Sunday, November 15, 2015

Keep your children safe from ISIS online recruiters..

In first glance, we may feel, it's a difficult time. You or your family can be a victim of terrorist attack any time, any where. Nobody is immune. No country is safe. Your skin color, wealth, apolitical standing nothing can save you. Only death appears to be more certain than terrorism.

 Unfortunately, when I explored history, I couldn't find a place or time which was safer for humanity for a long time. Yes, there was relative peace and prosperity for a decade but world was always torn by war, skirmishes and genocides.

However,  we are experiencing unprecedented high volume of terrorist attacks globally that is unparallel in world history. Who are those terrorists ? Why do they kill? What do they want?

    This is where ground reality gets far more complex than what most of us love to think - a simple hypothesis of Islam inspired Jihad. Islam does play a critical central role in global terrorism but for that matter if we pump money and arms to any religious extremist group, dis-chanted and disillusioned from harsh reality of society and state politics, terrorists can be manufactured like a factory assembly line.

 Which country suffered mercilessly at the hand of terrorists  more than any of us ? It is country of Colombia. Where even presidents and ministers were not safe and have been killed at will by mafia sponsored terrorism. Pablo Escober, the most notorious nacro terrorist of all the times, literally wiped out Supreme court of Colombia and killed any presidential candidate which vowed to eliminate drug smuggling. What we have seen in Paris and 9/11 is a child's play compared to what Colombians experienced throughout 90s.

From Colombia to Paris, lesson for terrorism remains simple. If there are vested interest groups which can profit from terrorism, and a weak democracy where leaders clasp with that interest group either for vote or money, none can stop growth of terrorism. Why Paris is burning today? Their intelligence agency is admitting they have a potential list of 5000 jihadist but they can't monitor or detain them for political pressure. In India and Bangladesh-situation is worst. These jihadists are needed and wanted by many political parties to secure minority vote bank.

This is where issue of Islam becomes complex and murkier. As a religious text or fundamentals of religion, Islam is no different than other religion. Purported text of violence or Jihad , cited by many from Koran are not exclusive to Islam-it can be found in Bible too.

                   But it is not through religious text, Islam become a dangerous religion. It has become so by not allowing criticism to its religion. Islam is a political system as well. If criticism of Islam is not allowed, all the Muslim majority countries will be governed by Islamic law.  This is where major riddles played out in 20th century. Post colonial modernization movement by Atartuk or Gamal Abdel Nasser have largely failed because Islam has an alternative political system which is contradictory to western liberal democracy.  Clearly to control Middle East, a large number of dictators were supported by the western powers  since democracy was leading to the way of more Islamization and thus medieval barbarism. As it happens in all dictatorial rules, a large section of population have seen their political right  confiscated and thus whole Middle East become larva breeding ground for terrorists. Terrorists are born in middle east like mosquitoes.

    However, at this point, focus is more on home grown terrorism where Muslim youths are radicalized even when they are born in France or USA.  This is probably a very small tiny faction but still a happening and dangerous trend because of their callous immigrant parents who started thinking their children are becoming more pious Muslim!  Least they know their children are being exploited by online ISIS sponsored radicals who are teaching and showing them how their Muslim brothers are suffering in Middle East because of Iraq invasion.  And a religious person without critical thinking is a danger to society. He is religious because he believes in myths of his religion-which are fairly tales.  And if he can be made to believe in fairly tale because he is not rational, he can be made to believe in all kind of stories in which USA is a villain.  And that is where radicalization of Muslim youth is becoming an issue in USA because they are vulnerable to online recruit of ISIS. Only Muslim parents can stop them-they must keep strict vigil on their children if they do not want to bring shame to their family reputation and want their children to be safe.