Transcript ReligiousExtremism PPT

Religious
Extremism
By Alex Harris
Period 4
Historical Background
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For as long as religion has existed,
there have been those who have
misinterpreted the normally pacifistic
ideals, and used them as either
motivation or justification of heinous
acts of violence. From the earliest
crusades, to the Spanish Inquisition,
to 9-11, all have been the result of
individuals distorting the ideology that
billions follow without any such
incidents.
However, the first real radical
movement associated with religion
was the crusades. This was fully
supported by the Roman Catholic
Church and lasted from the 11th
century to the 13th century
Current Status
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In October of 2005 protests began,
mainly amongst gangs consisting of
young Muslims, due to the
controversy over whether or not the
police were unfairly targeting
Muslims. The violence continued for
over two weeks with rampant
destruction of property.
More recently an eruption of sorts
transpired when the Muslims got a
hold of some inflammatory cartoons
drawn for a Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten. The cartoons
sparked massive riots in Islamic
centers all over the globe. As of
March 2, 2006, at least 139 people
have been killed in the protests.
Deaths have been mainly in Nigeria,
Libya, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Reasons for the Problem
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The crux of the matter is the battle
over the definition of the term “jihad”.
Some political camps define jihad as
meaning “holy war”, whilst other
believe the term means “inner
struggle”. Those who see jihad as
meaning holy war are the aggressors
and attempt to stamp out any
opposition to Islam.
America is often portrayed as the
bully in relations between countries,
and the fact that Christianity is the
most popular religion only servers to
further the negative view that many
Muslims already hold towards
Christianity. One might say that the
Muslims are paranoid of America and
the Western world because they fear
the possibility of a second crusade.
Previous Attempts to Solve
Religious Extremism
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Much violence has stemmed from the
conflict between the Israelis and the
Palestinians over supposed holy
ground in Jerusalem. For over 40
years there has been a constant
struggle over properties
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.
There have been innumerable
conferences on the issue, such
as the Oslo Accords and the
Madrid Conference of 1991
Israel did make an important step
in securing its neighborhood
security in 1994 with the IsraelJordan Treaty of Peace
Realistic/ logical prediction of the
ultimate outcome
 Religious extremism as it plays out today will
eventually result in a full-scale war between Islamic
countries and the rest of the world.
 The Muslim world has been suffering from an inferiority
complex for too long and those who have been
suppressed, (or at least feel suppressed); often strike
back with a ferocity that catches the defendant offguard.
 This attack would surely surpass all the attacks that
have preceded it.
Realistic Solution of the prob/
Implementation plan
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Muslims resent two things about
America, our culture and our
religion. Whilst cultural issues
may never be resolved, I believe
the religious ones can. Both
Islam and Christianity are
religions that stress the
importance of peace and the
belief in one god.
Muslims who either live in the
United States or are appalled at
the acts of violence being
committed by the radicals must
stand up and take back control of
their religion. They can be the
ones who demonstrate all the
positives of a western society
and attempt to make peace.