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I am writing in response to a recent article appearing in the Democrat and Chronicle that blamed violence and terrorism on inequality, discrimination and poor socioeconomic justice.  My objective in responding to Muhammad Shafiq’s article is to challenge a common and dangerous argument that justifies violence and erroneously places the blame and responsibility of terrorism on poverty and oppression from outside regimes. 

 

First, let’s examine the Palestinian issue that Shafiq mentioned.  Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the international community has donated approximately $5 billion to the Palestinian Authority (1)Through UNWRA Relief, the United States has contributed more than 60% of this. The World Bank noted that donor disbursement to the Palestinians amount to approximately $1 billion per year or $320 per person per year–one of the highest per capita rates in the history of foreign assistance (2).  So where is all the money?  In 2004, Arafat was listed in Forbes with a wealth of at least $300 Million. (3)  Israel and U.S. Officials estimated his personal holdings to be between $1-$3 billion. (4) Independent Funding for Peace Coalition found overwhelming evidence that European aid has not reached the Palestinian people and that it has been diverted toward terrorism and unscrupulous behavior by Palestinian leadership. (5)   So the question becomes, oppression and poverty at whose hands?

 

Secondly, if terrorism is the inevitable result of poverty, oppression and injustice, as the author states, then where are the Haitians, Tibetan, Greek Cypriot, Dashmiri Pandit and Sindhi terrorists? 

 

Arguments such as Shafiq’s ignore the core issue and distract us from acknowledging a dangerous ideology underlying the growing threat of global terrorism.  Any serious examination of modern terrorism would be remiss to dismiss the religious and political agenda at the center of global terrorism.  Can we ignore statements by Radical Islamists who justify terrorist violence against “infidel” powers such as the United States with reference to a fixed Qur’anic worldview that incorporates all efforts to create an ideal Islamic State? Islamist terrorists have articulated their rage in a declared context of “total war.” In so doing, they attempt to elevate the debased nature of their struggle by identifying them with a sacred cause. In nearly all cases, the jihadi terrorists ascribe to a patently self-evident ambition: to establish a world dominated by Islamic law, the Shari’a. (6)

 

Westerners and Muslims alike often fail to hear these ideological statements and threats.  Canadian author Irshad Manji observes that Islamic organizations pretend that “Islam is an innocent bystander in today’s terrorism.” (7) Political analyst; Daniel Pipes said it best when he said, “What the terrorists want is abundantly clear. It requires monumental denial not to acknowledge it, but we Westerners have risen to the challenge.” (8)

 

It is my hope that as we continue to dialogue on this topic, that our conversations acknowledge the threat and ideology underlying terrorism.  I believe that honesty and truth will prevail over prejudices and injustice. I also believe that our very survival as a free nation hinges on our ability to acknowledge the ideological war that is now being waged.

 

 

(1)

The Wall Street Journal , Oct 2002 “Paying for Terrorism”:

http://www.public-integrity.org/articles/publications24.htm.

 

(2) 

World Bank Paper Urges Major Easing Of Israeli Closure Measures And Stepped-Up Palestinian Reform Efforts News Release No:2004/451/MNA:

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/MENAEXT/WESTBANKGAZAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20217834~menuPK:294370~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:294365,00.html

 

Report No: 27094-62, Section  2.2   INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE IN THE 1990s AND TO THE INTIFADA:

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/IW3P/IB/2004/10/22/000160016_20041022100557/Rendered/INDEX/270940GZ.txt 

* note in this report the a higher per capita rate is also given “Between 1994 and 2000, annual donor disbursements averaged some US$ 420 million, or US$150 per capita. Since the outbreak o f the intifada, far from being deterred, donor tenacity has increased: disbursements effectively doubled in 2001 and 2002, averaging just under US $l billion each year, or US$320 per person. This is thought to be the highest sustained rate o f per capita disbursement to any aid recipient anywhere since the Second World War.”
 
American Center for Democracy, New York City: “Where does the Money Go? A Study of the Palestinian” Authority by Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld: 

http://www.public-integrity.org/articles/money.doc

 

 

(3)

Forbes: Kings Queens and Deposits Yasir Arafat:

http://www.forbes.com/2003/02/24/cz_royalslide_6.html

 

 

(4)

CBS News: Arafat’s Billions: One Man’s Quest to Track Down Unaccounted-For Public Funds, Nov. 9. 2003:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/07/60minutes/main582487.shtml

 

Arab New: Arafat Aides Resume Talks with Israel, Fight over His Fortune:

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4&section=0&article=53769&d=1&m=11&y=2004

 

 

(5)

PR Web: New Report Analyses European Aid to Palestinian- Finds Evidence of Foul Play:

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/8/prweb151832.htm

 

Funding for Peace Coalition Report: “Managing European Taxpayers’ Money: Supporting The Palestinian Arabs – A Study In Transparency”:

http://eufunding.org/FPC2004Report.pdf 

 

EU Funding.org The Palestinian Leadership’s Hidden Budget:

http://www.eufunding.org/accountability/Nielson11.html

 

Palestinian Authority funds go to militants:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3243071.stm

 

 

(6)

In Paragraph 4 I mention the religious and political agenda at the center of global terrorism: There are many sources that can be given to back up this claim but here are a few:

 

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY — NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER: Al Qaeda: Statements and Evolving Ideology: Congressional Research Service Report for Congress

http://www.history.navy.mil/library/online/al-queda%20evolve.htm

 

MERIA: Middle East Review of International Affairs Journal, Volume 5, No. 4 – December 2001: the islamic fundamentalist view of life as a perennial battle by David Zeidan.

http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2001/issue4/jv5n4a2.htm

 

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Third public hearing)

Statement of Steven Emerson to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
July 9, 2003 Overview: The Rampant Allure of Jihad in the Muslim World:

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/hearings/hearing3/witness_emerson.htm

National Committee on American Foreign Policy: The Middle East: Islamic Law and Peace.  Summary of the January 10, 2002, Roundtable on Militant Islamic Fundamentalism in the 21^st Century, April 30, 2002: http://www.ncafp.org/projects/MiddleEast/rd02islam.htm

The Institute of World Politics: “Islam: A threat or a challenge to the Christian West” November 1, 2004, By Alberto M. Piedra: http://www.iwp.edu/news/newsID.142/news_detail.asp

 

 

(7)

Time Magazine Sunday, July 17, 2005 “When Denial Can Kill” by Irshad Manji

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1083918,00.html

 

 

New York Sun July 26, 2005 “What Do the Terrorists Want? [A Caliphate]”  by Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2798