The mind of a Muslim terrorist

Opinion

Discussion

February 5, 2012

The mind of a Muslim terrorist

James Drane Meadville Tribune The Meadville Tribune Sun Feb 05, 2012, 11:52 AM EST

MEADVILLE — In November 1995 President Bill Clinton sent 20,000 troops to enforce the Dayton Accord, and to protect Muslim populations in the former Yugoslavia. Sometime later, an adolescent Bosnian male, emigrated to the U.S. and became a U.S. citizen. Earlier this month he was charged with plotting a series of terrorist bombings of night clubs, bridges, police stations and with a plan to kill as many Americans as possible. Questioned about his behavior he said, “We all have to die. Why not die the Islamic way.”

Sami Osmakac, 25 years old now, is just the latest in a continuing line of young Muslim terrorists committed to killing Americans in the name of Islam. Why would Americans, who in 1995 reached out to protect vulnerable Muslims then accept them as fellow citizens, now be targeted for killing? Because most Americans are not Muslims. They are referred to as infidels. They are citizens of a nation that threatens the social order of Islamic nations. America is seen as a threat to Islamic values, Islamic political systems and Islam itself. The response to this threat can be violent because there is a violent component in Islam and in the life of Muhammad himself. This possibility is increased when the young terrorist is a loner, disposed to violence, and wants to become an imam.

Islam cannot be disengaged from the life of Muhammad any more than Christianity can be separated from the life of Jesus. Muhammad was born in 570 in Mecca. As a young man he was a military cadet. He was trained to wage war. When he moved from Mecca to Medina he united his followers into a military unit and then united different Arabic military groups into a powerful army. After his death in 632 his military units began a military and religious conquest in Arabia and across Northern Africa. Islam began as a military unit and expanded by military conquests. Today’s young terrorists from all over the Islamic world see themselves as following the example of Muhammad himself. This is what Sami Osmakac meant when he said, “We all have to die. So why not die the Islamic way.”

Islam is one of the largest of all religions with over a billion followers. It is a world religion and includes many different trends. There are traditionalists and reformists, fundamentalists and secularists, violence-prone and pacifists. It would be impossible to list all the different versions of Islam, let alone to explain their differences from one another. To consider Sami Osmakac representative of all Islam would be like taking a KKK member as representative of all Christianity.

The word Islam is Arabic and means surrender. The religion is also referred to as Muhammadanism, but Islam is preferred. Believers are called Muslims, meaning persons who are surrendered to God. The deep bowing that takes place during prayer symbolizes this surrender. Predominately Muslim countries are in Arabia, the Middle East, Northern and Eastern Africa, Western and Southern Asia. Islam is considered the fastest growing religion in the world, expanding especially in Africa, Europe and the U.S. Many contemporary Muslim heads of state act as if they were gods and respond violently to democratic movements (e.g. Syria).

European colonization of Islamic territories going back centuries generated opposition to Western culture and united diverse groups around an anti-Western agenda — a Pan Islamism. By the 20th century, most of the colonial occupiers had been expelled. The most common forms of Islam behind the freedom from colonialism movements were fundamentalists. One example of such a freedom movement based on fundamentalistic Islamic beliefs is the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, probably the most powerful political force today in the country.

Israel’s establishment and then expansion has created militaristic Islamic revivals among Palestinians and throughout the Middle East. Islamic violence is advocated as the only response. The U.S. bond with Israel and U.S. military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan means that the U.S. is considered colonial again and therefore an enemy, indeed the major target of Islamic terrorism today. The U.S. is seen as a threat to Islamic religion, culture and values.

What to do? The U.S. spends more on its military than all Muslim countries combined but our security remains fragile: continuously exposed to fundamentalist Muslims like Sami Osmakac worldwide, with access to all sorts of destructive devices. In current election discussions we hear about interest in organizing our nation differently. What has not yet made it into the political discussion is the possibility of a move toward more peaceful dialogue and communal charity as a way of responding to Islamic radicals and making our world less violent.

