How to Fight Islamic Extremism
Ignorance breeds fear; we fear what we don’t understand. The “war on terrorism” cannot be fought with grenades, machine guns, or even nuclear bombs. It can only be fought through education and compassion; despite this, we often choose to place the blame for the actions of a small minority upon the majority.
Fear manipulates the rational minds of many people and has allowed Islam to become synonymous, in many cases, with terrorism, even though many people have never even met a Muslim. In an increasingly interconnected world we cannot sit idly by as innocent civilians live in terror, unsure if they will live to see tomorrow. When the world’s most influential nation walks away from the deaths of thousands the issue isn’t about politics but rather humanity. We need to stop viewing the lost lives of innocents as “American lives,” “Arab lives,” or “Muslim lives” because at the end of the day we are a global community — Planet Earth. The value of a human life should not be dictated by geography, religion, or race. We all have our respective nationalities but at the end of the day we are all human beings. We need to work toward a global initiative that benefits all of us.
A common misconception is that Islamic extremism is based on doctrinal teachings, but to solve the issue of extremism we must focus on the root: Islamic extremism is caused not by religious doctrine but political, social, and economic grievances. A perpetual cycle of poverty and lack of education leads to malleable citizens susceptible to and ripe for extremist doctrine. History books teach us that it’s hard to think on an empty stomach — “let them eat cake” didn’t work out well for the French. Those in power violate the rights of their citizens.
Angry, desperate people look at conditions created through colonialism, arbitrary borders, support of unjust dictators, and the murder of innocents and find it easy to blame the Western World. We must remember that one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter. These groups provide hope for the hopeless. They reminisce a Golden Era for Islam and the Middle East longing for a time where Muslims were wealthy, prominent, and influential. This makes them easily susceptible to jihadist propaganda advertising a new caliphate, world order, and most effective and important: a better life.
Extremism results from a volatile combination of ignorance and poverty in a disenfranchised population. In other words, the only way to combat extremism is to combat the conditions that promote it. We must address the individual political, social, and economic grievances of the region, the root cause of the problem.
The key is education and the holding of elections bringing true democracy into the region. Education benefits the region not just through knowledge and a broader world view but economic empowerment as well. Access to education will equip the people with the knowledge and skills necessary to be competitive in a globalized job market and bring them into the 21st Century. However, for this to work it is absolutely essential democratic elections be held to determine truly representative leaders of the people who promote the best interests of the people. If we combine this economic empowerment with democracy we can promote better, happier, more productive life within the region.
Many of you may find my proposal ludicrous. After all, I am suggesting education in the middle of a war. So let me be clear, we must fight the terrorists. BUT we must also keep in mind innocent civilians. To bomb these regions killing innocent people in the process would only perpetuate an image of the United States as brutal war mongers.
Therefore, we must take out these groups, but make it a priority to protect the innocent. Freedom must be used to protect all freedoms.
