Transcript Course Introductionx

Course
Introduction
WESTERN CIVILIZATION
US HISTORY
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT WESTERN CIVILIZATION
US HISTORY
SYLLABUS
HANDOUTS
CLASSROOM ETIQUETTE
YOUR NAME
Nick Smythe
03 February 2007
Western Civilization
Crisis with Islam
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Problem Identification: The religion of Islam is currently being held responsible for all of the
terrorist attacks in the world. During the last two decades in particular, the concept of "Islamic
terror" has been often discussed. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on targets in
New York and Washington which caused the death of thousands of innocent civilians, this
concept has once again returned to the top of the international agenda. In this paper, I will
articulate that Islam is by no means the source of this violence and that violence has no place in
Islam..
Causes of the Problem:
A. The first and most obvious reason that the religion of Islam is being faulted is the fact that
Muslim extremists are the only ones currently targeting the innocent. Human history is mainly
filled with violent actions of Gods and the men who serve them and today’s era is no different.
The rules of war are clear in regards to civilians but unfortunately the world is in a battle in
which there are no rules. According to the US State Department during the period of 2000
through 2003 there were 119 significant terrorist incidents throughout the world inflicting 3989
fatalities. Of the 119 attacks 85% were Islamic Extremist groups. These numbers are extremely
hard to overlook or discredit.
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B. The next reason is the fact that most Muslim countries have failed to initiate any action
against these groups without pressure from the West. As the leaders of Iran and various other
Middle Eastern nations continue to blame the United States and its foreign policy for the
terrorist attacks and Saudi Arabia continues to export a form of Islam filled with hateful
propaganda, more bombings on the innocent take place (Kibble, 6). Up until this point in the
“Global War on Terror” out of the 54 Muslim-majority countries in the world only two have
joined the coalition against terror, Saudi Arabia and Turkey and they are questionable partners
at best. Zero have been involved in the dire situation in Iraq. Also people of the Islamic
consensus have not spoken out against the actions of the terrorists leading many to form the
opinion that all Muslims condone the use of terror. All the world would need to see is other
Muslims publicly condemn and take a stand against these few.
Alternate Solutions: The religion of Islam is will continue to take the brunt of the blame until
certain measures are taken. These could include ceasing all terror activities and attacks,
changing the political, cultural and economic landscape of the Muslim community, or the
majority of Muslims taking a stand against the radical, extremist few that are soiling their
religion. While each of these options are viable there are certain provisions and situations
that must be taken into account. First, ceasing all terror attacks would be near impossible. The
hatred being taught to the youths of the culture seems to be an incurable illness but ceasing
attacks would relieve the religion of Islam from any blame in terror operations. Unfortunately
as long as human have looked to the heavens seeking God’s will there have been wars and
battles over His name.
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Second, require incredible patience and resources. The venture would consist of changing the
political, economic, and cultural landscape amongst the populations of Muslim countries.
According to Ralph Peters “the world is simply not ready to go this deep into the problem, only
wanting to do what is “necessary.” The Muslim people have been left behind by history and
their response has been to blame everyone else. Those young people living in hunger and
poverty are extremely vulnerable to a fiery cleric preaching hatred. If the Western World
would invest in the people of the Middle East and other Islamic nations to bring about political
and economical change the anger and hatred would decrease.
Best Alternative: Ultimately the only way for Islam to shelter its religion from the blame of
terrorism is for the Muslim world to take a stand against extremists. Many nations, to include
Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, claim to be against these actions in the media but never
attempt to stop them. As the Muslim populations stand and watch Chechnyains continue to
attack southern Russia, Hamas and other groups shell Israel, and Al Queda in Iraq massacres
innocent people. Many people look to the West and say, “the US is at fault” or “we need more
money to fight terror.” But the United States and the Western World will never be the deciding
factor in the struggle against radical Islam. That role can only be filled by Muslims willing to
fight for their religion, even if it means killing their fellow countrymen.
Implementation Steps: The first steps to correcting the problem would consist of a Muslim
Coalition joining together to announce to the world that what is happening all around is not
the role that all Muslims play. The leaders and people of the major Muslim
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nations, to include Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, need to prove to the Western
world that they are in the fight against these fanatical individuals. This would facilitate a
change of opinion amongst the world’s non-Muslim population thus removing the blame off
the shoulders of Mohammed.
Bibliography
Kibble, David G. “The Attacks of 9/11: Evidence of a Clash of Religions?”
Parameters, US Army War College Quarterly. Autumn 2002:34-45
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2004. Web. 26 January 2006
<http://www.merriam-webster.com>
Peters, Ralph. “Rolling Back Radical Islam.” Parameters, US Army War College
Quarterly. Autumn 2002: 4-16.
The Qur’an, Oxford World’s Classic. Trans. Abdel Haleem. New York:
Oxford UP, 2004.
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