Islam and Terrorism

Nothing excuses the killing of innocent people. The devastation and anguish that such violence causes is often beyond description. Ask the families who lost loved ones in 9/11 or 7/7 or the terrorist attacks in Madrid. Their agony is mirrored a world away by families who have seen relatives torn apart by air strikes in Afghanistan and Gaza or by suicide attacks in Iraq and Indonesia. The cultures and languages may be different but the emotional and psychological impact is very similar. Islam condemns the killing of all innocent people no matter if the killings were committed by an individual or a group or by a state. All of these crimes must be condemned.

To end any cycle of violence its root causes must be properly examined. Although Muslims die in greater numbers from terrorist acts than any other group, it is often their religion that is held up as the cause. But according to the University of Chicago’s Dr. Robert Pape, the world’s foremost expert on suicide terrorism, “The root cause of suicide terrorism is foreign occupation”^[1] and “over 95% of all suicide attacks are in response to foreign occupation.”^[2] Pape heads the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism (CPOST) which maintains the world’s largest database on suicide terrorism dating back to 1981. He’s authored two books – Dying to Win and Cutting the Fuse – that back his claims with meticulous research and analysis. In Dying to Win he states the presence of “tens of thousands of American combat troops on the Arabian Peninsula from 1990 to 2001” made the probability of Al-Qaeda attacking America “from five to twenty times more likely.”^[3] Al-Qaeda and its proxies were willing to use any means necessary to get foreign troops out of Muslim countries after the first Iraq war. The ensuing sanctions against Iraq led to an estimated 1.5 million civilian deaths – half of them children.^[4]

CPOST’s research shows the largest Muslim nations that do not have a foreign army presence have produced suicide terrorists “on the order of 1 per 71 million people”; but in Persian Gulf countries, where American combat troops are stationed, the rate is “1 per million, or 70 times more often.”^[5]

Since the horrific attacks of 9/11, millions of innocent Muslims have suffered throughout the world.

• Civilian deaths from the current war in Iraq are estimated to be anywhere from more than 850,000^[6] to over 1.4 million^[7]
• The UN’s Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that about 10% of the population (over 3.3 million people) are either refugees outside of Iraq or displaced within the country^[8]
• Over 500,000 American Muslims^[9] have been under some sort of surveillance or have been interrogated by their own government since 9/11
• 37,000 people in Pakistan have died from air strikes and terrorism^[10]
• The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) estimates 12,793 civilians^[11] were killed from 2006 – 2011. A Boston University professor estimates the total number of civilian deaths since 2001 to be around 45,000.^[12]

Thousands of “special forces” are operating in countries like Yemen, Somalia, Chad, Niger etc. To add further injury, a sophisticated network of propagandists are making millions of dollars posing as “experts” and stoking fear and hatred against Muslims.^[13]

But has all this death, destruction and constant fear mongering made the West safer? Pape answers yes and no. Although there have been no more attacks on the American homeland, extremism is on the rise and there are more incidents of suicide terrorism against American and NATO military targets overseas. Simply put: “the more occupation, the more suicide terrorism.” CPOST’s analysis is that foreign occupation actually increases the risk of another 9/11.^[14]

What is the way forward? Are we locked in a permanent cycle of war, terrorism and death? Is the suicide rate of 6500 American soldiers a year^[15]an inevitable by-product in this global blood feud? Fortunately, public opinion in the U.S. seems to be slowly changing. A Zogby poll in 2010 “found that 27% of Americans now believe that the `most important factor’ motivating terrorists to attack the United States is that they `resent Western power and influence,’” while 33% still believe the terrorists want Islam to dominate the world.^[16] For the 33% it may be helpful to note that, according to CPOST, groups like Al-Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah are not working and conspiring with one another like a fascist monolith  – “what stands out is that each is driven by essentially nationalist goals to compel target democracies to withdraw military forces from their particular homeland.”^[17]

The solutions Pape offers may not endear him to either of America’s main political parties. To protect America’s oil interests, he argues for working with national armies and local militias to oppose terrorist groups and for keeping U.S. air and naval forces “over the horizon” in case they are needed. He also advocates for energy independence, tougher immigration controls and a 1,951 mile long “fence” along America’s border with Mexico.

Whatever the demerits of his recommendations, Pape’s data on three decades worth of suicide terrorism by people of various faiths and nationalities is impossible to dismiss. Occupation harms both the occupied and the occupier. In Cutting the Fuse he notes, “Since Israel withdrew its army from Lebanon in May 2000, there has not been a single Lebanese suicide attack.” ^[18]The conclusion is inescapable. A just and lasting peace is the key to safety and security.