A
Case against Profiling Muslims
By Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed
President
Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc.
Louisville, KY
An
article "A Case for Profiling Muslims"
written by Ms. Kathleen Parker, was published
in newspapers across America around August 16,
2006.
All living organisms, including human beings,
obey the biological law "Stimulus and Response."
A human being, irrespective of one's religion,
is not born as a terrorist. The circumstances
and the environment make one a terrorist. If Ms.
Kathleen Parker lives in Gaza or West Bank, and
loses her parents, spouse, siblings or any near
and dear one, struck by Israeli missiles and lives
a wretched life of no hope and no human dignity,
I bet she would become a suicide bomber.
Studies show no connection between suicide terrorism
and any religion. The pioneering instigators and
the largest purveyors of suicide terrorism are
the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, a Marxist-Leninist
group whose members are overwhelmingly Hindu.
Robert Pape in his book Dying to Win writes: “From
Lebanon to Israel to Sri Lanka to Kashmir to Chechnya,
the sponsors of every campaign have been terrorist
groups trying to establish or maintain political
self-determination by compelling a democratic
power to withdraw from a territory they claim.”
Occupation is the primary motivator and religion,
at best, is an “aggravating” factor.
In Ms Parker's partial Islamic terrorist resume,
the list starts with 1972. The question is why
there were no Islamic terrorists before 1972?
Does she know how Ireland became an Irish Republic?
Does she know the IRA fought a guerrilla war against
the Crown forces in Ireland from 1919 to July
1921? The problems in Northern Ireland have not
been solved. Whey doesn't she call IRA as a Catholic
terrorist organization? Does she know how Israel
was born? Irgun Zvai Leumi was a National Military
Organization, NMO, also known by the Hebrew letters
Etzel - founded in 1937, and the Lohamei Herut
Israel, Fighters for the Freedom of Israel, Lehi
in the Hebrew acronym, also known as the Stern
Gang after its leader Avraham Stern, known as
Yair, founded in 1940. Why doesn't she call them
Jewish terrorists?
Does she know that in the 1960s, Viet Cong sympathizers
(Buddhists) exploded themselves amidst US troops?
Does she know that human bombs were used by the
Sikhs in India? Why doesn't she call the violent
perpetrators in Spain of Basque national party
members as Catholic terrorists?
Profiling Muslims does not solve the problem;
one should root out the causes of terrorism.
Muslims do not justify nor condone suicide bombing.
The Qur'an clearly states:
"...And do not kill yourselves (nor kill
one another). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to
you. "Chapter An-Nisa 4: 29
Life is very precious and sacred, no matter to
what religion it belongs. No writer has written
what causes an individual to become a suicide
bomber giving up one's precious and valuable life,
abandoning a future that lies in front of him/her.
People like Cindy Sheehan who oppose the Iraq
war cannot be justified as supporters of the terrorists
who kill our soldiers. Can they be labeled as
anti-American, unpatriotic, or traitors?
Many journalists have written that Israel's 34
days of war in Lebanon has not resulted in rescuing
the two Israeli soldiers or in the destruction
of Hizbullah. It does not mean the writers are
anti-Semitic or supporters of Hizbullah.
What is the reason that the majority of the terrorists
who hijacked the planes on Sept. 11 were of Saudi
Arabian birth? And why Bin Laden became the mortal
enemy of the United States?
Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the
United States and Islamophobia is frightening
people not only in Louisville but all over America.
It is true at this period of time Muslims are
killing Muslims. But in the past Christians killed
Christians (examples: First and Second World wars,
Northern Ireland, Spain, etc.). We do not know
the future.
The Center for Defense Information has listed
54 international terrorist organizations, out
of which 21 have Muslim names. Almost all of them
have a political agenda. Even Israel has one called
"Kach and Kahane Chai."
The United Nations has not yet accepted a definition
of terrorism. Hence there is a confusion on understanding
terrorism and words like, revolution, holocaust,
communal riots, racial riots, caste wars, ethnic
cleansing, freedom fighters, resistance fighters,
insurgents, guerillas, pogroms, Soviet Gulag,
sectarian violence, separatists, militants, Naxalites,
etc.
Why Chad, a Muslim country is ranked as the world's
most corrupt country? Six out of 10 most corrupt
countries listed are Muslim countries. Corruption
runs counter to the tenets of Islam, so also terrorism.
Poor governance, limited educational opportunities
and poverty are responsible for rampant corruption
in the Muslim world.
The safest airline in the world, it is widely
agreed, is El Al, Israel's national carrier. Behavioral
profiling has made Israel’s El Al arguably
the safest airline in the world, and security
at El Al and Ben Gurion depends on intelligence
and intuition. Security officers should be trained
to notice facial expressions, body language, and
speech patterns, which can hint at a traveler's
hostile intent or fear of being caught. "Any
measures introduced have got to be intelligence-led
and not beard-led,” said Shahid Malik, a
lawmaker in England.
According to scholars a hugely successful propaganda
term is `terrorism’ that is used to dehumanize
and demonize opponents and deny them any rational
political motivation, hence removing any need
to deal with their grievances and demands.
Sir Peter Ustinov said, "Terrorism is the
war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the
rich."
No amount of denouncing, renouncing terrorism
or the "war on terror" is going to eliminate
terrorism unless the root causes of terrorism
are removed. Terrorism is a symptom and not the
disease. Unless and until the disease is not addressed,
the symptoms (terrorism) persist. The fundamental
law is "violence begets violence."
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