Terrorism is an act of cowardice and anybody can engage in it. The blanket criticisms often leveled against the Muslims is more often than not devoid of concrete evidence.The West is always quick to rise to the occasion of attacking the east of any act of violence, and this is something unacceptable.The relationship between the West which is largely dominated by the whites, and the East which is largely dominated by Muslims and red Indians and Arabs is awash with suspicion, accusations and counter-accusations. Even as terrorism is used as a scapegoat, religious conflicts which started many centuries ago is often ignored.

The situation especially the political instability in the middle east is playing a critical role is, as far as, the future of Muslims relationship with the west is concerned. The stakes are high, and so are the demands. The current political situation in Syria is just, but  a long tale but the underhand tactics fueling this relentless situation of massacre should not cast the Muslim world into dark shadows. Perhaps there could be some influence from the west, but it should be understood that the humanitarian crisis is dire and urgent measures ought to be always taken without further ado. Politics or pronouncements of terrorism would only serve to worsen the situation.

When Syria’s conflict began two years ago, the international community was agape and did nothing, but until recently when hundreds of lives were claimed in what has been believed to be  chemical weapons attack, the west wanted to act by way of military air strikes. Looking at situations like Syria, Libya and among other Muslim dominated nations, the relationship between the west and Islamic fraternity often suffers a big a blow. All always culminate into a war between Islam and the west. Major bombings the world over are often a blame game and often shifted to our Muslim brothers.

Further, taking a scenario like Egypt, the battle is declared against the Muslim brotherhood. Well, it should be understood that they too have their grievances, and this is just but a situation of normal political disgruntlement among the populace. The senseless and targeted attacks on those who are affiliated to the Muslim brotherhood are definitely uncalled for. Egypt’s case is a tricky one, and the involvement of the west cannot be overruled since the ousting of Mubarak, and Morsi. Many critics of the west argue that their involvement in the East affairs is often interest bound. Weapons stockpile is often at center-stage with the west often coming in to attack the side which they feel isn’t meeting their interest.

Well, we live in challenging times. The world is awash with terror and every part of the world is affected. Cost of living will continue to rise if these blanket criticisms continue to be  targeted at the Muslims for whatever terror related crimes there is in the world but without much basis of claims. The latest terror related attack in Kenya’s upscale shopping mall is one such case which should be treated with care lest the Muslim-western relations get even bitter.

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Sacred war, suicide bombings, defending trust, and slaughtering in the name of God -from Crusaders to terrorists, from holy places to New York City, history is polluted by a grave malady distressing mankind. While all the known religions of the planet call for fondness, peace, tolerance, flexibility of conviction and shared comprehension, a large number of the terrorists’ enactments are submitted in this planet by individuals who call themselves religious, and property their frightful and detestable enactments to the religion. Then again, God censures their demonstrations in the scripture. The correct religion of Islam precludes the executing of pure individuals, independent of the reason religious, political or social convictions.

The religion of Islam ought not to be confounded with what these terrorists have done. The terrorist conglomerations, for example, Al-Qaida who execute guiltless individuals are truly, by the meaning of the Quran, not Muslims, yet plain killers. Who might want to depict Hitler as great Christians? We ought not to let our feelings defeat our coherence and comprehension. There is no religious scripture that does not censure terrorism. Each equitable individual in any religion might denounce such movements paying little mind to a terrorist’s race, nation or religious foundation.

Terrorism can’t be conceived of religion. Terrorism is the result of degenerate psyches, solidified hearts, and egotistical self images, and defilement, pulverization, and overconfidence are obscure to the heart joined to the celestial.

Islam is a religion of tolerance and quiet conjunction with all of humankind both as people and groups. Islam sees individuals as respected animals without respect for their religion, race, or color.

It is both false and out of line to feel that Islam is the explanation for terrorism only since it is completed by aggregations who copartner themselves with Islam; overall this case might be call for the devastation of all religions. Case in point, we realize that Christianity calls for adoration, and that its devotees were oppressed during a period at what point they were frail, yet would it be a good idea for us to recognize that the restraint and torture of Muslims and Jews which were completed by the Church in Spain were the consequence of the teachings of Christianity? The Church took out its outrage on the Jews and Muslims because of the spread of the logic and contemplation of Ibn-e-Rushd, particularly around the Jews, and decided that all Jews who did not permit them to be immersed were to be casted out from the nation.

