Religious Extremism By Alex Harris Period 4

Historical Background  For as long as religion has existed, there have been those who have misinterpreted the normally pacifistic ideals, and used them as either motivation or justification of heinous acts of violence. From the earliest crusades, to the Spanish Inquisition, to 9-11, all have been the result of individuals distorting the ideology that billions follow without any such incidents.  However, the first real radical movement associated with religion was the crusades. This was fully supported by the Roman Catholic Church and lasted from the 11th century to the 13th century

Current Status  In October of 2005 protests began, mainly amongst gangs consisting of young Muslims, due to the controversy over whether or not the police were unfairly targeting Muslims. The violence continued for over two weeks with rampant destruction of property.  More recently an eruption of sorts transpired when the Muslims got a hold of some inflammatory cartoons drawn for a Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten. The cartoons sparked massive riots in Islamic centers all over the globe. As of March 2, 2006, at least 139 people have been killed in the protests. Deaths have been mainly in Nigeria, Libya, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Reasons for the Problem  The crux of the matter is the battle over the definition of the term “jihad”. Some political camps define jihad as meaning “holy war”, whilst other believe the term means “inner struggle”. Those who see jihad as meaning holy war are the aggressors and attempt to stamp out any opposition to Islam.  America is often portrayed as the bully in relations between countries, and the fact that Christianity is the most popular religion only servers to further the negative view that many Muslims already hold towards Christianity. One might say that the Muslims are paranoid of America and the Western world because they fear the possibility of a second crusade.

Previous Attempts to Solve Religious Extremism  Much violence has stemmed from the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians over supposed holy ground in Jerusalem. For over 40 years there has been a constant struggle over properties.  There have been innumerable conferences on the issue, such as the Oslo Accords and the Madrid Conference of 1991  Israel did make an important step in securing its neighborhood security in 1994 with the Israel- Jordan Treaty of Peace

Realistic/ logical prediction of the ultimate outcome  Religious extremism as it plays out today will eventually result in a full-scale war between Islamic countries and the rest of the world.  The Muslim world has been suffering from an inferiority complex for too long and those who have been suppressed, (or at least feel suppressed); often strike back with a ferocity that catches the defendant off- guard.  This attack would surely surpass all the attacks that have preceded it.

Realistic Solution of the prob/ Implementation plan  Muslims resent two things about America, our culture and our religion. Whilst cultural issues may never be resolved, I believe the religious ones can. Both Islam and Christianity are religions that stress the importance of peace and the belief in one god.  Muslims who either live in the United States or are appalled at the acts of violence being committed by the radicals must stand up and take back control of their religion. They can be the ones who demonstrate all the positives of a western society and attempt to make peace.