The Power of Labels
Tabsir.net has a great post by Dr. Alan Singer called “How I Almost Became a Terrorist”. Dr. Singer is now Director of Secondary Social Studies in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Hofstra University, but describes his feelings as a Jewish-American boy growing up in the Bronx shortly after World War II and his desire to fight for the survival of Israel. He then turns it around to consider the impact the current war on terrorism may be taking on young men in the Middle East, and how we can reduce the risk of radicalization. He states:
Based on this experience as a teacher, I believe that when Islamic youth believe there is hope for the future, that they have dignity and that their religion is respected, that their lives will change for the better, and that there will be justice in the Middle East, the threat of attack will lessen significantly, although it will probably never end completely. Branding these young people as terrorists will just convince them that their view of the world is accurate and that they need to be martyrs.
It’s my firm belief that the only long-term solution for the problem of terrorism is reducing the risk of radicalization of disenfranchised youth. We may never eliminate terrorism, but we can reduce the success rate of the recruiters for terrorist organization by providing these young men with other opportunities, other possibilities and by offering a view of the world that provides hope.
Long-term security requires long-term solutions for providing hope to all people.