Essentially, the clear and unabashed terrorism drilled by the Zionist substance can’t be accused on the teachings of Judaism, for an all religions came as a kindness to individuals and a method of spreading equity and pardoning around them. This does not imply that we prevent the gesture from securing pulverization and abhorrence which happen in our secure nations, yet they are the aftereffect of unreasonable personalities, ruined hearts, and haughtiness. Allah says, Behaving presumptuously in the area and plotting mercilessness; and the underhanded plot just encases the men who make it [35:43]. We ask God to move us with direction and to give peace to our kids, our nations, and the whole Muslim group. Also, God is Most High and Knows Best.

Obviously, you mustn’t be religious or actually have confidence in any religion whatsoever to understand this, what appears to be the situation is the absence of information and comprehension of religious convictions. We are presently living in such various groups, that diverse religions are spread over the globe; from Hinduism and Sikhism, to Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and numerous more.

It is far better to have a comprehension of individuals’ religious values and convictions, through bantering with common ordinary individuals who will let you know the correct importance of how their religion instructs peace, love and correspondence, as opposed to building a slant exclusively with respect to the political stance of a specific daily paper or channel.

All through history individuals of brutality have defended their movements by utilizing religion. This likewise furnishes them with artless volunteers. The media can and might as well forbid these individuals from utilizing this ploy. Reporting that a terrorist claims to be of some specific religion is partaking in purposeful publicity. Any demonstration of dread, particularly one carried out in the name of religion, is a wrongdoing against that very religion. Terrorism has no religion; it is a crime.

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That's the headline to a report in today's Birmingham Post. It concerns the conviction earlier this week of three young men from the city – Irfan Naseer, Irfan Khalid and Ashik Ali – who were charged under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006 with engaging in conduct in preparation for intended acts of terrorism.

The plot in fact never got beyond the stage of the convicted men discussing possible acts of terrorism among themselves, and they were arrested before any explosive devices had been built or the materials necessary to build them had been acquired. Even the prosecutor stated that their "precise targets remained unclear", but argued that the men "had dangerous aspirations".

The only reason the police knew about these aspirations was that the security services had the men under surveillance and recorded their conversations. The men obviously wouldn't have discussed their plans with their own families, still less with the wider Muslim community, so it is difficult to see how the community could have informed the police about this rather nebulous plot.

The only part of the terrorism plot to which the men's families were privy was that the three men at one point tried to attend a training camp in Pakistan. This turned out to be a complete farce. The Post quotes detectives involved in the case as stating that none of the men received any terror training as they were only in the camp for a day, because their outraged families found out where they were and demanded that they leave.

The senior investigating officer, DI Adam Gough, told the Post: "We know pressure was applied to them to come back. Shahid Khan virtually ran home. Three of the four came back almost immediately, while the fourth stayed with his family in Pakistan." Gough went on to say that it was "a success story in that the families did bring those people back and it shows the vast majority of the community abhor terrorism in the same way we do".

That the families didn't inform the police about this incident is most likely explained by the fact that they thought the young men were being idiots rather than seriously planning acts of terrorism (and even at the conclusion of their trial it's still not entirely clear which they were). On top of this, just a one-day visit to such a camp would have left the men open to prosecution under Section 8 of the Terrorism Act (which does not require that any actual training should have taken place) and they could have faced prison sentences of up to ten years.

Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, the head of counter-terrorism at West Midlands Police, was evidently pressed by the Post to criticise the Muslim community for failing to act against the would-be terrorists. All he was prepared to say was:

"The families were trying to do their best to get them back and stop them getting into trouble, rather than get in touch with us. I agree it would have been really good if more could have been shared with us, and we could have dealt with it in a different way. In terms of community engagement, would I like them to come forward more? Yes, I would. Do I think they (the Muslim community) were being disruptive – no, I do not."

This is the basis on which the Post runs an inflammatory headline accusing the entire Birmingham Muslim community of remaining silent about a terrorism plot of which they knew nothing and which existed in little more than words.

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The United States failed in the war on terror. There were enough offenses and operations to defeat any enemy, but inexplicably to many, terrorism has only grown in the past decade. Perhaps the reason the US failed is because it refused to address the root causes behind terrorist activity. In nearly every case of terrorism, terrorists are trying to raise awareness of social injustice issues through unacceptable means. We would do well to begin to understand what those issues are, and why terrorists feel that they have no other recourse except violence against civilians.

The Lashkar e-Taiba is a terrorist cell stationed in Kashmir, an area that is disputed by India and Pakistan. They believe that violent jihad is the duty of all Muslims and must be waged until eight objectives are met: ending persecution against Muslims, establishing Islam as the dominant way of life in the world, forcing infidels to pay jizya, fighting for the weak and feeble against oppressors, exacting revenge for killed Muslims, punishing enemies for violating oaths and treaties, defending all Muslim states, and recapturing occupied Muslim territory. Here is my opinion on these goals:

1-      Ending persecution against Muslims. This is a very worthy objective. We do not want for anybody to be persecuted because of their race, nationality, religion, or for any other reason.

