Essay on Islam and Terrorism
Sadiq Khan
Mc. Cook
English 1302
20 November 2006 Does Islam Promote Terrorism?
There may be some Muslims who are terrorists, but not all Muslims are terrorist and Islam as a religion does not promote terrorism and defines as a religion of peace. Islam means submission to god. Islam is a religion of peace and does not talk of doing violence at all. As many westerners have the misconception that all Muslims are terrorists, and are involved in the killing of innocent people. I will prove that all Muslims are not terrorists and if at all the culprits are Muslim; they have twisted the teachings of Islam. The dictionary meaning of terrorism is the unlawful or threatened use of violence...show more content...
From there, it spread around the world, most notably to the Middle East, where car bombs, like the one that shattered the federal office building in Oklahoma City, are now part of everyday life" ( Wright, ed). There have been terrorist attacks since the early nineties, but the deadliest attacks that are happening against United States are linked to Al–Qaeda and all Muslims are stereotyped as terrorists by the westerners with no proof. If what happened on 9/11 was terrorism then so is the violence in Iraq and most recently in Lebanon. According to me, both Islam and Christianity are great religions and both promote peace, and who ever is involved in killing innocent people does not follow any religion."All Muslims may not be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims."(Aiyer 23) This comment, frequently heard after the Mumbai bomb blasts implies that terrorism is a Muslim specialty, if not a monopoly. Muslims are actively committing acts of terrorism in many parts of the world and justifying it by pointing towards the Koran. Even the west is not untouched anymore. Thirty new terrorist organizations have emerged since the September 11 attacks, outpacing the United States' efforts to crush the threat. Recently, a court in Paris sentenced 25 Muslims militants for planning attacks against the Eiffel Tower and other targets with explosives. All indications suggests that Islamists were the perpetrators. One of my American friends
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Terrorism is the use or threat of violence to create fear and alarm. Terrorists murder and kidnap people, set off bombs, hijack airplanes, set fires, and commit other serious crimes. But the goals of terrorists differ from those of ordinary criminals. Most criminals want money or some other form of personal gain. Most terrorists commit crimes to support political causes.
The word terrorism first appeared during the French Revolution (1789–1799). Some of the revolutionaries who seized power in France adopted a policy of violence against their enemies. The period of their rule became known as the Reign of Terror.
Features of terrorism. Terrorist acts are committed for various reasons. Some individuals and groups that use terrorism...show more content... They often threaten to kill the hostages if their demands are not met. Some terrorism involves the intentional release of toxic chemicals, poisons, germs, or other harmful substances. Bombings make up about half of all terrorist acts.
Terrorism may cross national boundaries. A quarrel in one nation may produceterrorist attacks in several other countries. Some governments secretly support certain terrorist groups by providing weapons, training, and money for attacks in other countries.
Most terrorist groups fail to achieve their long–range political goals. Governments fight terrorism by refusing to accept terrorist demands and by increasing security at airports and other likely targets. Some countries train special military units to rescue hostages. All terrorist acts are crimes under international law.
History of terrorism. Terrorist tactics have been used for centuries. An American group, the Ku Klux Klan, used violence to terrorize blacks and their sympathizers in the late 1800's and the 1900's. In the 1930's, the dictators Adolf Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union used terrorism to discourage opposition to their governments. In Northern Ireland, Roman Catholic and Protestant extremists have used violence to push for, respectively, the end of, or the continuation of, British rule.
Some terrorist groups in the 1960's sought the destruction of the political and
Terrorism and hostage taking may be as old as civilization itself. There are numerous references to abduction throughout Greek mythology. In midievil times hostages were taken for money or a guaranteed safe passage through a country. In the U.S., Indians on the western frontier terrorized settlers to frighten them away. Throughout the twentieth century, up until the 1970's various terrorist acts were committed, yet it was not as big a problem as it is today. The new age of terrorism dawned at 4:30 in the morning of September 5, 1972. It was then that members of the Palestinian organization Black September attacked the Isreali Olympic team. Three men were killed on the spot and nine were taken captive. The terrorists demanded that 200 of...show more content...
The death toll from acts of terrorism has risen dramatically in recent years. In 1984, 803 bombing incidents resulted in six deaths and 112 injuries. The death toll from international terrorism rose from 163 in 1995 to 311 in 1996, as the trend continued toward more ruthless attacks on mass civilian targets and the use of more powerful bombs. In 1994 alone, there were 163 terrorist incidents in which 31 people were killed and 308 injured . In places like Beirut, Lebanon, terrorist casualties have mounted so fast that many are not even reported in most of the world's press. As Bruce Hoffman put it "terrorist groups today are more nihilistic than previous groups who were motivated by nationalist and economic grievances" (Deutch 2). Casualties from small terrorist attacks have increased significantly since 1972. These small attacks trigger many countries to change or start new policies. The large attacks are what really cause governments and civilizations to reconsider their policies though. These attacks are also "increasingly directed against the Western democracies" (Taylor 30). *The first big terrorist attack was at the Munich Olympics on September 5, 1972. Twelve innocent people were killed along with five of the terrorists. *On October 3, 1985 Achille Lauro, a cruise ship carrying mostly retired senior citizens was hijacked by . The terrorists were finally taken captive. One disabled man was killed
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Terrorism is the unlawful use of force against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in the furtherance of political or social objectives". This definition includes three elements: (1) Terrorist activities are illegal and involve the use of force. (2) The actions are intended to intimidate or coerce. (3) The actions are committed in support of political or social objectives.
