Countering Radical Islamic Terrorism

The word counter-terrorism often evokes the usage of force from the army, the police and the government.  Among the less dramatic elements of counter-terrorism are intelligence sharing and diplomacy. While all of these have proved effective in reacting to and preventing terrorism, they very rarely strike the roots that allow terrorism to fester and grow. The root causes are often, social, and economic, and policy.

The following are some measures that are often ignored in the war on terror in no particular order of importance:

·        
 Acknowledge the problem – Stop Political Correctness

This may sound obvious, but the first step towards resolving a problem is to accept that it exists. When a majority of deadly terrorist activities around the world are caused by people ready to kill (and be killed) in the name of Allah or the Prophet we must call it what it is; terrorism driven by Islamic extremism.  Euphemism or political correctness in a situation like this can only obfuscate the issue. At the same time it must also be stated that only a small percentage of Muslims subscribe to this extremism and participate in terror activities, but this small percentage has the capability of causing damages of catastrophic proportions.  It must be remembered that just 19 terrorists on 9-11 to kill around three thousand innocent people and ten terrorist for 26-11 to kill one hundred and sixty innocent people. We must look towards history to know that only a small percentage of Germans were Nazis and we all know how that ended.

·         Shun the appeasers and apologists

The appeaser and the apologist often insult Muslims by assuming that criticism of Islamic extremist terrorism would offend peace loving moderate Muslims and hence resorts to appeasement.  It is important to understand the causes of terrorism and prevent them but it is dangerous to make excuses for terror acts or provide any justification. Every terror act where there is loss of property or life must be condemned without any comparison or rationalization.  Then there is what Salman Rushdie calls the ‘but brigades’ those who say “I am against terrorism and support freedom of speech, but …….”  What usually follows after ‘but’ is an indirect support of the terror act.  We saw that on display after the Paris Attacks. This is a problem that we have to confront and resolve. When it comes to freedom of speech, you are either with it or against it. Plain and simple.

·         Include the moderates

It is important to understand that Muslims are equally the victim of terrorism driven by jihadis; we see that in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.  This has led to a war within Islam between the extremes and the moderates. The only possible way to deal with Muslim fanatics is to drown their voices with moderate and liberal voices. When a person of another religion talks about Muslim terrorism it is often construed as bigotry but a moderate Muslim has the advantage of empathizing the situation of an extreme Muslim. It is this Moderate Muslim that can show the light to the extremist. It is therefore important that moderate Muslims be empowered as agents of change within the Muslim world. They may be also effective in ensuring the right balance is struck between confronting terror and maintain sensitivity.

·         Dealing with  the hate mongers

The hateful preachers be it the Mullahs or Politicians are often the root cause of all the problems, they prey on disenchanted youth and encourage them to commits acts of violence in the name of religion, while they often remain secure themselves  and often making a lot of money in the process and acquiring power in the community. It is important that the local police and the government pay attention to people like this and restrain them. Moderate Muslims can be of great help if they can monitor and prevent Madrasas and Mosques from being centers of hate mongering and indoctrination. The hateful preachers should be stripped of their privileges and never be allowed to preach again.  Also on the other side the hate mongers on the other side who try and paint all Muslims as terrorists must also be shunned.  In other words precautions must be taken to prevent the extremes from driving the conversation.

·         Prevention of isolation

The isolation of people and the formation of groups that do not interact with the outside world always present considerable dangers to society. The people in these groups are often vulnerable to indoctrination and propaganda. It is therefore most important that government make it a policy of implementing programs that inclusion and assimilation. The more people interact the more they will realize that their commonalties. Encouraging business and cultural exchanges will also ensure a healthy interaction.  It is also important to provide counselling to the misguided.

·         Legalization of drugs, prostitution

It is no secret that most of the money raised for terrorism comes from illegal activities such as drug trafficking and human trafficking. The sooner governments all over the world realize that these elements will never go away and the only way to control them is to legalize them, monitor them and tax them. Also keep track of the finances to ensure that it isn't used to support terror activities.

·         Alternative fuel methods

A lot of funding of terrorism comes from the sale of oil, in fact ISIS raises most of its money by selling barrels of oil. It is therefore a good idea to develop alternate energy methods such as solar power and electric power. This may also be a great boon to the environment.

·         Investigations of finances of all businesses

It is important that each and every business be investigated thoroughly about the source of the finances and the destination of their profits. This will ensure that the money funding terrorism can be stopped.

·        Educate people on the perils of bootlegged goods

It is essential that the average person be educated that the buying of illegal material such as pirated software, films, music or games, stolen or counterfeit items is dangerous since the proceeds are used to fund terrorism. It is a simple point that people have to comprehend ‘Buying an item that is one tenth the market price may save a lot of money but it could possibly fund the death of your loved ones?”

·        Education

Terror thrives in ignorance and disenchantment. It dies in enlightenment and contentment. A lot of youth get indoctrinated because a lack of education.  The more you educate the youth, the more they will discover their skill and passion.  They will also comprehend that texts in religions books may not always be meant to be taken literally but metaphorically. It also opens the mind, facilitates interaction among people of different background.