Terrorism: Religious and Poverty Roots?

 

By Leta Hong Fincher

Over the past decade, analysts¹ and government officials agree that the threat posed by Islamist terrorism has grown.  But does Islam play a role in recruiting terrorists? Or are the underlying² conditions of poverty more important? Leta Hong Fincher looks at some of the arguments in the second of her three-part series on the roots of terrorism.
 
 
Scholars in the Islamic world and in the West have long debated the root causes of terrorism.  Many argue that poverty, marginalization, and a sense of hopelessness are to blame.  But most al-Qaida-linked terrorists came from middle-class backgrounds and received a college education; including Osama bin³ Laden⁴, a Saudi multimillionaire and trained civil engineer.
 
Benjamin Barber, a democracy expert at the University of Maryland, says there will always be small groups of zealots who want to commit acts of terror.  The larger problem is that in today's global environment, terrorist acts are often applauded by people he calls "tacit terrorists."
 
BENJAMIN BARBER
"Terrorists themselves, like all vanguards, are usually wealthy, well-educated and privileged, but the people they represent and people who allow them to speak for them are themselves almost always impoverished⁵, in despair, marginalized and disempowered and finally, that crucial word, humiliated⁶ by the rest of the world in which they live."
 
Opinion polls in the Middle East show that Osama bin Laden is often more popular than government leaders.  Mr. Barber argues that because so many Muslims regard bin Laden as a hero, he remains⁷ uncaptured more than three years after the September 11th attacks.
 
BENJAMIN BARBER
"If he were a lone⁸ nut out there, he would have long ago been found, captured and brought to justice. But the fact is he lives in what we might call safe villages, safe provinces, safe countries."
 
This kind of safe environment can be found in Pakistan, where bin Laden is believed to be hiding.  Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in its war on terrorism. It is also home to endemic poverty and many Islamic schools--or madrassas--that preach hatred⁹ of the United States. 
 
Muslim boys at this school recite the Koran and are taught the extreme ideology¹⁰ of Wahabi Islam. In 2002, Pakistan launched a crackdown on hardline madrassas believed to be breeding Islamist terrorism. 
 
But some say it is a waste of effort to target Islamic schools without addressing the underlying socioeconomic conditions. Omer Taspinar is a scholar of Islam at the Brookings Institution think tank in Washington.
 
OMER TASPINAR
"Someone who goes to a madrassa in Pakistan can have a much more radicalized, confrontationalist, narrow interpretation¹¹ of Islam. That's why education is key and upward mobility¹² is key. People who become richer, people who have a job, people who have hope usually don't have such a radicalist interpretation of Islam."
 
Some moderate Muslims say Islamist radicals¹³ have perverted¹⁴ the message of Islam, which Mr. Taspinar says does not teach revolution or terrorism.
 
OMER TASPINAR
"The message of Islam the way I see it as a progressive Muslim coming from Turkey, is one of unity¹⁵, of compassion¹⁶, which is trying to reveal the last message coming from God to humanity saying that we are brothers, that all the other monotheistic religions, Jews and Christians¹⁷ included, are people of the book, therefore we need to find ways of coexistence."
 
Mr. Taspinar argues that the rise of terrorism has less to do with Islam than with repressive governance. He says socioeconomic deprivation¹⁸ leaves many young Muslims vulnerable to extremist ideology.  And in the absence of democracy in the Middle East, dissatisfied citizens can only oppose dictatorships by organizing around their mosque¹⁹.
 
Mr. Taspinar calls this trend the "Islamicization of political dissent²⁰."
 
OMER TASPINAR
"When you have dictatorships, authoritarian²¹ dictatorships in the Middle East, the mosque becomes the only institution where people can come together and actually have a sense of political agenda, a sense of opposition²², dissent to the current government."
 
 
Political analysts may disagree about what causes terrorism.  But most say the United States will play a crucial role in determining whether terrorism flourishes or fizzles out.
 
Bruce Hoffman is a terrorism expert at the RAND Corporation think tank in Washington D.C. 
 
BRUCE HOFFMAN
"Until we adopt a strategy that has very much long-term goals as well as short-term tactical aims we've been very successful with in reducing the threat of terrorism today, until we embrace that strategic dimension, we are going to be locked in a war that will last for generations."
 
More on U.S. policies in the third and final report of this series: the Roots of Terrorism.

Leta Hong Fincher, VOA News.
注释：
multimillionaire千万富翁
civil engineer土木工程师
zealot 狂热者
applaud 称赞, 赞同
vanguard 先锋, 领导者
in despair 绝望的
marginalized 被排斥的
humiliate羞辱, 耻辱
opinion poll 民意调查
preach 鼓吹
Wahabi Islam (伊斯兰教)瓦哈比教派的教徒
crackdown 镇压, 打击
monotheistic 一神论的
coexistence 共存
dictatorship 专政
mosque 清真寺

 

1 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

2 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 humiliated   

感到羞愧的

参考例句：

• Parents are humiliated if their children behave badly when guests are present. 子女在客人面前举止失当，父母也失体面。
• He was ashamed and bitterly humiliated. 他感到羞耻，丢尽了面子。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

9 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

10 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

11 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

12 mobility   

n.可动性，变动性，情感不定

参考例句：

• The difference in regional house prices acts as an obstacle to mobility of labour.不同地区房价的差异阻碍了劳动力的流动。
• Mobility is very important in guerrilla warfare.机动性在游击战中至关重要。

13 radicals   

n.激进分子( radical的名词复数 )；根基；基本原理；[数学]根数

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals. 一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The worry is that the radicals will grow more intransigent. 现在人们担忧激进分子会变得更加不妥协。 来自辞典例句

14 perverted   

adj.不正当的v.滥用( pervert的过去式和过去分词 )；腐蚀；败坏；使堕落

参考例句：

• Some scientific discoveries have been perverted to create weapons of destruction. 某些科学发明被滥用来生产毁灭性武器。
• sexual acts, normal and perverted 正常的和变态的性行为

15 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

16 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

17 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

18 deprivation   

n.匮乏；丧失；夺去，贫困

参考例句：

• Many studies make it clear that sleep deprivation is dangerous.多实验都证实了睡眠被剥夺是危险的。
• Missing the holiday was a great deprivation.错过假日是极大的损失。

19 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

20 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

21 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

22 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。