Islamic Terrorism in The Post 9/11 USA. How is the US addressing this issue?
9/11. What is the first thought that comes to one’s mind when one hears this date? Muslims? Terrorists? Al Qaeda? Osama Bin Laden? About 80% of the first few thoughts will have connotations around those few words. But why did 9/11 take place in the first place? Are Arab Muslims so wrong for hating the U.S. for forcefully coming into their countries, killing the innocent as wartime collateral damage, and taking, or gaining control over precious resources such as oil? Maybe some of the people reading this were not even aware of these facts. In this first blogpost, we will be discussing the history of Islamic terrorism and its origin, focusing on why, where and how it all started, and how we can take an objective approach to the whole situation.The post 9/11 world is much of a concern to us today. Perhaps we can try to understand the roots of these complex social and political issues and then come up with solutions. Malala Yousafzai, an activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate said, “With guns you can kill terrorists, with education you can kill terrorism.”
History
There are multiple reasons as to why Islamic Terrorism emerged. One reason is people who identity with the being Muslim as well as the religion associated with it, and another reason being the abundance of oil other countries have and the US’s interference in these countries. This issue first began in 1979 after World War 2 when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. As a result, Muslim countries from all over the world started their “Jihad” movement, to drive out the Russians from the Islamic state and free their land from them. Aid was sent to Afghanistan from Saudi Arabia and Iran as well as some other Middle Eastern countries, which caused for the creation of Islamic terrorist groups. At this time they were used for driving out the Russians but they continued to exist and form organizations and are the predominant terrorist organizations that are present today in the U.S. and other countries worldwide. More specifically, this is how the formation of Al-Qaeda came about. One of the Saudi volunteers that supplied money to Afghanistan was Osama Bin Laden, a young man from a wealthy family. After the Soviets exited Afghanistan in 1989, Bin Laden was pronounced as a hero and freedom fighter with his Al Qaeda movement that aimed for Jihad to protect Muslim territories from outsiders.
This continued until 1990 when Iraq sent troops to invade Kuwait. Bin Laden decided to defend the Kuwaiti people with his army of “Mujahideen” and the Al Qaeda as he did not want Saudi Arabia to suffer the same fate of invasion. However, before Osama could help the Kuwaitis, the Saudi king of the time asked for U.S. troops to help. The U.S. troops were allowed by King Fahd of Saudi Arabia to set up their military bases in Iraq and as a result, Bin Laden became the enemy of the Saudi family of the time as well as the foreign invaders of the U.S. After this, 1998 onward Osama Bin Laden declared Islamic Jihad for war against the United States and Jews and he said, “the United States is occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of its territories, Arabia, plundering its riches, overwhelming its rulers, humiliating its people, threatening its neighbors.” (Esposito, John L., 2002) He announced that all Muslims were responsible “to kill Americans.” (Esposito, John L., 2002)
How Syria and Iraq got involved
This was all based on the events that included the drilling for oil by the U.S. in Iraq and Syria which they did as they planted their bases in Syria and Iraq while they “protected” the Saudis from their neighbouring Muslim countries. Following this began the Islamic terrorism in the U.S. by the Islamic Jihadists which included the incidents from 1998, 2000, and the 2001 World Trade Center attack in New York City via the hijacked planes.
Possible Solutions
So what can we do about these attacks and what are some possible solutions? Perhaps it is best to stay out of other countries issues, let them deal with them on their own and not just bud in when we feel like it. We know we have power as Americans and this is intimidating to everyone around us. Having a mutual respect for their country and religion would help this reoccurring violence calm down. During many of the incidents, the attackers plead allegiance to a leader and always give some idea of why they committed the horrendous act they did. We need to pay more attention to this. It appears that over time these issues are amplifying and we are just shoving them under the rug and blaming it on religion. We hear of an event happening on the news, are very upset and of course concerned, but then what do we do to change these things? We need a policy change and that would be one step closer to ending this terrible mass violence committed against humanity.
Unfortunately, our world thrives on finding someone to blame for all its problems. For a long time this blame has been given to the Muslims of the world. We take in what our media feeds us blindly, and do not even think to question it. Since 9/11, the ‘burqa’ and ‘hijab’ that were once regarded as symbols of beauty have become targets and symbols of terrorism for us.
How did this happen? Because of the negative portrayals of Islam shown by the media that has resulted in Islamophobia. The media tends to focus on these negative aspects of Islamic countries and we as media viewers get a bad image of what is happening in the Muslim world. We as individuals need to learn to be critical about the media and what it tells us and also look for reliable sources when taking information in. Unless we learn to look at incidents and reports objectively, we will continue to blame Muslims for problems that come our way. Therefore, as a result, this will negatively stigmatize a whole population of 2.2 billion individuals. How does one come back from that? Simply by using a critical approach to interpreting news reportings and updates.
Terrorism is a big concern in today’s world, but the media and the ordinary citizen is merely criticizing the issue and not looking at or understanding the broader picture, or the root of this epidemic. This issue is important for us as a society because the problems of one group can affect other groups as well as we have seen in history. It can harm the lives of their victims and have long lasting effects on the people who share their identity. This is a global issue and affects things like trade, the economy, ecosystems, and ultimately our lives. As a result of this, we now today have a term known as ‘Islamophobia’. We as a society need to come up with solutions for these issues and not just address the problem on the surface. The media as well as its onlookers concentrate on the attacks and not the motive or the aftermath. For example, some of these “terrorists” are looked at as freedom fighters. However, for some, the US Military invading Middle Eastern countries and air striking their land could be labelled as terrorism. It’s the perspective that has to be changed. Communicating, being empathetic towards each other and understanding our fellow human beings can lead to solutions and therefore peace, and as a result war and terrorism can be stopped.
References
Costly, A. (n.d.). Islamist Terrorism From 1945 to the Rise of ISIS. Retrieved September 22, 2017, from http://www.crf-usa.org/america-responds-to-terrorism/islamist-terrorism-from-1945-to-the-death-of-osama-bin-laden.html
"With guns you can kill terrorists, with education you can kill terrorism". (n.d.). Retrieved October 09, 2017, from http://theadwps.weebly.com/128568ideas128522/with-guns-you-can-kill-terrorists-with-education-you-can-kill-terrorism
(n.d.). Retrieved October 09, 2017, from http://www.csun.edu/~sm60012/GRCS-Files/Muslims-post-9-11.htm
Washington State University. (n.d.). Retrieved October 09, 2017, from https://hub.wsu.edu/law-justice-realtime/2015/12/17/islamophobia-the-stereotyping-and-prejudice-towards-muslims-since-911/
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