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Showing results for tags 'extremist'.
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Let's take a step back to get past some of the semantics. In fact let's take two or three steps back, and try to gain some perspective. Let's acknowledge that there is a War on Terrorism, and that that war was both declared because of the deaths of innocent civilians and continues to result in the death of innocent civilians. Innocent civilians continue to die in large numbers. Some of these civilian deaths have been non-Muslim Westerners, but the vast majority have been Muslims. There have also been tens of thousands of people imprisoned without trial, abused and even tortured, and again the overwhelming majority of these innocent-until-proven-guilty victims have been Muslims. Civilian victims of this so-called War on Terrorism --be they Western or Muslim-- have relatives, friends, neighbors, coworkers and acquaintances that are affected and influenced by what is happening to those around them and their loved ones. The War on Terrorism is instilling terror, hatred, and a desire for vengeance in many innocent victims, their loved ones and acquaintances, regardless of whether they are Westerners or Muslims. Once the semantics are removed, and no distinction is made between innocent civilians who died from suicide bombers, improvised explosive devices, the appropriation of civilian airliners etc. on the one hand; and civilians who died because of invasions, bombing raids, missiles, drone strikes etc. on the other hand; when when no distinction is made between those who are wrongfully abducted and held hostage and those who were wrongfully imprisoned without trial, abused and often tortured; then it becomes clear that there have been far more innocent civilian Muslims victims, mostly within the borders of their own countries, in this so-called War on Terrorism than Westerner victims. It further becomes apparant that the War on Terrorism itself, as well as the reluctance to accept its reffugees, is doing more to radicalize Muslims than diminish a largely imagined and greatly exaggerated terrorist threat. worst of all it is actually confirming ISIS' narrative that the West has declared war on all of Islam, and helping them recruit, while the West circles the wagons in their own countries. Instead of promoting peace and the universal human rights we espouse, our strategies have made us into the very evil we set out to defeat.