The headline of this piece is inspired by the famous words written by Martin Luther King Jr. in a missive while he was in the Birmingham jail. Original words have been replaced with two different words explicating completely two different notions - terrorism and peace - which have resulted in the genesis of a new kind of conflict in the world and new stratagems adopted by different countries to counter it.
Exactly 19 years ago on this day (September 11, 2001), 19 militants belonging to the extremist group ‘Al-Qaeda’ hijacked four California-bound airplanes and carried out suicide attacks in the United States. Two of the planes were crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York within a mere time lapse of 18 minutes, the third one hit the Pentagon whereas the fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania in the face of retaliation by the passengers. As many as 2,996 people hailing from 78 countries were killed in the ghastly 9/11 terrorist attacks which triggered widespread denunciation of terrorism.
This attack changed the world forever as even the likelihood of this kind of militant attack of such large scale was beyond anyone’s imagination. In the aftermath, the United States launched operation in Afghanistan with a view to razing Al-Qaeda to the ground with many other countries reconsidering their security measures in order to develop a watertight defence system. While the war against militancy is still going on, it was as clear as day after the 9/11 attacks that terrorism was here to stay unless the governments around the world fight against it in a concerted manner. Meanwhile, denizens came to realise the fact that terrorism is not endemic to the West; rather it could bring the whole world to its knees.
In the following years terrorism spread its tentacles around the whole world with particular concentration in the Middle East countries. As soon as the militant outfits began nailing their colours to the mast, the world easily comprehended the fact that terrorism is no longer a regional problem. In continuation of this, militants declared its presence in Bangladesh through carrying out an attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery located in Gulshan, Dhaka on the night of 1 July 2016. However, the government led by the Awami League took aggressive and vigorous initiatives in the aftermath of this incident and sincere efforts by the law enforcement agencies, Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) to be particular, have been instrumental in curbing militancy to a great extent. However, provided that modern amenities are opening up new windows for the world and the militant outfits as well, the world must take some points into account to root out extremism once and for all.
In the following years terrorism spread its tentacles
around the whole world with particular concentration
in the Middle East countries. As soon as the militant
outfits began nailing their colours to the mast,
the world easily comprehended the fact that
terrorism is no longer a regional problem
In the first place, we must stop stereotyping terrorism and branding it as a predicament that has its origin among people belonging to a particular religion (Islamophobia). Only then we will truly be able to address the problem and bring out the nuts and bolts related to terrorism for formulating better policies and strategies necessary to wipe out militancy from society and the world in a greater sense.
Meanwhile, every country including the ones that are alleged to be harbouring terrorist activities must come to their senses and realise that terrorism anywhere is a threat to peace everywhere. The terrorists have no religion and they are not going to spare anyone as their claims of being Muslims and doing Jihad are hypocritical. Once we delve deeper into their (militants) motives, the fight against terrorism would turn out to be easier.
Last but not least, we will have to make the militant outfits defunct by cutting their recruitment line. It is possible if we can stop youths from falling prey to their baits. According to some social scientists, youths are joining militant groups in large numbers with intent to find out a greater meaning of life whereas in real sense, they are being misguided in the name of religion. There are many reasons behind this. Most importantly, these youths are disconnected from the real world because they are so engulfed in the virtual world.
Moreover, they are also isolated from their family members as their parents and other guardians are running after materialistic accomplishments ignoring the necessity of passing some quality time and having discussion with their children with a view to delving into their children’s psyche in order to find out their outlook towards life.
Consequently a sense of alienation surrounds the minds of the youths. As a result, the teenagers or adolescents feel a strong need for identity and belonging. It’s also why adolescents are so vulnerable to religious extremism. Belonging to a religion, and to a terrorist group within that religion, provides a like-minded community, supporting beliefs and possibly a family-like structure. That’s why teenagers, adolescents and youths often join militant groups to strengthen their sense of identity. The world needs to put the limelight back on youths if we really want to exterminate terrorism.
At the end, we pray for those souls who embraced death on that fateful day and hope that their ill-timed death will keep reminding the world of its commitment to eliminate militancy. Others, in this regard, could follow our footsteps as Bangladesh has set an example as far as curbing militancy is concerned.
The writer is a columnist who likes to delve deeper into human psyche with a view to exploring the factors that influence it.
