A Case Against Profiling Muslims

By Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed

President, Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc.

Louisville, KY

An article "A Case for profiling Muslims" written by Ms. Kathleen Parker, was published in the newspapers across America around  August 16, 2006.

All living organisms including humans obey the Biological Law "Stimulus and Response."  A human being irrespective of one's religion is not born as a terrorist. The circumstances and the environment make one a terrorist. If Ms. Kathleen Parker lives in Gaza or West Bank, and loses her parents, spouse, siblings or any near and dear one, struck by Israeli missiles and lives a wretched life of no hope and no human dignity, I bet she would become a suicide bomber.

Studies show no connection between suicide terrorism and any religion. The pioneering instigators and the largest purveyors of suicide terrorism are the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, a Marxist-Leninist group whose members are overwhelmingly Hindu.

Robert Pape in his book Dying to Win writes: “From Lebanon to Israel to Sri Lanka to Kashmir to Chechnya, the sponsors of every campaign have been terrorist groups trying to establish or maintain political self-determination by compelling a democratic power to withdraw from a territory they claim.” Occupation is the primary motivator and religion, at best, is an “aggravating” factor.

In Ms Parker's partial Islamic terrorist resume, the list starts with 1972. The question is why there were no Islamic terrorists before 1972? Does she know how Ireland became an Irish Republic?  Does she know the IRA fought a guerrilla war against the Crown forces in Ireland from 1919 to July 1921? The problems in Northern Ireland have not been solved.  Whey doesn't she call IRA as a Catholic Terrorist organization? Does she know how Israel was born?  Irgun Zvai Leumi was a National Military Organization, NMO, also known by the Hebrew letters Etzel - founded in 1937, and the Lohamei Herut Israel, Fighters for the Freedom of Israel, Lehi in the Hebrew acronym, also known as the Stern Gang after its leader Avraham Stern, known as Yair, founded in 1940. Why doesn't she call them Jewish terrorists?

Does she know that in the 1960s, Viet Cong sympathizers (Buddhists) exploded themselves amidst U.S. troops? Does she know that human bombs were used by the Sikhs in India?  Why doesn't she call the violent perpetrators in Spain of Basque national party members as Catholic Terrorists?

Profiling Muslims does not solve the problems; one should root out the causes of terrorism.

Muslims  do not justify nor condone suicide bombing.  The Qur'an clearly states:

"...And do not kill yourselves (nor kill one another).  Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you. "Chapter An-Nisa 4: 29

Life is very precious and sacred, no matter to what religion it belongs to. No writer has written what causes an individual to become a suicide bomber giving up one's precious and valuable life, abandoning a future that lies in front of him/her.

People like Cindy Sheehan who oppose the Iraq war cannot be justified as supporters of the terrorists who kill our soldiers. Can they be labeled as Anti-American, unpatriotic, or traitors?

Many journalists have written that Israel's 34 days of war in Lebanon has not resulted in rescuing the two Israeli soldiers or in the destruction of Hizbullah. It does not mean the writers are anti-Semitic or supporters of Hizbullah.

What is the reason that the majority of the terrorists who hijacked the planes on Sept. 11 were of Saudi Arabian birth? And why Bin Laden became the mortal enemy of the United States?

Islam is the most misunderstood religion in the United States and Islamophobia is frightening people not only in Louisville but all over America.

It is true at this time period Muslims are killing Muslims. But in the past Christians killed Christians (examples: First and Second World wars, Northern Ireland, Spain, etc.). We do not know the future.

Terrorism is not the sole propriety of Muslims alone. The Center for Defense Information has listed 54 international terrorist organizations, out of which 21 have Muslim names.  All most all of them have a political agenda. Even Israel has one called "Kach and Kahane Chai."

The United Nations has not yet accepted a definition of terrorism. Hence there is a confusion  on understanding terrorism and  words like, revolution, holocaust, communal riots, racial riots, caste wars, ethnic cleansing, freedom fighters, resistance fighters, insurgents, guerillas, pogroms, Soviet Gulag,  sectarian violence, separatists, militants, naxalites, etc.

Why Chad, a Muslim country is ranked as the world's most corrupt country. 6 out of 10 most corrupt countries listed are Muslim countries. Corruption runs counter to the tenets of Islam, so also Terrorism. Poor governance, limited educational opportunities and poverty are responsible for rampant corruption in the Muslim world.

The safest airline in the world, it is widely agreed, is El Al, Israel's national carrier. Behavioral profiling has made Israel’s El Al arguably the safest airline in the world, and security at El Al and Ben Gurion depends on intelligence and intuition. Security officers should be trained to notice facial expressions, body language, and speech patterns, which can hint at a traveler's hostile intent or fear of being caught. "Any measures introduced have got to be intelligence-led and not beard-led,” said Shahid Malik, a lawmaker in England.

According to scholars a hugely successful propaganda term is `terrorism’ that is used to dehumanize and demonize opponents and deny them any rational political motivation, hence removing any need to deal with their grievances and demands.

Sir Peter Ustinov said "Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich."

No amount of denouncing, renouncing terrorism or the "war on terror" is going to eliminate terrorism unless the root causes of terrorism are removed. Terrorism is a symptom and not the disease. Unless and until the disease is not addressed, the symptoms (terrorism) persist. The fundamental Law is "VIOLENCE BEGETS VIOLENCE"