For the past several days, I’ve been reading—about France, Lebanon, Kenya, Syria, IS/ISIS/ISIL/Daesh, refugees, the history of the Middle East, Islam, religious extremism, terrorism in all its forms—anything I can to try to understand more fully and to contribute thoughts and ideas of value. I’ve learned a lot. I’ve also been reading comments on articles, in spite of my myself, to see varying viewpoints from average people. I’ve been taking it all in, listening to voices of reason and reactivity, of peace and prejudice, of moderation and madness.
All of this is hard, you guys. It’s really hard and really complex. There are a couple of things, however, that I think are clear:
1) Reacting with hatred or prejudice toward Muslims is misguided and counterproductive.
Here’s why:
There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. That number is larger than many people seem to realize. According to most estimates, Daesh (ISIS) has 30,000 to 80,000 fighters. Let’s say, just for good measure, that there are 100,000. That is SIX THOUSANDTHS OF A PERCENT of the Muslim world. Even if there were 100 extremist groups as large as Daesh—even then—that would still only be SIX TENTHS OF A PERCENT of the Muslim world. It’s not just a minority of Muslims who hold extreme and violent views—it’s a very small fraction. The way some people talk about Muslims, you’d think that a majority, or even a large minority, think in terrorist ways. That’s just not the case.
Daesh may do what it does in the name of Islam and get a lot of attention from the havoc it wreaks, but that doesn’t make it representative of Islam. Christian terrorist groups (Yes, there are.) use the Bible to justify their hatred and violence, too, but reasonable people recognize that their beliefs and actions don’t represent Christianity. Also, did you know that the vast majority (more than 90%) of terrorist attacks in the U.S. and Europe in the past few decades have NOT been carried out by Muslims? The whole “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim” thing is flat out, 100% wrong.
Yes, Islamist terrorists have been more successful than many others. But the vast vast vast majority of Muslims are horrified by the actions of these terrorists who use Islam as their platform. In fact, most terrorist victims are Muslims themselves. Countless Muslim leaders and groups have denounced terrorism publicly, vehemently, and repeatedly. If people think that moderate Muslims aren’t taking a stand against terrorism, it’s because they’re not listening.
Hatred and prejudice towards Muslims is counterproductive because hatred and prejudice are the terrorists’ bread and butter. It’s part of how terrorist leaders brainwash their followers. It’s part of how they turn desperate, impoverished, impressionable young people to radical ideologies. It’s what they use to justify their actions. Conflating the Islamic majority with Islamist terrorists just helps fuel the terrorists’ machine.
Basically, when we respond to their hatred, prejudice and terror with our own hatred, prejudice and fear, the terrorists win. That’s Terrorism 101.
2) Turning away refugees out of fear is also misguided and counterproductive.
Here’s why:
From what I’ve read, between 9 and 12 million Syrians have fled their homes trying to get away from Daesh/ISIS and/or the Syrian government. These are people who are running from the insanity. If you are asking why they aren’t standing up and fighting, well, half of them are children. Plus, that’s sort of like asking the Jews why they didn’t fight against the Nazis. A basic understanding of how power and oppression work, especially when the oppressor is rich and righteously suicidal, makes that argument moot.
Now 3-4 million are living as refugees outside of Syria. The scope of this humanitarian crisis is enormous. Are we really willing to let thousands suffer and die on the chance that a few terrorists might slip in with them? I understand that impulse, but the numbers just don’t work out. Do we really think that posing as a refugee is the easiest way for terrorists to infiltrate, especially in the U.S.? Do we really think terrorists are not already here, homegrown on our soil? Do we really want to be the ones who turn away people in desperate need because a tiny percentage of them might be terrorists? (For the record, we did refuse Jewish refugees during WWII because people were afraid Nazis might slip in with them. Do we really want to be on the wrong side of history again?)
People ask if it’s worth the risk. What if even one terrorist gets through that way? So I’ll say it: Yes, it’s worth the risk. With any risk/benefit analysis, you have to weigh both. And to me, the long-term benefit of choosing humanity over fear, of helping members of our human family in a time of great need, of being an example of courageous compassion, outweighs what I perceive to be a fairly small risk.
Terrorists slipping in with refugees is not our biggest threat. Our biggest threat is giving in to the fear that the terrorists are trying to instill. Fear impels us to create more division, more otherness, more disunity, which in turn creates more fear and more division, which in turn makes us weaker and the terrorists stronger. When we turn away refugees because we are afraid of them, even though we know statistically that the vast majority of them are NOT terrorists, then we are acting as puppets in the terrorists’ game. They want us to turn away refugees out of fear.
THEY WANT US TO TURN AWAY REFUGEES OUT OF FEAR.
I won’t get into what the government and military should do about Daesh. They’ll do what they’ll do to deal with all of this, for better or for worse. But we have our own part to play as individual citizens. And far as I can see, the best way to defeat terrorists as individuals is not to give in to fear, to welcome those fleeing their insanity with open arms, to show the terrorists that they hold no power over our beliefs and actions.
If we truly believe that love is stronger than hate and that perfect love drives out fear, then we have to respond to radical hate and fear with radical love and courage. There’s no greater statement we can make to terrorists than this: You cannot maim our humanity. You cannot destroy our values. You cannot kill our legacy of embracing the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. We will not allow you to make us afraid. We will not be terrorized.
Photo credit: Bengin Ahmad / Foter.com / CC BY-ND
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