THE TERRORIST CHALLENGE

Islam and Islamic Radicalism

Are all Muslims terrorists?

• Since September 11th, many Muslims have insisted strongly that Islam forbids terrorist attacks on innocent people.

• Yet the terrorists who carried out the attacks all did so in defense of their idea of Islam.

• The terrorists believe that the U.S. is a threat and their religion teaches them to fight back.

• “Islamic Radicals” are political and religious people acting on behalf of Islam.

• Islamic radical leaders view the United States as the enemy of Islam.

• Islam teaches that men and women have very different roles in society and the family.

• The Koran, Islam’s holy book, requires women to dress modestly.

•Some Islamic radicals impose very strict limits on women – even threatening to shoot women without veils.

• The views of Islamic radicals are not the views of all Muslims.

• Some Muslims say that “Islamic” terrorism goes against the teaching of Islam.

• Other Muslims and Islamic governments support terrorist groups.

• Americans need to find ways to stop Islamic terrorists without unfairly discriminating against the majority of Muslims for whom Islam is not a violent religion.

THE TERRORIST CHALLENGE

Confronting Terrorism

at Home and Abroad

• September 11th generated an outpouring of patriotic pride.

• Flags went up everywhere: homes, car windows, mailboxes, etc.

• TV and newspaper ads included a lot of red, white, and blue.

• It may have seen like patriotic overkill, more accurately it was a way to unite Americans in a just cause.

President Bush vowed to fight a war against terrorism.

The first target in that war was Afghanistan.

• Within months, the Taliban government was ousted and many of al Qaeda’s terrorist camps and caves were destroyed.

• Most Afghan people were thrilled about the government overthrow, but the new leaders faced huge challenges.

• If the government falls apart, it could become a hiding place for terrorist organizations again.

President Bush stated that the war on terrorism included three nations: Iran, Iraq,

and North Korea = the “Axis of Evil.”

The original Axis of Evil was Germany, Japan, and Italy during World War II.

This may be and indication of how serious and long-term the struggle against terror may be.