A peace agenda rather than military protection would be revolutionary. More dialogue and charity would have to begin with better understanding of those who threaten us. No dialogue is even possible without respect for Islamic believers and without understanding the enormous diversity within Islam. Understanding the other is critical. Respect is critical. Urination on a corpse is the definition of disrespect. Moving toward peace rather than toward more and more military interventions would be our nation’s giant leap of faith: both Christian and Jewish.

Drane chairs the James F. Drane Bioethics Institute at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

Text Only

Opinion

WALK TALK: Vegas, UFC: Here we come
1 I know the saying is "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," but I'm going to forgo that adage next week. After all, part of my week-long trip with three friends to Las Vegas includes my first in-person viewing of an Ultimate Fighting Championship card. I'll give you all the juicy and exciting details from UFC 160 in next week's column.

May 22, 2013
Seizure of phone records will hurt your right to know what government is up to
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.

May 16, 2013
WALK TALK: LeBron’s near unanimous MVP and another hoax
1 LeBron James became the first player since 2000 to receive every vote but one while being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. It was his fourth MVP award, and it surely won’t be his last. The one thing I question in all this is the person who didn’t vote for James — The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. As I said here in February — back when he was scoring 30 points and making 60 percent of his shots every night — his winning the award was a lock. Washburn’s excuse is that the Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony “meant more to this team” this season. He stopped LJ from becoming the first ever unanimous NBA MVP.

May 9, 2013
Spring brings back motorcycle memory from the old country
Traditionally, the sign of spring is manifested by the return of robins. But I know spring is really here when a roaring motorcycle goes by my house and my son’s shop gets full again with motorcycles that need serviced. Immediately, memories from my youth come back to me, and the following is one of those memories.

May 7, 2013
WALK TALK: OKC’s fate rests in Durant’s jump shot
1 The Western Conference favorite took a big hit a few days ago when Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook injured his knee and will be out until next season. It’s a huge blow for the Thunder, who lose their second-best player and offensive catalyst. So what does it mean? It means that Kevin Durant is going to have to score at least 40 every night if OKC has any hope of even getting out of the second round this season. We’ll truly see how great Durant is over the next few weeks now that his right-hand man is out.

May 1, 2013
By foot or by cycle, get moving
It’s been a little more than a year since my SUV died and I promised to report the results as I spent the next 12 months commuting on twos — by foot or by motorcycle.

April 27, 2013
Burning tires is a very bad deal for western Pennsylvania
Litigation is before the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board on the Department of Environmental Protection’s air quality plan for the proposed Crawford Renewable Energy tire-burning plant in Crawford County. The plant is a terrible deal for the Meadville area, as it will emit far more harmful pollutants than its promoters have projected.

April 25, 2013
WALK TALK: Quarterbacks are still draft focus without elite choices
1 The NFL draft is in just two days, and there are many reports that not one quarterback will be taken until the second round for the first time since 1996. So the draft’s focus has to be on other players/positions, right? Nope. If anything, the lack of an elite QB only heightens the interest in when and who of the signal callers will be chosen first.

April 23, 2013
We all mourn the loss of Martin Richard — a martyr for freedom
We don’t know whether 8-year-old Martin Richard was killed by a domestic or foreign terrorist at the Boston Marathon. But all Americans tremble in our hearts when we think of the agony experienced by his family, which also endures serious injuries to his 6-year-old sister and his mother.

April 17, 2013
WALK TALK: A plunking will happen if you crowd the plate
1 The count is 3-2 on San Diego’s Carlos Quentin. A runner is on first during a 2-1 game in the sixth inning and Dodgers starter Zach Greinke is on the mound. Next thing we know, Greinke is checking to see if his collarbone is in its original place after accidentally hitting Quentin, who charged the mound seconds later. I cannot be any more on the side of Greinke and L.A. manager Don Mattingly, who said that Quentin should be suspended for as long as Greinke is injured. Quentin will be back in the lineup after eight days. It may be eight weeks until Greinke returns.

April 16, 2013
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

Discussion

The mind of a Muslim terrorist

Site Map

Contact Us