The Politics of Terror and Racial Profiling

The Christmas Terror Suspect from Nigeria is a perfect example of young disenfranchised kids that are being pulled in by extremist groups. I think it was very telling when the father of "Abdulmutallab" called authorities trying to stop his son from doing un-Islamic evil because he thought that he had been influenced by extremists. Part of the problem is that when right wing groups attack Muslim organizations such as CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, etc. they are weakening the resolve of mainstream Muslims to deal with the extremists. When the youth see positive examples of Muslims taking part in society, then they will want to emulate them and be a part of it and join organizations such as CAIR, MPAC, ISNA, etc. however, when the youth see that these organizations along with their workers are being treated like terrorists, then where do they turn? That is the dangerous issue that can lead youth to the wrong path, because the right path has been clouded by right wing extremists. A good example of this was when Major Nidal's shooting was condemned by CAIR, the right wing said that CAIR was not sincere, eventhough they actually noticed for the first time that CAIR has been condemning terrorism for years! At the same time the Muslim extremists attacked CAIR and other mainstream organizations and called them hypocrits and infidels. The point is that CAIR and other American Muslim organizations are caught in the middle by extremists all around who are the real problem. The case of this young Nigerian who chose to take the dark un-Islamic path of terror could have had better role models, such as his own father, however he was led around by people who have a negative intent. We need to educate our Muslim youth about these extremist groups that are trying to use them for their own political or monetary gain. The same is true for right wing extremists in the US as well who have the same mentality as the terrorists, the only difference is they have not started to openly carry guns and bombs, but given time they may be as much as a problem. The Department of Homeland Security mentioned a warning about right wing extremists as well as Muslim extremists. Fortunately, President Obama is on the right track in dealing with extremists on all sides with the right methods of keeping a balanced and calm mind. Being responsive instead of reactive is the key that the current administration is really good at. The Muslim world needs to stop only blaming the west for it's ills, it needs to also blame itself for not dealing with extremists, poverty, health, and education.

In regards to racial or religious profiling, it does not work...because anybody of any race/religion/sex/etc. can be a terrorist for the right amount of money, which is the real driving force behind terrorism and other organized crime.

Behavioral profiling should be the best alternative to racial/religious/gender profiling. The problem with terrorists is psychology and not ideology. Many people may think bad things, but they don't act upon them. However, terrorists act upon them, which suggests a mental problem vs. anything else. Here is an example of a recent terror attack in Pakistan where innocent Pakistani Muslims playing Volleyball were bombed by terrorists: Pakistani Volleyball Players Bombed These un-Islamic Pseudo-Muslims who hurt other Muslims and Non-Muslims with such un-Islamic tactics and ideologies are criminals and not representing Islam, Muslims, or anything positive in this world. If the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was here he would see them as hypocrites that hurt Muslims.

Terrorism should be dealt with like Organized Crime and not a religious and/or ethnic issue. When the Italian Mafia committed crimes in the United States, did we bomb Italy? How did we weaken organized crime and the mafia? I think we as a nation have done well to control organized crime in this country where you no longer see Al Capone types in the streets with Tommy Guns, instead you see Italians making Pizza and taking part in the corporate world. We need to do the same with terrorism as well. Let's turn Fanaticism into Falafels...the way "The Godfather" was turned into "Godfather's Pizza". Mainstream Muslims are the ones that can protect us most from the extremists, we need to encourage them, rather than alienate them.

Considering that the right wing loons tend to say that CAIR and Muslims don't condemn terrorism (which is completely untrue, CAIR itself has denounced and condemned every act of terrorism) when they saw CAIR very vocally condemn Major Nidal for his actions, not only do the loons say that Muslims are insincere but now are claiming that CAIR uses these things to it's advantage! So, basically they have seen that the arguement that CAIR and Muslims do not condemn terrorism has failed, they have seen the "insincere" bit has failed as well...now are creating new novels such as this loon who is known by "Joseph Farah": Listen to CAIR? Why don't these loons start wearing Nazi arm bands to reflect their movement better?

Here is my friend Edina talking about the evils of Racial Profiling: