What do we do about "Islamic" terrorist organisations?

What do we do about “Islamic” terrorist organisations?

What is to be achieved by sending armed forces to Syria against Isis? That is what they want us to do. Such actions enable them to gain more conscripts. Such a move would fit the narrative of Armageddon which they predict. But beyond that violence breeds more violence. And the greatest threat of violence is within our own communities, not in eastern countries.

For the most part, those who arrive in Western countries as refugees or migrants are happy to be there in relative stability, and make efforts to be constructive members of society.  Some are Islamic, and that is not a threat to us, rather true Islamic values can benefit our society. But the children of these migrants, educated in the shallow way of the west - to be part of our overly-capitalistic society – and experiencing prejudice against them and their parents, sometimes are drawn to extreme movements which espouse doctrines totally unrelated to the teachings of Muhammad, yet purport to be truly Muslim. These movements desire the destruction of the Western system.

This worldwide Western system proclaims democracy and freedom, and we wonder why these so- called ‘Islamic ’ movements seek to undermine us. But if we step back and view our society with some distance, and over a period of time, we can see that we came from a period of narrow rigid values into a time of social revolution, but without true direction this became a culture of hedonism – do what you like as long as it makes you feel good.  This was a time, though proclaiming peace and love and tolerance, of a net reduction of values.  From this the pendulum swung and we moved into a time of gross materialism, the philosophy of greed proclaimed long ago by Adam Smith taken to new heights of application in the philosophy of Friedman, exported around all the western nations. Individualism replaced community, and inequality extremes became a virtue. The loss of values moved onward.

Surely we can now perceive how young people, born between two worlds and feeling intensely isolated, could want to embrace an organisation proclaiming brotherhood and powerful rules with the avowed aim of destroying the impure Western society.

Now we are faced with the questions, “Will bombs and guns destroy ‘Islamic’ militancy? Will stopping the flow of millions of migrants fix the world?” Surely the bombs and guns will increase the flow of migrants? Different nations of the west have different values as to who is a terrorist, to be bombed from the sky, and who is a freedom fighter against oppression. And these bombs do not discriminate between the people they land on, especially the women and children.

“We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion.”

― Mother Teresa

“An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

The world is at war and the human race is in travail and mortal combat. The dark night of hate hath taken over, and the light of good faith is blotted out. The peoples and kindreds of the earth have sharpened their claws, and are hurling themselves one against the other. It is the very foundation of the human race that is being destroyed. It is thousands of households that are vagrant and dispossessed, and every year seeth thousands upon thousands of human beings weltering in their life-blood on dusty battlefields. The tents of life and joy are down. The generals practise their generalship, boasting of the blood they shed, competing one with the next in inciting to violence. 'With this sword,' saith one of them, 'I beheaded a people!' And another: 'I toppled a nation to the ground!' And yet another: 'I brought a government down!' On such things do men pride themselves, in such do they glory! Love -- righteousness -- these are everywhere censured, while despised are harmony, and devotion to the truth.

                (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 2)

When a thought of war comes, oppose it by a stronger thought of peace. A thought of hatred must be destroyed by a more powerful thought of love. Thoughts of war bring destruction to all harmony, well-being, restfulness and content.

Thoughts of love are constructive of brotherhood, peace, friendship, and happiness.

                (Abdu'l-Baha, Paris Talks, p. 29)

And to finish with a recent quote which supplies an answer to the problem:

“With guns you can kill terrorists, with education you can kill terrorism.”

― Malala Yousafzai

This is not just the shallow education we supply children to make them efficient parts of the profit making machine, but true education into the values of life, into true reality, as espoused by all the above leaders of thought.