror: Conscious and unconscious motives. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Security International. Kent, B. M. (2006). U.S. national security and foreign policymaking after 9/11: Present at the re-creation. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Miller, M. A. (2013). The foundations of modern terrorism: State, society and the dynamics of political violence. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Nairn, T., & Paul, J. (2005). Global matrix: Nationalism, globalism, and state-terrorism. London: Pluto Press. Rashid, A. (2002). Jihad: The rise of militant Islam in Central Asia. New Haven: Yale University Press. Read More