“Is Religion the Root of Terrorism?” w/ Robert Pape & Hector Avalos
Audio here!
9/11 sparked a debate in this country about something that much of the rest of the world had dealt with for decades … suicide terrorism. For the first time, Americans felt they had to try to understand why anyone would kill themselves to get another someone to do what they wanted. The American media, in echoing the Bush Administration – said the terrorists attacked us because they “hated our freedom and our way of life.” But people with a little more insight and via a bit more honest investigation recognized the nonsense this “reason” was.
The question of the roots of terrorism then became a battle of values … and it was said that the terrorists valued life and family less than we did. Again, insight and investigation proved this “reason” to be as dubious as the freedom “reason.” Indeed, all these given reasons were meant to do was to scare the American public into thinking that endless war in the Middle East, and the murdering of all the terrorists we can get our hands on, was our best course of action. Thus explained the popularity of the war against Iraq … Until, of course, we learned that all the reasons for the Iraq war were lies and fear-mongering.
So, where do we go from here? The real debate is not about American freedom or family values, but about religion and politics in the Middle East. Robert Pape in his book, Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic behind Suicide Terrorism argues that though religion plays a role, the main reason for terrorism – especially suicide terrorism – is the U.S. military occupation of the homelands the terrorist lived in. Hector Avalos, author of Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence, argues that the reason for the anger concerning such occupations comes mainly from the fact that the places occupied are holy lands.
This discussion between a political scientist and a cultural anthropologist is sure to fascinate. Perhaps if we can find common understanding between these two men, we can – once and for all – discover the real roots of terrorism …. And therefore, how to end its popularity as a “war” technique.