roots of terrorism

EKKENTROS FORUM


The Matter: Report of the proceedings of the discussion held on 24-2-09 (Tuesday)

Venue: Residence of Dr.Mohammed Abdulla

Coram: All nine members attended.

Subject: The Roots of Terrorism (cont’d)
Prof. Richard Hay: There has always been a conflict between the East and the West for several centuries. The conflict between the Middle East and the West has roots in the belief that Jerusalem and surroundings were given to the Jews by God Himself. Even long before the present Israel was born, there were crusades for centuries.
Dr. Sankarankutty: That is the ‘Cross and the Crescent’ conflict.
Prof. Hay: The conflict between Islamic fundamentalism and Hindu fundamentalism is another. The main objective of the Al-Quaida is said to be to destabilize the American Federal Government and other western powers to establish complete radical Islamic control. There is a similarity in the fundamentalist RSS way of thinking and objectives. And this is similar in the sense that they want to enforce what is called Manu Dharma, the law founded on the caste system, or the Racist Culture. How can such differences be reconciled? Is there any solution? Not to just contain the conflicts, but to stop it once for all?
Al-Quaida was formed in 1980 with the financial support of America to fight Russian Communism in Afghanistan. The Taliban was also similarly encouraged and supported by US to chase away communist Russia from Afghanistan. On the ouster of the Communists from Afghan, Americans lost control over the powerful fundamental groups who had out-served their utility and had become religious fanatics. Under the leadership of the wealthy and disgruntled engineer from Saudi Arabia, Osama Bin Laden, Al Quaida became a terrorist organization to fight the US and defend Islam from it’s ‘oppressor’.
Same is the case with other fundamentalist organizations and the states that support them. Extremism and fundamentalism are built up and encouraged first to whip up emotions on the basis of religion, language, race etc. to capture power, and then they get out of control leading to creation of terrorist outfits. Criminally minded leaders take advantage of the situation.
The same sort of situations can be traced in respect of most of the terror outfits, whether it is the fundamentalism of the Sikhs, the LTTE, the Irish Terrorists, or the Nexalites.
Sri.Kunhikrishnan: Emotionally charged factors like religion, language or race are used by politicians and countries to play power politics and in the bargain end up creating fundamental outfits for criminally minded leaders to take over and misuse. The root cause is therefore not religion or language, but the politicians who use the outfits for their purpose whipping up hatred.

Prof. Hay: It was to capture power from the Shah of Iran that the fundamental religious heads organized and promoted Islamic fundamentalism under the leadership of Khomeini. Finally it ended up in the extremist religious rule and a ‘fatwa’ against Salman Rusdie for imagined insult to Islam. Now Taliban desires to establish Shariat Rule all over Pakistan and Kashmir.
Sri. K.V.Kunhikrishnan: Kashmir’s position is different. It was originally under the rule of a Hindu King to whom the Kashmiris owed allegiance sincerely. This was said to be because the majority of Kashmiris revered the Sufi tradition which the King encouraged as against the strict following of Sunni Islam. The majority were, no doubt, followers of Islam, and that gave the reason for Pakistan to claim the area.
Dr. Thomas: The people there were on the side of India when the partition happened. Their leader Shaik Abdulla joined Nehru in the fight against Pakistan to retain Kashmir with India. Present leader Omar Abdulla is his grandson.
Prof. Richard Hay: The question now is how we can end terrorism? Is there any solution? Any solution has to be political, for it to last. It cannot be suppressed militarily or by the elimination of terrorist sanctuaries. Will terrorism end if the unjust military occupations are reversed? Can we reclaim religion from the clutches of fundamentalists? These are burning questions now. Terrorism is born out of grudge, grievance, disappointments that find expression in hate-attack-revenge syndrome. When an opportunity comes in the form of fundamentalism and finance it flourishes. Can the terrorists be brought to join the political process? Arab countries are divided over Palestine. And their governments are not democratic. It is doubtful that the Islamic countries would prefer western type of democracies. Can a united Arab World tackle Terrorism?
Dr. Abdulla: The Arab countries have been financially independent and self sufficient. Economic grievances are not there for the general public. People are otherwise controlled by force of stringent laws. There is no political force in Arab countries. People are by nature peace loving and nature loving.
Prof.Richard Hay: Every country has its own culture. That culture never propagates terrorism. Deep within, the inner feeling is always peace loving. But I am surprised and even embarrassed at times to find that yet some of them support extremism and violence.
Dr. Abdulla: I wonder why the U.N. is not working in a big way against terrorism. It is only at the international level that terrorism can be tackled.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: Now that Obama is at the top of the most powerful nation in the U.N, can’t he do something? Somebody can move him.
Prof. Hay: It is definitely a possibility. There is perhaps a chance.
Sri.Kunhikrishnan: Somebody has to put forward the idea. Man should be educated to think without bias. Free thinking without the bias of religion, language, race or idealism has to be promoted in a big way at the world level. Indian constitution provides for treating all citizens alike without this bias, but yet people are not even aware.
Prof.Sankarankutty: But history repeats. The abolished caste system has come back in the form of reservations in a more complex pattern creating fights and conflicts.
Dr. Babu Ravindran: Had the criterion for giving special status and concessions been only economical for any reservation, the division on account of caste would not have been perpetuated. Any discrimination or insult on account of caste etc. could have been instead made more stringently punishable by law.
Prof. Sankarankutty: A change has to happen at the level of the mind of Man. World is a universal brotherhood. The change from violence to peace has to come from within. Sage Arobindo’s idea is to transform the mind of man in such a way that it can be compared to a state among animals where the dear and the tiger drink from the same stream without any animosity or conflict.