2-      Establishing Islam as the dominant way of life in the world. If by Islam you mean peace, yes. However, the Qur’an itself says that there should be no compulsion in religion. No one should ever force his way of life upon another. The problems associated with Westernization of the Middle East are escalating; Islamicization of the world would produce similar problems.

3-      Forcing infidels to pay jizya. Again, we do not want anybody to be singled out because they do not share the same beliefs. And we do not want any person’s or group’s beliefs to be forced upon another. However, everyone paying a tax, part of which goes to help the less-fortunate, is required in many countries, including America.

4-      Fighting for the weak and feeble against oppressors. This is in the Bible and the Qur’an, and is a very worthy goal, as long as in fighting for the weak we are not becoming the perpetrators of violence and injustice.

5-      Exacting revenge for killed Muslims. I imagine that this is a very strong reference to the thousands of Palestinian Muslims who have been murdered by Israel. My opinion here is that justice, not revenge, must prevail. Justice involves the party in the wrong, in this case, Israel, to acknowledge what it has done and do what it can to make reparations. Revenge would lead to more people being killed.

6-      Punishing enemies for violating oaths and treaties. This is actually a very big deal. Hitler was prone to violating oaths and treaties whenever the treaty no longer suited him. Many treaties have been made regarding the conflict in Palestine and Israel; however, few to none have been kept. Punishing enemies will only lead to more violence, not resolution, but holding them accountable for their actions can go a long way. If Israel was held accountable for its human rights violations against Palestinians, the United States would cease giving it $8 million every single day. That might lead Israel to reconsider some of its policies.

7-      Defending all Muslim states. This is a very worthy goal. Palestine needs a defender. Many Muslim countries need a defender against the dangerous policies associated with Westernization.

8-      Recapturing occupied Muslim territory. My opinion is that this also refers to Palestine, which now consists of less than 21% of the land it held prior to the recreation of Israel. Even that land is under occupation by the Israeli military in an illegal apartheid. Israel needs to acknowledge its pre-1967 borders and make amends for its actions.

Terrorism is not the way to accomplish these goals. Unfortunately, for some reason, terrorists feel that this is their best recourse. Why do they feel that there is no other option? Perhaps they have been trying to make their voice heard in other ways, but we have not listened.

About the author

I grew up in conservative Christian circles in the American South, and majored in theology at an Alabama Southern Baptist college. Without really understanding why, I believed that Muslims were to be avoided at all costs, and we have to unilaterally support Israel. Like many young adults, after college I wasn't sure at all of what I wanted to do with my life, so I traveled to the Middle East for a year and a half. Most of the people I met were descendants of the Palestinian refugees forced out of their homeland in 1948, when Israel was recreated. I fell in love with Arab culture, and realized that on the world scene, Arabs have no voice. Living in the Middle East gave me fresh new eyes to read the Bible, and interacting with Arab Christians, especially Palestinian Christians who live in Jordan, caused me to question all the dogmas regarding Israel with which I had grown up.

Living in the Middle East also gave me the courage I needed to pursue my lifelong dream of being an author. My first book, A Theology of Chaos, will come out this next spring. I plan to use the profits from it to support organizations in the Middle East that are fighting for justice. I have written some short stories as well, which you can find on smashwords.com under my full name, Margaret Elysia McColley.

I now live in New York City, where emergency procedures for a potential terrorist attack are constantly updated, and where the sharp divide between Christians, Muslims, and Jews can be clearly seen on posters in the subways. My goal in life is simple: to end terrorism in my lifetime, by giving a voice to social injustices that compel terrorists to violence.

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Try as al-Qaida might to encourage them, American Muslims still aren't committing acts of terrorism. Only 14 people out of a population of millions were indicted for their involvement in violent terrorist plots in 2012, a decline from 2011's 21. The plots themselves hit the single digits last year.

So much for a widespread stereotype. According to data tracked by the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security in North Carolina and released Friday (.PDF), there were nine terrorist plots involving American Muslims in 2012. Only one of them, the attempted bombing of a Social Security office in Arizona, actually led to any violence. There were no casualties in that or any other incident. And the Triangle study tracks indictments, not convictions.

Terrorist incidents from American Muslims is on the decline for the third straight year. After an uptick in 2009, there were 18 plots in 2011 involving 21 U.S. Muslims. And it's not just violent plots: Fewer Muslim-Americans are getting indicted for money laundering, material support for terrorism, and lying to investigators. There were 27 people indicted on those terror-support charges in 2010, eight in 2011 and six in 2012.

