A Quick Note On Terrorism

Update: A lot of people seems to have misunderstood the post. It isn’t about Islam or Hinduism or any other religion. What I am trying to explain here is why Islamic terrorism gets so much prominence. It isn’t about right or wrong or moral or immoral; it’s about how the West sees the world. One need not condone it to understand it. Though I have no hesitation is saying that nation states are accountable for the safety of their own citizens: everything comes after that.

George W Bush may be thoroughly incompetent but that doesn’t mean the War on terror wouldn’t have been fought if a Democrat would have been the president. No American president could have avoided attacking Afghanistan or going after Osama Bin Laden after 9/11. Sure, the war could have been fought in a far more efficient way, but it would have still been fought. If you think other wise, then you neither understand American politics nor American psyche.

One of the frequent gripes Muslims have is that only their name is dragged in terror attacks. What about non-Muslim groups like ULFA or L.T.T.E which are no less vicious than any Muslim terror organizations? Yet, what the world discusses is Islamic terror, why not Hindu terror? The simple answer would be that none of these organizations kill in the name of religion (which doesn’t mean they are less reprehensible), and since Muslim terror groups kill in the name of Islam, that is what is highlighted.

But there is a bigger point: who is the target group? Neither U.L.FA nor L.T.T.E or any other such terror groups are targeting the West. They are not trying to blow up airplanes over the Atlantic or kill people in London. On the other hand, the primary target of Muslim terror groups is the West. Their fight is with the Western civilization or imperialism–depending on where you stand.

Unfortunately for them, West is the richest and the most powerful society in the world which places a huge premium on the lives of its citizens. It is isn’t India where people get routinely blown up and neither the government nor the general population gives a damn. So if you target West, then be prepared for a huge backlash. The West will come out swinging and use all the force at its command to destroy those who wish to destroy it. That’s why a failed Glasgow bombing gets far more headlines than the Mumbai train blasts which killed 200. The guy in New York doesn’t give a damn how many get blown up in Mumbai or Karachi or Colombo. He cares for his own safety and he holds his government accountable for that.

Hold on, this isn’t anti-Western tirade but just a matter of fact statement. We all do the same. How much is Africa covered in the Indian news papers? CNN-IBN has hosted multiple debates on the failed Glasgow attacks, how many debates it has hosted on Darfur which has killed hundreds of thousands of people? None. Because Indians don’t give a damn how many killed get killed in Darfur as it doesn’t affect them.

Muslim terrorists have simply chosen the wrong target.

One more point. I am also tired of hearing how Muslims are daily insulted and discriminated against in the West. If this is true, then why do Muslims still want to come to the West? How many Muslims have given up their citizen-ships and gone back to their native countries?

This needs to be said loud and clear: West gives far more rights to Muslims than any Muslim majority country (with the possible exception of Turkey) gives to non-Muslims. Sure, it isn’t perfect in the West and ordinary Muslims have to bear the brunt of every terror attack: failed or successful. But the degree of persecution is vastly exaggerated.

Assimilation is not a one way street. If the West needs to do more to assimilate Muslims and build a more inclusive society, the same is equally true for Muslims especially in countries like Britain.