Terrorism-the black chapter
The whole world now has increased making research on terrorists. It is trying to find out the
reason of terrorism using the root cause analysis
Prof. Dr. Mohammad Asaduzzaman Chowdhury
In the most recent period, terrorism is the global and a growing international problem of the world. Modern day terrorism can be followed back as far as the first century A.D. During that period Roman occupation forces and their alliance in the Mideast were attacked. In almost same way religious extremists, the Zealots disagreed to accept the authority of a secular government and laws that were conflicting with their beliefs.
But now in the modern and advanced world, the most extremely important challenges of the concerned people are to protect increasing frequency of terrorism done by religious extremists .But in reality, the terrorists have no any religions, only terrorism is their religion. Some conservatives try to support things as they are, highlighting strength and uninterrupted, while others, termed reactionaries, against modernization and try to back the way things were. Conservative ideology reduces the ability to do many different things well, broad-minded and muti-cultural sense of an individual. In most of the cases conservative way of thinking is responsible for the terrorism. In modern point of view, terrorism is the illegal use of fear or force to accomplish certain political, economic or social aims. But in the present situation, the nature of terrorism is more complicated and in most of the cases some masterminded people behind the situations use the other people as a toy under their full control. The well-known social psychologist Albert Bandura has realized that it requires conducive social conditions rather than monstrous people to produce terrible deeds. Given appropriate social conditions, decent, ordinary people can be led to do extraordinarily cruel things.On the other hand, religion is a cultural system of behaviors and practices, world views, holy and untouchable texts, holy places, related to the rules and beliefs of doing the right thing, and related to social pressure, how people act toward each other, that relate the kindness of people to what an anthropologist has called an order of existence. Different religions may or may not contain different elements, ranging from the God-related, holy and untouchable things, faith, a supernatural being or supernatural beings or some sort of intimacy and excellence that will provide normal behaviors and power for the rest of life. Although the theme of all religions of the world is the same to the welfare of the people as a whole. Inboard sense, terrorism is completely opposite approaches from religion. The research conducted by John Horgan at Pennsylvania State University, identified that people involvement with terrorism is newly-visible from different sources:
(i) Feel angry, abandoned or unhappy. (ii) Believe that their current political involvement does not give them the power to produce real change. (iii)Identify with perceived victims of the social injustice they are fighting. (iv) Feel the need to take action rather than just talking about the problem. (v) Believe that working at violence against the state is not socially wrong. (vi) Have friends or family understanding of and willing to help the cause. (vii) Believe that joining a movement offers social and mental rewards such as adventure, camaraderie and a heightened sense of identity. Forensic psychiatrist Marc Sageman of the University of Pennsylvania performed his survey on 400 extremist terrorists and critically followed that these people are far from being changed mind through force and tricks which means brainwashed or socially separated far from others. In his research, he has shown that these people are far from being brainwashed or socially isolated. According to the opinion of Sageman, 90% of them were related to the caring and intact family , 63% had gone to college, compared with the 5 to 6 percent background rate in poor countries. In almost the same fashion, the suicide hijacker of 9/11 had the good academic background. Three of them were in graduate school and from aristocrat Saudi and Egyptian families. But this is not always the fact that terrorists will be from the financially and socially solvent family. At the time of the postmortem of 93 suicide young bombers at the age of 17 to 22, Israeli social scientists reported that the bombers had no any academic backgrounds, unemployed and unmarried. Almost the same situation was found in the Belgium and Parisian terrorists who came from backward families. It is very difficult to identify or explain -who are or will be the terrorists in present and the future world. In this context, which social classes of people will be engaged in terrorism, it is not forecasted in advance at recent days. After the terrorist attack on holey artisan bakery and solakia kisorgonj, it has been prominently proved that any social classes of people can be involved with the terrorism.