"Online, there's all sorts of radical material out there – exhortations to violence, [instructions], and yet despite it being out there, so few people are taking it up," University of North Carolina sociologist Charles Kurzman tells Danger Room. Kurzman's research has been the driving force behind the Triangle study for the past four years. "From the democratization of the means of violence, accelerated by the internet, we might expect to see more violence and, fortunately, we haven't."

Since 9/11, Kurzman and his team tallies, 33 Americans have died as a result of terrorism launched by their Muslim neighbors. During that period, 180,000 Americans were murdered for reasons unrelated to terrorism. In just the past year, the mass shootings that have captivated America's attention killed 66 Americans, "twice as many fatalities as from Muslim-American terrorism in all 11 years since 9/11," notes Kurzman's team.

The sample of Muslim Americans turning to terror is "vanishingly small," Kurzman tells Danger Room. Measuring the U.S. Muslim population is a famously inexact science, since census data don't track religion, but rather "country of origin," which researchers attempt to use as a proxy. There are somewhere between 1.7 million and seven million American Muslims, by most estimates, and Kurzman says he operates off a model that presumes the lower end, a bit over 2 million. That's less a rate of involvement in terrorism of less than 10 per million, down from a 2003 high of 40 per million, as detailed in the chart above.

Yet the scrutiny by law enforcement and homeland security on American Muslims has not similarly abated. The FBI tracks "geomaps" of areas where Muslims live and work, regardless of their involvement in any crime. The Patriot Act and other post-9/11 restrictions on government surveillance remain in place. The Department of Homeland Security just celebrated its 10th anniversary. In 2011, President Obama ordered the entire federal national-security apparatus to get rid of counterterrorism training material that instructed agents to focus on Islam itself, rather than specific terrorist groups.

Wired, 2 February 2013

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The state-sponsored blackmail and harassment of a former Haverstock schoolboy and other Somalis living in Camden by MI5 is a "national disgrace", according to one of the country's leading miscarriage-of-justice campaigners.

Solicitor Gareth Peirce – who has represented the Guildford Four, Birmingham Six, the family of Jean Charles de Menezes and Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg – spoke in support of Mahdi Hashi at a packed public meeting inside the Town Hall on Friday night.

The 23-year-old was stripped of his British citizenship after refusing to spy on young Muslims in Camden, according to his family.

Mr Hashi, who lived in Gilbey's Yard, Chalk Farm, was later arrested in east Africa and taken to New York where he has been charged with being part of an international terrorist network. He has told his legal team how he was threatened with outlawed torture by US officials shortly after his capture in Djibouti last September.

Ms Peirce, whose law firm is based in Camden Town, said:

"Blackmail is unlawful. Threats, harassment and rendition are unlawful. These are crimes. If hundreds of Somalis under suspicion for travelling to east Africa get in touch with us and say they have been blackmailed and harassed, how many thousands of police and security officers are being deployed for this purpose? It's a disgrace, a national disgrace, a badge of shame."

Camden New Journal, 24 January 2013

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Over the past few years, the casualties have increased to an enormous amount in Afghanistan. These causalities include the U.S. and Afghani soldiers, including the innocent people. The series of attacks started again when the NATO troops turned over the security responsibility of Nangarhar to Afghani forces. The most recent was reported in the Jalalabad air field, where a car suicide attack took place on a U.S.-Afghan base. The target in this case was to hit the militants. The soldiers were wearing coalition uniforms.

The attack was done on Sunday, shortly before sunrise. The reports were conflicting over the number of casualties that actually occurred. According to the ISAF, the explosions resulted in one soldier’s death and several soldiers injured but according to the officials, this attack has resulted in five casualties including three afghan soldiers and two civilians. The attack was done at three different points at the base near the Jalalabad Airfield.

The first car bomb was detonated early in the morning at 5 am at the front gate of the base. The second bomb was detonated when insurgents performed a car blast, then the U.S.–Afghan troops opened fire. A third car bomb was detonated outside the base’s perimeters.

