Editorial Desk :
An editorial titled “The Danger of Foreign Jihadists” published on the 23rd November by the New York Times commented on the worrying hold which ISIS had on foreign converts. Apparently, according to the study, more than half of the 31000 ISIS members came from foreign countries– most from Muslim nations but an increasing number of them were also coming from non-Muslim nations and backgrounds, including Canadian, American and European men and also women.
The editorial states that the overwhelming majority are men from the Arab and other Muslim countries, drawn to jihad by religious zeal, a chance to fight the decadent West and the lure of excitement in otherwise dreary lives. But the flow of non-Muslims or non-religious recruits from the West, and their use in some of the most grisly actions, is a new and worrying phenomenon because it shows that joining ISIS and fighting for it remains a surreal, indeed almost romantic, notion among the converts as they are drawn in to what seems to be a force fighting for an ideal. The editorial ends by saying that the only sure way for this to end is for ISIS to be defeated and for the misguided converts to be rehabilitated.
It is our contention that the editorial opinion is myopic — in the sense that it sees the situation only from the coloured lenses of the West. It does not take a rocket scientist to see that the Muslims are being, in the words of Western journalists themselves, oppressed most cruelly in many places around the world. The BBC runs stories on the persecution of the Rohingyas in Myanmar with titles of “Between a rock and a hard place” and takes interview of Khaled Meshaal — the leader of Hamas, but fails to see the root cause behind the so-called Islamist terrorist activities.
It is Western schizophrenia at its worst — it calls upon the world to embrace democracy but tries to undermine the same if any religious party takes power through free and fair elections — as had happened in Egypt where it did nothing to ensure that the Muslim Brotherhood retained power after the army coup there. Similarly, it opposed the election of Hamas in the Gaza Strip although it was the free and fair result of the franchise of its citizens.
Muslims have been routinely oppressed mainly by the US in prisons like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. This torture includes physical and sexual abuse, torture, rape, sodomy, and murder. The images of the torture conducted by CIA agents and their domestic helpers were deemed extremely offensive and were not allowed to be released by President Obama citing that they would inflame anti-American opinion — which shows how cruel and unjust the torture methods used were. Killing of Palestinian Muslims and territorial expansion into Palestine were always supported by the USA.
The West, more particularly the USA, has to rethink and review their policy towards the Muslims. Muslim leadership lacks unity and they have their weaknesses. That is why private terrorism among Muslims have grown.
Thus, the answer for the terrorist activities to end is not for groups like ISIS to be wiped out — they can never be totally destroyed and like the Hydra, may spawn several groups before its death. The answer lies in the ability and willingness of the West to collectively address the problems of persecution and humiliation which the Muslims have been made to suffer.
Israel is armed with nuclear weapons so that it can kill and humiliate the Palestinians any way as its government likes. The truth is it is Israel that is not ready to tolerate Palestine state.
Americans must not forget the ruthless excesses committed by the US army in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not denied that politically America did some good. But the military operation was too much heavy handed. This could happen because the need of politically handing the overwhelming grievance of desperate anger amongst the Muslims did not receive due consideration. In maintaining relationships only military solution was preferred.
The reaction of the helpless Muslims, and indeed even non-Muslims who are outraged by the excesses of their governments is to resort to terrorism. Now the young ones in the USA, Britain, France and Germany are reacting to such unjust and inhuman treatment inflicted on the Muslims. They are joining the jihadis because of their frustration with the policy that their governments are pursuing. The fact that their numbers are growing is a clear indication that the West needs to reshape its policies with respect to the Muslim world. A human being will only resort to terrorism if they feel that an unjust world will not listen to their legitimate demands. But who is a terrorist, and who is not, depends upon the eye of the beholder.
