Documenting 30,000 jihad attacks: Interview with Glen Roberts, editor of TheReligionOfPeace
Keeping track of the Jihad. Interview with Glen Roberts, editor of TheReligionOfPeace.com
By: Nicolai Sennels
How does keeping track of the attacks affect you?
It makes me more determined to keep up with the violence so that it doesn’t get minimalized.
I have to be emotionally detached at some level, or it would be overwhelming. Still, there are times when a particular incident will affect me, either because of its cruelty or senselessness. All I can do is publicize it, but at least it is something.
How do you manage to keep track of all the jihad attacks?
That’s probably the easiest part of what I do (keeping the front page fresh requires a lot more time). The high-profile attacks aren’t hard to find, and I’ve developed a method over the years to find the relatively obscure violence. It’s less than an hour a day.
How can we be sure that all the attacks on your lists really happened?
The ones on the front page are linked to a source. The rest can be spot-checked (ie. sampled), using the information provided. There are other resources on the web, such as Wikipedia and GTD, which keep their own lists. I also have a standing offer to personally verify any attack in response to any reasonable inquirer.
I would point out that the BBC did a study covering the month of November, 2014 and found significantly more Jihad attacks and victims than I caught that month.
Who are the typical victims of the attacks?
The attacks that I list are mostly against civilians and cops. Sometimes I do include an attack against local soldiers, particularly if they are off-duty, in their barracks, or manning a checkpoint, but I tend to stay away from combat situations.
The vast majority of victims on my list are innocent civilians who were going about their business when they were killed or maimed by Islamists who claim to be fighting for Islamic supremacy. Of these, most are nominal Muslims who are perceived as obstacles to that end.
Nominal Muslims comprise the bulk of victims because the vast majority of attacks occur in Muslim countries. In non-Muslim countries, Muslims are rarely targeted by Jihadis. In each case, they are not killed because of their faith, but in spite of it. The Quran says to be harsh to both the unbeliever and the hypocrite – meaning those who say they are believers but do not act like it by joining the Jihad.
Have you noticed any change in the way jihadis attack?
Suicide bombings were still somewhat uncommon about 15 years ago – usually limited to Israeli civilian targets. Now they are positively ubiquitous.
It also seems like there has developed a sense of randomness to Islamic terror. It has become so frenzied… any target, any place. The Jihadis even turn on each other when there aren’t enough infidels to kill. No country or locale is safe.
What are the most typical types of attacks?
Probably bombs in public areas, either strapped to a person or planted. In the West, it is probably mass shootings and stabbings.
What is the most typical reason for attacking?
The root cause is always Islam, an ideology that preaches the inferiority of unbelievers. Since the natural order of the world (according to the Quran) is Islamic supremacy, any deviation has to be corrected.
Most Islamic terror groups are quite clear about their religious goals, particularly when they are fighting in Muslim countries. When terrorists fight the West directly, however, their stated rationale often includes “grievances” about the supposed treatment of Muslims, usually with little factual basis – particular since they are the worst abusers.
The Islamic State began executing people in orange jumpsuits to try and make a point about Guantanamo. But no Muslims were executed at Gitmo, and the jumpsuit has since come to be associated with barbarism in the name of Allah.
Likewise, the terrorist behind the recent attack at OSU claimed he was angry about what was happening to Muslims in Myanmar… which had nothing to do with anyone in Ohio. He wasn’t crazy; he was simply perceiving Muslims and unbelievers collectively, as Islam teaches. One group is meant to be superior to the other, and what happens to one happens to all.
Which countries have most attacks?
My list starts after 9/11, so Iraq is head and shoulders above the rest (terrorism there escalated following the withdrawal of US troops). Next is Pakistan with about half as many attacks, followed by Afghanistan and Thailand. There may very well have been more people killed by Arab militia and the Sudanese regime in Darfur than in all the rest, but reporting is very sketchy from that region.
Prior to 9/11, there were tens of thousands killed by terrorists in Kashmir and around 200,000 killed during the Islamist campaign in Algeria that began ten years earlier.
Are attacks happening more frequently now than when you started? How much more?
Islamic violence has tapered off in some areas, such as Kashmir and Algeria, but it has more than compensated elsewhere.
The incredible breadth of resources devoted to preventing terror is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it keeps the number of casualties down, particularly in the West. On the other, lower numbers lull the general populace into not realizing the war that Islam is waging on us. Defenses are lowered in the name of compassion or tolerance when they should be raised… and we bring the Trojan horse that is Islam inside the gates.
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