The Central News Network is one of the most reliable news network in the world and many other news networks use CNN as a reference. CNN is one of the oldest and most reliable networks in the media. A CNN reporter interviewed the eye witness of this blast and, according to him, at least 14 Afghan soldiers and four civilians were wounded in the blast. All three bombers and six gunmen were killed in the counter attack. The Taliban spokesman claimed the responsibility when he gave a call to CNN. He also confirmed the twenty casualties of the U.S.-Afghan troops. Mujahid, the spokesman of the Taliban, also sent an e-mail to CNN and affirmed the same information regarding the suicide attack on the base.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which is a border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a home to a number of terrorist groups, including members of the Haqqani Network. This area is also considered a residence for the suicide bombers and the insurgents in this attack. The number of violations is increasing in Afghanistan day by day and the condition has become very severe for the U.S. It is reported that thousands of NATO soldiers have been killed in this war. Similarly, thousands are injured and have become physically disabled. Therefore, the Afghan war has become a serious problem and headache for the U.S. and NATO forces. According to a report by the media, the U.S. has failed to achieve its targets and goals in Afghanistan. The U.S. has spent billions of dollars in this war, but there is no result. The Taliban are still occupying 70 percent of the area of Afghanistan. This figure shows the reality of the Afghan war and defeat of the U.S. It is a fact that the U.S. is putting forth a great effort to create peace in Afghanistan, but the condition has become out of control.

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After the incident of 9/11, the people of the USA and government have considered the Muslim as the terrorist and they are focusing on the threats. Much less attention is paid to the home grown terrorists who are steadily establishing their hold and carry attacks across the nation in unrelated incidents. However, federal authorities and some organizations are keeping an eye on them.
Talking about the domestic terrorism, what does domestic terrorism actually mean? In 1994, a memo was produced by the Terrorist Research and Analytical Center under the supervision of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in which domestic terrorism is defined as an illegal use of force or aggression by a group of individuals two or more in number against people or property to threaten the government or civilian population in furtherance of any kind of objectives socially or politically. According to the current laws of the United States, domestic terrorism involves dangerous acts for human life, to interference with the government policy, kidnapping, mass destruction, assassination, violence and primarily occurrence within the territorial authority of the government of the United States.

There are many organizations working in the United States of America and listed as terrorist organizations by the Department of Homeland security. First, the Animal Liberation Front, this organization is involved in the direct actions for removing and stealing animals from any place like farms or research laboratories and supply them anywhere their potential customers want. The Alpha 66 and Omega 7 (now dysfunctional) are involved in major bombings and damage. Besides these two, there are many other organizations such as Army of God, Aryan Nations, Black liberation Army, The Sword, The Covenant, Earth Liberation Front, Jewish Defense League, The Order, United Freedom Front, Weathermen and The Arm of the Lord all are regarded as terrorist organizations.

These organizations were involved in many domestic terrorist activities. Many of these organization are dysfunctional, but many of them are working. The criminal  activities such as rape, kidnapping and harassment are very common in the USA. Who is responsible for these activities? Most people say that Muslims are terrorists, then what is the cause of domestic violence in the USA? The fact is that bad people are present in each religion and society. Therefore, we cannot say whole a country is full of terrorists due to some people. We should change our way of thinking and promote positive ideas and thinking. We should not blame each other, instead we should try to bring a change in our behavior. We cannot change the whole world, but we can change ourselves to bring some change. Now, most of communities are blaming each other and no one is ready to change his self. We should change this trend in the world.

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Why has man become this inhumane? Killing and shedding innocent blood has become the order of the day. And have such acts added any value to anyone’s lives? They surely do not; therefore, there is no reason that justifies one person to kill the other person. No one seems to be concerned with other people anymore. The effects of a series of attacks have taken route in all the parts of the globe touching all the continents. The UK has shown one of the adverse effects of terrorism.

Guy Fawkes was among the first people to launch his terror attack in Europe in 1600 on November 5. In the year 1970, there were two bomb blasts at the parliament building that ended up killing innocent civilians. This is one of the 25 terror attacks by the group of the terrorists known as the brigade. There was another explosion in 1971 which caused severe injuries to people and death. The explosion took place at the post office tower that is found in London. Among all the terrorist attacks that took place in the 1970s, the Birmingham bombing was the one with the most severe effect because it claimed the life of 21 citizens, and 182 people became seriously injured.

The same trend of terrorism attacks continued to manifest each year through the 1980s in the UK. More deaths were reported from the bomb attacks that were launched in areas where people were crowded. December 1988 marked the worst year in the 1980s in Europe. The Pan Am Flight was unfortunately shattered into pieces when the bomb was planted on the plane inside a suitcase. The terrorists had been found to be from Libya after investigation. In this case, 270 people were ruthlessly killed.

Things did not turn out better in Europe, even in 1990s. Weapons of mass destruction were used by the terrorist groups. Each year never ended without a reported case of terrorism. The year 1993 marked a historic time in Europe. The IRA was used to denote a very large truck bomb. This took place in London and specifically at the Bishopsgate. Although it was only one journalist who was killed, 40 people sustained serious injuries and a damage of close to £1 billion was done. As days went by, the bombs that were heavier and of higher mass started being used.

