Rising above xenophobia

The time is ripe for societal introspection and adjustment in the rhetoric against terrorism. The rise of pan-Islamist militancy around the world has renewed fears of xenophobia directed towards the Muslim populations in the US and most of Europe. Many Muslims have reported a surge in hate crimes against them in both regions. There has also been widespread controversy over the inflow of refugees into these countries from conflict zones in the Middle East. While some states in the US have spoken out against accepting refugees altogether, presidential candidate Ben Carson has suggested filtering out Muslims amongst them and the Republican front-runner Donald Trump has gone as far as proposing a ban on the entry of Muslims into the country and employing special identification for the local Muslim population. This recent wave of Islamophobia in the US, even amongst presidential candidates, is highly worrying.

There is an eminent need to study terrorism in order to better understand and then counter it. There is a logical flaw in the linking of a particular faith with militant tendencies, when such militancy is not exclusive to it. The manipulated context of fabricated religious teachings, which results in the rise of militancy needs to be understood, and its ideological sympathisers highlighted. Militancy has not gained popularity among an overwhelming majority of Muslims. There continue to be over a billion members of the Muslim faith, who have almost in their entirety condemned the rise of militancy. A recent Pew Research survey has shown that the Islamic State (IS) is resented in almost all Muslim-majority states.

In fact, faith is no precursor to modern terrorism. Even if faith functions as a motivating factor for many recruits, terrorist groups such as the IS are motivated by the goals of capturing of political power, making economic gains from oil and enjoying global influence.

The regional ambitions of the IS are the same as the ones that many terrorist networks have had throughout history. Similar sort of goals have been set by terrorist groups and militants fighting for race supremacy, political ideologies or independence and sovereignty. In many cases, such militant groups have been supported, armed and funded by the very countries that are at the moment rightly opposing militant Islamists today.

Terrorism is not exclusive to the Muslim faith. The Christian Identity Movement is a transnational militant group, which has conducted large-scale bank robberies and terrorist attacks since the 1920s. Similarly, the Ku Klux Klan and the Lord's Resistance Army have all been responsible for heinous ideological crimes through manipulated interpretations of the Christian faith. Similarly, Irgun in the Middle East was widely regarded as a terrorist organisation, ideologically motivated by militant Zionist interpretations of the Jewish faith. Militant Maoists have claimed various terrorist attacks, particularly in India. Similarly, extremist militant monks have, for long, terrorised minorities in Myanmar. Terrorism is not exclusive to interpretations of organised religion either. In recent years, Sri Lanka has recovered from a long-standing struggle with secessionist terrorists, the Tamil Tigers. Similarly, politically motivated rebels, such as those belonging to various 20^th century revolutionary movements in parts of Latin America, have also been viewed as terrorists in the past. Fascist governments such as Nazi Germany are responsible for ethnic cleansing and expansionary ambitions, with predominantly racial motivations.

There is also a need to understand the ideological root of terrorism within Islamist militancy. Yet, there is considerably little debate on the exporting of militant ideologies by countries in the Middle East. The usage of religious seminaries, funded by citizens of these countries, teaching curriculum sympathetic to militant ideologies is common in South Asia and the Middle East. These seminaries function publicly in metropolitans and urban settings and often form the breeding grounds for militant organisations and radical groups.

It is important to break down the formational factors of these terrorist groups to avoid rising xenophobia. It would be extremely unfair to adjoin radical connotations with believers of a certain faith. Cowering down to fearing members of your own community simply plays into the hands of terrorist groups looking for increased global influence. It is important to avoid the 'otherisation' of particular groups, which have existed harmoniously within the American demographic for over a century. It is, in fact, a challenge for the melting pot that is the US to rise above division and fear of the unknown. There is an eminent need to monitor the outflow of people from conflict zones and increase checks on potential terrorists. Yet, there is no need to buy into theories of the emergence of the clash of civilisations.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2015.

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