On Radical Islam In Light Of The Attacks In Paris
It goes without saying that the coordinated suicide bombings and mass shootings in Paris this past week were sickening acts of terrorism that oppose the basic tenets of humanity. Nonetheless, is it really surprising at this point that an ISIS-affiliated cell in Paris, in a city with an unfortunate string of recent extremist attacks, would do such a thing? It seems that the cancerous talons of radical Islam are locked so deeply around some Muslim enclaves within Europe that the point of no return has long since passed. Although it may be tempting to believe this now after the string of ISIS-backed attacks that have devastated Europe this past year, we must remain hopeful. A view I occasionally read about online is to somehow “ban” Islam from the West, as if that is a feasible solution and a surefire way to solve the issue of Islamist terrorism. Another more commonly held belief among right-wing European circles is to deport Muslims living in Europe. All this does is move the problem—the radical enclaves I have mentioned compose a small but vocal minority of the European Muslim population. But kicking many Muslims out of their homes in Europe will inevitably lead to further radicalization as it gives extremists another way to proselytize their anti-West agenda to the moderate youth that they so keenly wish to convert.
The truth is, there is no clean-cut solution to the crisis in Europe at the moment. This looks like it’s going to be a long, taxing fight, but one that will surely allow liberté, égalité and fraternité to prosper in the end. What we need to do is cut radical Islam at its core, not simply move it from Europe back to where it originated. Many readers will at this point ask, as they have in the past, “how?”
The Middle East is home to 90 to 99 million illiterate people. Illiteracy rates in Middle Eastern countries are actually astronomically higher than those of other, poorer countries because of widespread governmental corruption that specifically blocks funding for quality education. Thus, the average impoverished Middle Easterner will attend his (emphasis on his, as about 70 percent of illiterate people are women) underfunded local school for 5.1 years, then drop out, leaving him with only basic reading abilities and limited knowledge of the world around him. So, the issue of education in the Middle East does not end at the staggeringly high number of illiterate individuals—it extends to the vast majority of those who can read but have not received the education required of them to build a brighter future for their communities. When one cannot think for himself, he falls prey to the agenda of those who can and are willing to exploit their advantages for sociopolitical gain.
As a child growing up in a Muslim household in the United Arab Emirates, one of the only stable Middle Eastern countries, I’d sometimes watch circulated videos on Youtube of Islamist preachers for comedic value. I could not believe that these men were widely revered in some of the region’s most impoverished areas. It somehow seemed that we were interpreting an entirely different book—I was reading the Qur’an (which is taught in all schools in a required Islamic Studies course to counteract potential for extremism at home amongst the minority that still hold extremist sentiments), and these preachers were reading and interpreting some knock-off they had written the night before to further their political agenda. Those who have not studied history are doomed to repeat it, and history has shown time and time again that nothing riles up my fellow uneducated Middle Easterners more than so-called “religious” causes. Religion quells the fear of death in a world that provides no other solution. Everyone fears death, regardless of their ability to read and write. It’s simply the easiest way to gain followers and instill control.
The solution to destroying radical Islam involves completely repairing the pathetic excuse of an educational system in most countries of the region. But, as much as we all wish this to be the case, supplying future generations of Middle Easterners with the critical thinking skills necessary to form their own holistic views will not cause extremist ideology to come to a halt, nor is it feasible in the short term. After all, the reason why these views arise in the first place can be attributed to the authoritarian states that block funding for secular education. Additionally, some of the terrorists in Paris were raised there. This is a separate issue that has to do with assimilation policies in each European country, but it more importantly sheds light on how their geographic separation from the Middle East means little. The ostracization of Muslims by right-wing Europeans can cause some of them to seek comfort and inclusion in the only way they think they can: through radical Islamist groups that actively recruit in France and other parts of Europe.
This is a time of mourning for those lost in Paris, but I also implore you all to take this time to mourn all those who have died in the past at the hands of radical Islam. We have a long way to go before the crisis of radical Islam will finally be put to rest, adding it to the long list of evils that have threatened civilization, and lost.