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The Opinion Pages | OP-ED COLUMNIST

The Future of Terrorism

Jan. 11 2015

Those mourning for the victims killed in the Paris attack. Photograph:
Ian Langsdon/EPA

Last week was a very busy week for breaking news. Not only were there
two hostage situations in Paris, but also the fear of further attacks
prompted heavily armed police to be placed in buildings around the city.
Terror continued to grow as the live broadcast updated us with the latest
information and that is where the panic began.
As the world was being notified of the situation occurring in Paris,
speculation and the horror of the attacks continued to grow. In total, 17
victims died during the assaults in Paris.
Last week on Wednesday, 12 people were killed in an intentional attack
on the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, as it recently printed a
controversial cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad. This lead to a manhunt
for the two brothers involved in this attack, Said and Cherif Kouachi,
which ended Friday in a standoff killing them both. Thursday, Amedy
Coulibaly shot a policewoman and on Friday killed 4 hostages at a
Jewish supermarket. Later that day he was also killed in a standoff with
police.

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Resources believed the brothers were connected to Yemens Al Qaeda
organization, while Coulibaly declared in an interview, before being
killed, that he worked in support of the Islamic State. Attorney General
Eric Holder claims, its clear that both organizations pose a threat to the
United States, as well as its allies. Lately, havent we all been attacked?
There continues to be confusion about which terrorist organization is
responsible for these attacks and whether there were more than one group
working together. At this point, many feel there is a lack of information
to provide us with which terrorist organization must be held responsible.
Was it the Islamic state or Yemens Al Qaeda or somebody else?
The fear continues to grow and this is the time where people begin to
point fingers just because they are scared. The people fear for what
might come next and they need a scapegoat for the growing unease. This
is normally where the conflict starts.
As many are walking down streets of Paris grieving for the deaths of the
victims in the Paris attacks last week, they are faced with the new fears of
future terrorism. Many are afraid that Europe may be leading toward a
retaliation of its Muslim communities and residents. Is this fair that some
may be attacking an entire group for a small minority that absolutely
doesnt represent them? Are those afraid beginning to create a gap to the
point that they might consider us and them?
U.S.A Today reports that France has one of the highest Muslim
populations in Europe, about 10% of their population. Many feel that
their fellow Frenchmen are beginning to turn against them and
amplifying their own fears.
Aber, a Muslim born and raised in Paris, states I disagree with what the
Kouachi brothers did, and with their ideas, but I also feel that freedom of
speech can't justify everything and I was hurt when Charlie Hebdo
published drawings of the prophet Mohammed." He is clearly not a threat
and simply declines in believing that what the brothers did was right.
Must we fear him and his future actions? I think not.
Honestly, many have to understand that we cannot just condemn an entire
race or religion for the doings of very few radicals and extremists. If we
did, for example, many would fear all those that believe in Christianity,
as there have been many horrifying cases committed by radical Christian
terrorists. Can you imagine?

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In 1944, Paul Hill, a radical Christian, killed an abortion doctor and his
bodyguard in cold blood. After being caught, he displayed no remorse for
his actions and claimed that he was doing Gods work. In 2003 he was
executed and the Christian Right continues to argue that there is no
evidence of Christian terrorism. Is that right?
In 2010, when Joseph Stack flew a plane into an IRS building in Texas
and committed a suicide attack declaring his outrage with the health
insurance companies and bank bailouts. Sounds like he was angered by
someone and decided to act very radically. The coverage on this attack
was next to minimal and I never saw anyone considering connecting him
with other Christians.
When you look at it, anyone is able to commit an act of terrorism and this
shouldnt be limited to one specific group or religion. Our understanding
may have been corrupted as we grew up with the news and media today.
But we must be able to expand and take in this new understanding. Many
are trying to belittle those they are afraid of because of stereotypes being
shared and that is completely disgusting.
Is this our future in terrorism? Do we continue to fear those that are
harmless and ignoring the true evils because we are blinded? Will we
ever grow from our stereotypes and face the more fact-based threats?