From 2000 to the present day, things have never changed. A series of attacks in Europe has continued to increase. The worst ever reported case in this period of time was the London bombing that took place on July 5^th 2005 where 56 people were killed and 600 people sustained injuries.

Most of these terrorist attacks in Europe have been blamed on the Islamist perpetrators. They provide funding and training for the different terrorist groups in the UK. These terrorist groups have warehouses where they produce ammunition. They also get a supply of weapons from external sources. There are a number of camps that have been established in Europe to train people in their terrorism activities. The government is trying to suppress all the activities of the terrorists all over the UK. A number of people have been arrested for their terrorism activities. Some have been jailed while others are still awaiting trials.

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Terrorism is wrong. It should be condemned in every circumstance. Terrorism could come in the form of a radical Christian killing an abortion doctor, a man blowing up a building to express discontent with the American government, or radical Muslims killing in the name of God.

On July 7, 2005, dozens of London commuters were killed when four bombs were detonated on London’s mass transit system. Please understand that I am not condoning these attacks. They were horrible atrocities that killed innocent civilians. Terrorism is never an appropriate means of giving a voice to social injustice, but in the quest to end terrorism, I want to take a look at what two of the perpetrators of the London bombings said in their videos in the days before the attacks.

“I and thousands like me are forsaking everything for what we believe. Our drive and motivation doesn’t come from tangible commodities that this world has to offer. Our religion is Islam, obedience to the one true God and following the footsteps of the final prophet messenger. Your democratically-elected governments continuously perpetuate atrocities against my people all over the world. And your support of them makes you directly responsible, just as I am directly responsible for protecting and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters. Until we feel security you will be our targets and until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop this fight. We are at war and I am a soldier. Now you too will taste the reality of this situation.”

“What have you witnessed now is only the beginning of a string of attacks that will continue and become stronger until you pull your forces out of Afghanistan and Iraq. And until you stop your financial and military support to America and Israel.”

Despite what our emotions may tell us, a terrorist attack is rarely an isolated event that is unconnected to a tragedy occurring in another part of the world. In the case of the London bombing tragedy, the terrorists were trying to raise awareness of the human rights violations in Palestine under the Israeli apartheid, which is supported by Britain and the United States, as well as the unwanted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Osama bin Laden said that there will be no peace for America until there is peace for Palestine; this was one of his motives for masterminding the September 11 attacks. Sayyed al-Qatb, whose writings greatly influenced bin Laden, was incited by the ill-effects of Westernization. The motive behind the Mumbai hotel bombing in 2008 was the Pakistani struggle over Kashmir, as well as the plight of Palestinians.

Terrorism is never acceptable. The United States government refuses to cooperate with terrorists. The social injustice aspect of their message is getting lost, while terrorism is only increasing. Perhaps in the struggle to end terrorism, we should examine these issues that they are trying to bring to light through violence. And instead of invading Iran (as Israel wants the United States to do) or scratching our heads as to what went wrong in Iraq and Afghanistan and why terrorism is only increasing, we should work towards resolving these complex issues.

About the author

I grew up in conservative Christian circles in the American South, and majored in theology at an Alabama Southern Baptist college. Without really understanding why, I believed that Muslims were to be avoided at all costs, and we have to unilaterally support Israel. Like many young adults, after college I wasn't sure at all of what I wanted to do with my life, so I traveled to the Middle East for a year and a half. Most of the people I met were descendants of the Palestinian refugees forced out of their homeland in 1948, when Israel was recreated. I fell in love with Arab culture, and realized that on the world scene, Arabs have no voice. Living in the Middle East gave me fresh new eyes to read the Bible, and interacting with Arab Christians, especially Palestinian Christians who live in Jordan, caused me to question all the dogmas regarding Israel with which I had grown up.

Living in the Middle East also gave me the courage I needed to pursue my lifelong dream of being an author. My first book, A Theology of Chaos, will come out this next spring. I plan to use the profits from it to support organizations in the Middle East that are fighting for justice. I have written some short stories as well, which you can find on smashwords.com under my full name, Margaret Elysia McColley.

I now live in New York City, where emergency procedures for a potential terrorist attack are constantly updated, and where the sharp divide between Christians, Muslims, and Jews can be clearly seen on posters in the subways. My goal in life is simple: to end terrorism in my lifetime, by giving a voice to social injustices that compel terrorists to violence.

