On Terrorism and West - Islam Relations:
In order to deal with terrorism we must understand its various drivers. There is no single explanation. At the individual level terrorists are mostly educated in engineering or related exact sciences. The psychology of people trained in such exact sciences is to take a narrow perspective of life. Those educated in the social sciences have a different perspective of life and are more open-minded.
Individuals also take up terrorism if their cultural background has been subjected to any form of humiliation or subjugation. While this might be a necessary condition, it is by no means sufficient, and must be seen in the context of several other factors.
Humiliation felt by Muslim communities’ dates back to the Crusades. In addition, the Muslim people in nations like Africa, Asia and Latin America were subjected to colonialism, which resulted in further humiliation and subjugation. The current mood in the West is such that the vast majority of public opinion will not permit apologizing for historical wrongs committed against the people of the Muslim world.
Efforts need to be made by the West to mitigate global inequalities both economically and politically between them and other countries, and strive towards more equitable and respectful international relations.
On feasibility of transformation:
In Europe in 1941-42, the German occupation of the French people produced monstrous results. The French people felt humiliated and the French Government of the time could do little to alleviate this feeling. In due course, both the French and the Germans realized the futility of the animosity they each had for each other. They decided to engage in progressive discourses in areas of common interest between the two nations. This led to a system of common economic management, which succeeded in overriding both political and emotional differences. However, in order to reach such a stage, time is necessary. It might even take a few decades. Reaching a common ground or interest between the West and the Islamic World is possible if steps are taken to modify contemporary U.S. foreign policy and to reshape the global governance structure.
We must remember that the Muslim civilization was very tolerant from in the 9th to 13th century. After the end of the Caliphate in Baghdad, on account of the conquest of the Mongols who eventually embraced Islam, we see political Islam becoming the aggressor. Also, since then, there has been a tendency in Muslim societies to control human behaviour. Western development, on the other hand, began only once people started feeling free. The French Revolution marked the destruction of the old economy. The Catholic Church then, was in favour of a stable as opposed to a dynamic economy. The Chinese at the time were dynamic. Besides travelling to foreign lands, they invented the compass and the gunpowder among many other things. It was only when the Chinese Emperor stopped seafaring in the fifteenth century that China became a sleepy state for the next 500 years. Thus comparative experiences of different civilizations show that freedom is important for progress.
Recommendations for the Future:
If the non-Arab countries come together to help the Arabs remove their sense of collective humiliation, it will solve the problem to some extent. In addition, we must recognize the efforts and reforms initiated by Arab leaders and support them with knowledge transfer and the exchange of scholarships.
There are rising winds of reforms blowing in some of the Arab countries. Morocco and Jordan are relatively progressive. These countries are ruled by a monarchy. Since the last two years, the King of Morocco has decided to finance mosque building, as well as set up a school for Imams appointed by the palace. In this school, fifty percent of the syllabus is on human rights, technology etc. We should support such initiatives of the King.
We cannot eradicate terrorism. But what we can do is to concentrate on, and work towards economic development in areas which generate tendencies supporting terrorism. We should push for an Arab Renaissance movement, practice open diplomacy with Arab countries, acknowledge the transformation of Hamas and work towards solving the Palestinian problem.
The media needs to be educated and reformed to report. It should report in a responsible manner that does not project detrimental views or propagate stereotypes and instead start playing a positive and crucial role in bridging the gap between the different sections of global society.
We must be patient. It is going to take some time to eliminate terrorism but we cannot afford to wait.
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