The main topic here is Terrorism and Foreign Policy. The two terms that are going to be discussed is how the waragainst terrorism is expanding and how American President George W. Bush misnamed his National Security Strategy.
In his State of the Union address, President Bush threatened to expand...show more content...
Furthermore, if the president attacks North Korea, Iran, or Iraq, he could exacerbate the proliferation problem rather than reduce it. Other nations would believe that they could be next and think that working on missiles and weapons of mass destruction was the only way to keep out a superpower bent on intervening in civil wars everywhere in the name of fighting terrorism. And would the United States really intervene unilaterally in friendly nations that it believed were too timid in fighting terrorism–for example, the Philippines or Yemen? In the Philippines, would the United States intervene against the wishes of a democracy that it helped institute?
A perpetual state of war–as the president seems to envision when he asserted that the war may run beyond the duration of his term–could undermine economic recovery, does not comport with the values of a republic, and will likely lead to the erosion of constitutional liberties and the accumulation of too much power in the executive branch. And a war in perpetuity is not needed to minimize the threat from North Korea, Iran and Iraq. If the United States could contain the threat from a rival superpower during the Cold War, it can certainly contain three small, poor countries. In addition, a seemingly unprovoked war against another Moslem nation, Iran, Iraq or both could act as a recruiting poster for
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Terrorism
Imagine a clear blue, sunlit morning; the most beautiful day you can recall. Imagine waking up from an amazing dream of a clear horizon. Imagine putting on your new fresh suit, to start your new job. Imagine having that extra hop in your step as you leave your front door, your mind anxiously awaiting the adventure of a new beginning to an amazing day. Then, imagine not getting to where you needed to be. Not because you fell victim to a traffic jam or missed the bus, but because you were a victim of a terrorist act – an innocent victim, whose life was cut short by terrorism. Shattered dreams and lives are just some of the many effects that terrorism can bring about. Just how different is each human than another? Anatomically...show more content...
For this purpose, the terrorist organizations exploit diverse media venues in order to advance their interests (Sowell). Terrorism's function is to instill fear in as many people as possible promoting change. Terrorists use the media to further extend the fear in everyone. "Scaring as many people as possible is the true just in terror" (Sowell). The media spreads confusion that disrupts a whole society. Terrorism is used as a tool of violence to create a climate of fear in a population and thereby bring out a particular political object ("Terrorism"). "The purpose of terrorism is to get the most bang for your buck with such limited resources" (Sowell). The media does the work for terrorists. There have been many attacks on the United States to this day including the first attack on the World Trade Center, The Oklahoma bombing, and other attacks on U.S. embassies around the world. The deadliest attack ever was the attack on September 11, 2001. This attack consisted of four planes that were hijacked by suicidal terrorists. The terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, one into each tower. The third plane was crashed into the Pentagon and the forth crashed into a field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During this attack, 266 people died on the planes and thousands more died in and around the buildings ("Info War"). This, however, was
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Terrorism is becoming more and more of a threat to Americans both at home and abroad. International terrorism happens when terrorism occurs out of our country. An example of an International terrorist is Osama bin Laden. Laden is the worlds most dangerous terrorist. Laden shows genocidal tendency by killing Americans through–out the world from the bombings of the WorldTrade Center to the embassy bombings in Africa. The African blasts killed more than 250 people. The FBI has been tracking him for more that four years and they still couldn't stop him from striking Americans overseas and can't stop him now with the current foreign policy that has been adopted. He feels that all Christians and Jews worldwide need to be exterminated because...show more content...
The thing that bin Laden still has is his vast wealth regardless of what damage was inflicted on his operation by the cruise–missile strikes. Bin Laden's resources are hidden in several countries in what many call front companies, and this is going to make it difficult to track down bin Laden's assets some government officials worry ("Costly" 6)(kelley 2). Cannistraro said, "while we've aggressively targeted his financial flows of money, which is the lifeblood of the organization a lot of it is still out of reach. We're not going to be able to put him out of business" (Kelley 2). After such strikes against bin Laden, it is important to understand what consequences have occurred and could occur because of the American strikes. The first factor of a terrorist attack is the terrorist's motivation to carry out their attacks, and the second being their capability to carry out their attacks. The director of The International Policy Institute for Counter–Terrorism, Boaz Ganor, asserts that often such retaliation against a terrorist group will "by its very nature," increase the terrorist's motivation "to take revenge for the damage to their capabilities and to their 'image.'" However, "such strikes won't increase their ability to carry out more attacks; and at best, will greatly damage their capabilities to do so." But bin
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