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Islam is the most peaceful and loving religion in the world, which is based on the principles of brotherhood and equality. Islam does not permit any Muslim to harm others. Today, it is a negative perception that Islam promotes terrorism, violence and war. The general media has played a very negative role in changing the views of the people around the globe. People rely on the media and is easily influenced by it. It is said that behind every trouble there is always a Muslim, but the following questions will bring you closer to reality:

• Were the first and the second world wars started by the Muslims?
• Were the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombed by the Muslims?
• Who is responsible for the thousands of innocent civilians killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
• More than 20 million Aborigines were killed in Australia. By whom? The Muslims?
• Who was behind the mass murder of over 6 million Jews in Germany? The Muslims?
• Were Muslims responsible for enslaving around 180 million Africans and later throwing them into the Atlantic Ocean?

ISLAM CONDEMNS TERRORISM

No, they were not Muslims but people from other religions. These are very few examples which never came into discussion in the international media. Islam is a religion of peace and Allah and his messenger have not granted any permission to kill or terrorize other people. There are certain conditions in which Muslims are allowed to fight, but only in self defense. The Prophet Mohammad S.A.W instructed the Muslims during the war time, such that, “Do not kill women or children or non-combatants and do not kill old people or religious people.” The Prophet (PBUH) even ordered, not to cut fruit bearing trees and not to poison the water wells.  Then, how can such a peaceful religion promote terrorism? Islam promotes harmony, and believes in equality, no matter to which religion you belong. Islam does not only believe in ideals, but is also a very practical religion. Islam never allows anyone to enter into war, except in certain conditions. This includes self defense and to fight against any aggression and injustice. Muslims are allowed to fight when they are persecuted and subjected to injustice and cruelty.

In the Holy Qur’an (Surah 22, Verses 39-40), Allah gives permission of war to Muslims who are under oppression and unjust rule. This does not mean that during a war the Muslims are allowed to do whatever they want. Islam does not permit brutal atrocities and condemns the barbaric killing of people. Even the enemy, captured during a war, is to be treated the same way as the Muslims treat their own people. Prophet S.A.W ordered Muslims to offer the enemy, captured during a war, the same food and clothes that the Muslims wear themselves. Islam is a caring religion, and tolerance towards the various cultures in different parts of the world should be practiced always, be it peace or war.

 

About the author

I am running a freelance company to provide development, designing, seo and writing services.

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In more than six years of spying on Muslim neighborhoods, eavesdropping on conversations and cataloging mosques, the New York police department's secret demographics unit never generated a lead or triggered a terrorism investigation, the department acknowledged in court testimony unsealed late Monday.

The demographics unit is at the heart of a police spying program, built with help from the CIA, which assembled databases on where Muslims lived, shopped, worked and prayed. Police infiltrated Muslim student groups, put informants in mosques, monitored sermons and cataloged every Muslim in New York who adopted new, Americanized surnames.

Police hoped the demographics unit would serve as an early warning system for terrorism. And if police ever got a tip about, say, an Afghan terrorist in the city, they'd know where he was likely to rent a room, buy groceries and watch sports.

But in a 28 June deposition as part of a longstanding federal civil rights case, assistant chief Thomas Galati said none of the conversations the officers overheard ever led to a case. "Related to demographics," Galati testified that information that has come in "has not commenced an investigation."

The NYPD is the largest police department in the nation and mayor Michael Bloomberg has held up its counterterrorism tactics as a model for the rest of the country. After the Associated Press began reporting on those tactics last year, supporters argued that the demographics unit was central to keeping the city safe.

Associated Press, 21 August 2012

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In this Episode, Chris discusses with Hassan, a Pakistani student, about poverty and terrorism in Pakistan. Topics include the stoning of women, Osama bin Laden, and religion v. poverty.

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The concept of jihad is not only included in the religion of Islam but also in the religions of Judaism, Christianity and other economic and political ideologies too. Jihad as defined by Islam means struggle for improvement and it also means fighting in order to defend the honor or an asset or homeland. In a true Muslim academy students are taught the true meaning of Islam and jihad. Jihad and terrorism are differentiated properly and the students learn Muslim culture and they learn Islam.

People around the world consider jihad and terrorism as the same but actuality they are completely different from each other. The terrorists commit suicide and people name it jihad but according to the meaning of jihad in Islam suicide does not come under the meaning of Islam under no alleged reason.

people around the world blame terrorism to be jihad of Muslims because they do not clearly understand the religion of Islam. The Muslims who learn Arabic language and understand the Qur’an knows the real difference. According to Islamic jihad means fighting evil, injustice and wrongdoing, even if one does that with his tongue or even with his heart if he is not in a condition to do it with his action then it would be considered as jihad.

People who doubt the meaning of jihad and terrorism can learn Arabic and understand the Qur’an as it is in Arabic language. The teachings of Qur’an clearly describe that Islam is the religion of peace and hates war. The religion of Islam advises Muslims not to fight with their Muslim brothers and not to fight with other Muslim countries or even the non Muslim countries if they are not doing anything against Islam. Islam even condemns forced people to convert to Islam and considers it a crime.