Tom Pyszczynski, of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and his associate Jeff Greenberg and Sheldon Solomon have proposed a Terror Management Theory, which wants everyone to understand that people can practice culture and religion to secure themselves from a fear of death as a motivation to involve in inhuman terror attacks, knowing that they will be killed themselves. In fact, a real religious and culture activities practiced oriented person never think about the killing of others or his death by his own suicidal activities. The main point of every religions and culture is to think about the welfare and sustainability of his own and others life. But the people who have no any real connection with the religions and cultures, they can be motivated more easily and diverted from the real philosophy to deviate by the masterminded people who use the religions as a business for their own interest. As a result, The peoples become terrorists and they have chosen their death by killing a large number of innocent people inspired by the wrong and confusing idea of hidden people. This wrong and confusing idea is not based on the religions or cultures rather than mostly dependent on the interest of an anti-social people or groups. The psychology of terrorism is partially correlated with the explanation and opinion rather than good science. Moreover, psychologists mentioned terrorism in relation to political and set of relationships in a group of peoples rather than individual behavior. The wrong explanations of a religious idea to others in individual and group levels are also the causes of terrorism. The following strategies can be taken to protect the terrorism in our country although global plans and policies are required to fight against the terrorism by socialization strategies and proper democratic practice in a legal point of views.
The whole world is now increased and focused their researches on terrorists as well as trying to find out the reason of terrorists using the root cause analysis . But in the case of our country, this is very limited and next to nothing that we did not take yet such types of proper initiative that can aware the people strongly against terrorists and prevent to accept the wrong concept and ideas which providing by the anti-social and hidden people. As a result, the reactionaries parties are getting chance to mindset silently to the people and trying to displace them from the real philosophy to misleading philosophy which lead people to become a terrorist.
The Government should encourage the universities and researchers to take into account the terrorism as an element research. The research may be based on the recent trends of terrorists in local and global opinions or points of view and their solution techniques of reaching the goals. The Management of terrorism and Terrorism in physiological point of views can be included as courses in education systems to concern the students about the bad effect of Terrorisms. The social realization and impact due to the terrorism should be initiative within the people at every level of classes in all educational institutions such as school college and universities.
Usually the result of the terrorism is the death body of an antisocial persons and the bad effect or critical crisis of the family members of terrorists in future as well as the effect and crisis also may happen in the victim families. The cultural activities and patriotism should be encouraged throughout the country at all aged of people. . In the University or college level the social ethics should be included as a course with explaining the different case studies even if it is professional course such as engineering, medical or veterinary etc. The religious books should not be particular for particular religious groups. As a person of any religions need to know about every
religion. The course name can be designed as Essence of Every Religions for the Welfare of People in the universe. It can enrich the knowledge of a person about the different religion and make a people optimistic and positive thinking. And the person will be adapted to respect the other religions by his religious knowledge as a whole. The terrorists have built-up their strong money oriented economic zone throughout the country by taking different strategies. The Government should take immediately legal action and authority against these organizations for betterment of the country. The good news for Bangladesh is that the people of our country has taken their roles against the terrorism immediately after some sudden undesirable incidents. But this is very rare in case of USA, UK, Canada, France and other countries. Actually, this is our strength and unity against the terrorists and terrorism. In the recent days, Some news have published of young men and women who have gone missing in the past few years. At latest statistics, there were reports of at least 261 missing and possibly there are many more who are unaccounted for. This is certainly significant development that due to the sincere effort of present governments, the peoples who have missing in the past from their family, some of them has decided to return to the right path by pleading to the government and hope the remaining will be returned on the right track shortly. The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina rightly said during the inauguration of the 20th National Conference of her historical party that, the ground will not inherit any of the terrorists, even outside terrorist also will not be able to carry out acts of terrorism using the land of Bangladesh. She announced prominently that her government will show zero tolerance in this context. Of course, due to which the current government deserves praise and credits. The real history is the reflection of a real person. This is possible only by starting the courses of real history of Bangladesh and Bangali at all educational levels. A person mentality can be changed only in constructive methods in relation to his own real tradition, culture, history, education, research and patriotism. We are all looking through the terrorist less Bangladesh and this is not impossible in any ways. Though this is a global issue as well as the regional issue, so this is not possible to protect or prevent by the any countrys government alone but we have to take necessary steps immediately to increase the social awareness and social awareness will work as a tool for protecting and controlling the terrorism in one side and also will work as a weapons to prevent terrorism in another side. The Time of realization and social consequences against terrorism and terrorists is the best solution of this challenging issue.
The writer is Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET), Gazipur
