Tackling violent extremism

Government policies can sometimes make people feel like politicians have not observed reality enough. Given that politicians often believe that the sole purpose of a state is to preserve its own existence, this is not surprising. That a state is long lasting should be a result of its fine qualities, and not the other way around. Articles like this one only reinforce the evidence that they don’t look to the root cause of problems when trying to overcome them. I DO NOT condone suicide bombing; it was not the way of any of the prophets of any of the Abrahamic faiths, and is certainly not permitted in Islam. However, the reason that the disenfranchised always give is that the destruction they cause is a reaction to the foreign policies. Again, I am against these ill visioned jihadist sentiments. The trouble is, that they state the root cause for their actions, so surely the government should consider it, instead of trying to use some kind of poorly applied treatment.

Nevertheless the government’s counterterrorism experts acknowledge that real or perceived grievances about official policy, particularly foreign policy, discrimination or racism, and counterterrorism measures themselves, can also contribute.

“…can also contribute.” ? Its the sole reason they do it! It is a pity that fellow Muslims submit to this method of effecting change, especially as it wasn’t the example given to us by our beloved Prophets. I believe the most lasting changes in society are brought through sound reasoning, clear understanding and mutual respect. After all, the values that we all subscribe to are roughly the same. They just have a different origin.

It reminds me a little of a joke I read about some famous communists;

Lenin, Stalin, and Brezhnev are on a train crossing Siberia when it breaks down.

“Do not worry, comrades!” cries Lenin. “The people will throw off the chains of their capitalist overlords, and get the train moving again!”

The three wait for a few hours. The train doesn’t move. Stalin gets up.

“Comrades,” says Stalin, menacingly. “Do not worry. I will shoot every third man until the train starts moving again.” He goes out, and comes back several hours later covered in blood. The train still isn’t moving.

Brezhnev gets up, a patient smile on his face. “Comrades,” he says, gently. “Do not worry. I have the solution to all our problems. Let us just *pretend* the train is moving.”

*My apologies if I have offended any communist readers, I will promptly pull this page down if its deemed offensive.

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