People who consider jihad and terrorism as having the same meaning have a very absurd notion in their minds as Islam completely rejects terrorism in all its forms. Jihad can be done against terrorism but not to help promote terrorism. Islam does not justify any type of violence regardless of the fact if it is committed by a government or an individual. Islam is criticized the killings of innocent people at all levels. It is against the teachings of Islam to kill innocent people; Islam has declared a murder as a murder of the whole humanity.

The meaning of Islam itself is peace and hence it promotes love and peace everywhere. The meaning of jihad in Islam is struggling and the meaning of terrorism in dictionaries is violence and or any control that is attained by force or by inculcating fear or by giving threats. Now can you consider jihad and terrorism as having same meaning, I guess not.

The religion of Islam reminds its believers again and again that if they would indulge in terrorism and violence they would have to bear the loss of the love of Allah and His blessings. Islam strongly forbids Muslims from becoming terrorists; Islam promotes high moral values and inculcates the values of love, justice, equality and peace.

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A Manassas man accused of being a white supremacist was arrested Wednesday by members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force after allegedly receiving a fully automatic AK-47 from an undercover agent.

Court records show Douglas Howard Story, 48, of the Manassas area, allegedly provided a semi-automatic AK-47, along with $120, to an undercover law enforcement agent with the intent that it be modified to become fully automatic. He then allegedly received the modified weapon from an undercover agent and was subsequently arrested, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and FBI  Assistant Director for the Washington Field Office announced Story's arrest Wednesday.  He has been charged with a violation of the National Firearms Act – a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Manassas Patch, 30 May 2012

See also Inside NoVa, 31 May 2012

Douglas Story made the news back in 2010 after the license plate on his truck (pictured above) was recalled following a complaint by CAIR. Story laughably claimed that the 14 and 88 on the plate had no Nazi or white supremacist implications but were merely a homage to his favourite stock car drivers. You might think that nobody would be stupid enough to swallow this nonsense, but you'd be wrong. Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch indignantly defended Story in a piece headlined "Hamas-linked CAIR smears anti-jihad Virginia driver as neo-Nazi", before being forced to back off when Story's actual political beliefs were exposed.

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As discussed in the previous post, I talked about the reasons of the misconceptions that the west has regarding the culture and the state of the country. Although I talked about Egypt alone, but the misconceptions are pretty similar to most of the Arab countries of the Middle East. So in this post, as promised; I am going to focus on a very popular subject that is always linked to the Middle East and Arabs, “TERRORISM” and religious misconceptions. First of all, the religious misconceptions, if I am Arab, it doesn’t mean I am a Muslim. Yes, a high percentage and a majority of Arabs are Muslims, but believe it or not, there are Christians, Catholics and even Jews who are Arabs.

And now onto another major misconception, which is probably the reason you are all reading this, Terrorism. Contrary to public and the worldwide belief, as mentioned before, the Middle East is not a big training camp for terrorists, despite what the media is conveying. Some people have this image, which of course is not true, about the Middle East, it goes something like this.

“We Egyptians or Arabs walk in the street, wielding Ak-47’s and rocket launchers, we are all masked and we wear I Hate America T-shirts while screaming Allah-Akbar in the streets, and of course, we are constantly planning how to destroy the west and talking about the latest terrorist bombings that is going to take place.”

This image can’t be further from the truth. The idea that Arab countries support terrorism and fund it is ridiculous. As a matter of fact, here in Egypt; we suffer from terrorism as much as the West does. Come to think of it, we suffer form it even more. Terrorism didn’t get invented in 9/11; it was present years and years before that. Here in Egypt we have been fighting internal terrorism since the 70’s. If we compare the statistics and the damage terrorism have done in Egypt over the years and compare it to 9/11, you will not stand a chance. I’m not trying to underestimate what happened, but I am just saying that we have been suffering from it from years. For example, the president “Gamal Abd El Naser” was killed and assassinated by extreme religious terrorist groups. So do you think a country whose head of state was killed by terrorists will support terrorism?

What I am trying to say is that Terrorism has no religion or country, it uses violence to achieve its own goals that is driven by greed and personal interests. It only uses the cover of religion to pursue its own devious goals. So if you are from the West and you met an Arab online, there is a 99.99% chance that he is “NOT” a terrorist, and he hates terrorism as much as you do. As for the reasons behind these misconceptions that are terrorism-related, they are many, so tune in on the next post where the reasons for such misconceptions will be discussed in details.

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