TERRORISM, A PRODUCT OF SUFFERING.
By Bob Myers.
Any attempt to understand the actions of terrorists is branded as supporting or agreeing with terrorists. However, seeking to understand why a person uses terror tactics is not the same as supporting terrorism. It's not possible to know if you agree or disagree with someone if you don't understand what he's on about. Although most terrorism is performed in the name of Islam, Islam is not the cause of the problem.
People who are hurting will look for a way to make the pain stop and if there is no easy way out, they will go to extremes. People who are hurting as individuals, a family, an organisation or as a community, may decide to get rid of the source of the pain or may decide to move away from it. Suffering, not religion, is the cause of terrorism.
In most countries where violent extremists gained a foothold, people lived in poverty and oppression, while the rulers rolled in wealth. People don't have to be economically or politically equal but they do have to feel equal as people. They can put up with all sorts of hardship and still be happy, but not if they feel inferior as people. Inequality doesn't necessarily lead to rebellion or violence but is more likely to if people feel the rulers are ignoring their plight. All they need then is a leader. Along comes a religious fanatic who fans the resentment into rage and promises that his version of Islam, or whatever, can bring equality as well as victory over the oppressors and their allies. Violence erupts. The people want justice, no matter who the oppressor is.
The Sunni and the Shi'ite Muslims live in harmony in many countries but the Shi'ite can and have declared Jihad against the Sunni, just as they have against America. Sunnis fought Christians in Lebanon. Sunni and Shi'ites fought the Palestinians in Lebanon. Palestinians and Muslims fought the Jews. Catholics fought the Protestants in Ireland, and the Christians and Muslims fought in Aceh. Certainly they are all religious groups but all these fights occurred in circumstances where one group was inferior to the other. Violence would not be necessary if people could express their grievances about the system and have a genuine hope of changing it. Genuine means genuine, not a promise made to keep them happy. An open door to a closed mind is dictatorship by deceit. When there is no peaceful way out of a predicament, the situation is right for violence.
How can terrorism be stopped? Certainly not by violence. Terrorism exposes the flaws in the idea of relying on punishment, or on the threat of punishment, to keep people in line. The ultimate punishment is death, but it only works when people fear the punishment. Religious fanatics have no fear of death, they welcome it as a reward for their efforts. Using violence plays into the hands of terrorists and continues to reward them. Therefore, all the death-dealing weaponry of the world's greatest superpower becomes the ally of terrorists.
The answer is a challenge to Western thinking. The whole population of disadvantaged countries has to be given the equality and dignity they are entitled to and, regardless of the need for oil or other goods, the West must stop supporting leaders who exploit their own people for their own gain. Many people would see this as giving in to terrorism, whereas it is actually removing the circumstances extremists use to get the support of the people.
There is a lesson in this for all of us in everyday living too. We should not allow unacceptable behaviour to achieve its goal, but the human need behind the unacceptable behaviour must be met. Parents, teachers and leaders can largely avoid this dilemma by providing some way for people to have their concerns heard, and influence the decisions made, so they feel they are respected. When we get this right in our culture, we may get it right when dealing with other cultures.
By Bob Myers.
Any attempt to understand the actions of terrorists is branded as supporting or agreeing with terrorists. However, seeking to understand why a person uses terror tactics is not the same as supporting terrorism. It's not possible to know if you agree or disagree with someone if you don't understand what he's on about. Although most terrorism is performed in the name of Islam, Islam is not the cause of the problem.
People who are hurting will look for a way to make the pain stop and if there is no easy way out, they will go to extremes. People who are hurting as individuals, a family, an organisation or as a community, may decide to get rid of the source of the pain or may decide to move away from it. Suffering, not religion, is the cause of terrorism.
In most countries where violent extremists gained a foothold, people lived in poverty and oppression, while the rulers rolled in wealth. People don't have to be economically or politically equal but they do have to feel equal as people. They can put up with all sorts of hardship and still be happy, but not if they feel inferior as people. Inequality doesn't necessarily lead to rebellion or violence but is more likely to if people feel the rulers are ignoring their plight. All they need then is a leader. Along comes a religious fanatic who fans the resentment into rage and promises that his version of Islam, or whatever, can bring equality as well as victory over the oppressors and their allies. Violence erupts. The people want justice, no matter who the oppressor is.
The Sunni and the Shi'ite Muslims live in harmony in many countries but the Shi'ite can and have declared Jihad against the Sunni, just as they have against America. Sunnis fought Christians in Lebanon. Sunni and Shi'ites fought the Palestinians in Lebanon. Palestinians and Muslims fought the Jews. Catholics fought the Protestants in Ireland, and the Christians and Muslims fought in Aceh. Certainly they are all religious groups but all these fights occurred in circumstances where one group was inferior to the other. Violence would not be necessary if people could express their grievances about the system and have a genuine hope of changing it. Genuine means genuine, not a promise made to keep them happy. An open door to a closed mind is dictatorship by deceit. When there is no peaceful way out of a predicament, the situation is right for violence.
How can terrorism be stopped? Certainly not by violence. Terrorism exposes the flaws in the idea of relying on punishment, or on the threat of punishment, to keep people in line. The ultimate punishment is death, but it only works when people fear the punishment. Religious fanatics have no fear of death, they welcome it as a reward for their efforts. Using violence plays into the hands of terrorists and continues to reward them. Therefore, all the death-dealing weaponry of the world's greatest superpower becomes the ally of terrorists.
The answer is a challenge to Western thinking. The whole population of disadvantaged countries has to be given the equality and dignity they are entitled to and, regardless of the need for oil or other goods, the West must stop supporting leaders who exploit their own people for their own gain. Many people would see this as giving in to terrorism, whereas it is actually removing the circumstances extremists use to get the support of the people.
There is a lesson in this for all of us in everyday living too. We should not allow unacceptable behaviour to achieve its goal, but the human need behind the unacceptable behaviour must be met. Parents, teachers and leaders can largely avoid this dilemma by providing some way for people to have their concerns heard, and influence the decisions made, so they feel they are respected. When we get this right in our culture, we may get it right when dealing with other cultures.
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