Clouding the Cause of Islamic Terrorism

by A. Z. Mohamed • December 29, 2017 at 5:00 am

The practice of substituting political correctness for scholarship, namely educating the public in the West about actual the contents of Islam, has become so prevalent that it is undermining our ability to recognize, let alone rectify, any problems.
"Some prominent scientists and philosophers have stated openly that moral and political considerations should influence whether we accept or promulgate scientific theories... [M]isrepresenting findings in science to achieve desirable social goals will ultimately harm both science and society." — Nathan Cofnas, writing in the journal Foundations of Science.
Many people who need structure prefer every activity proscribed for them. In addition, many people with sadistic wishes might be lured by being given permission to act on these wishes; and not only that, but they are told that these acts are, indeed, obligatory and good, and that the person acting on them is, in the view of many Islamic tenets, heroic.

A Quran. (Image source: Pixabay)

Responding to findings of a recent study on what motivates both ISIS fighters and those who combat them, Arie W. Kruglanski, distinguished professor of psychology at the University of Maryland and former co-director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, said:

"The ideology component addresses individuals' need to matter and feel significant. ... It tells people what to do, such as fight and make sacrifices, in order to gain respect and admiration from others."

Kruglanski, whose 2014 article, "Psychology Not Theology: Overcoming ISIS' Secret Appeal," argues that religion (in this instance, Islam) plays a smaller part in what makes terrorists tick than "the [human] need for... personal significance." He added:

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Threats of 2017 - Mideast, Terror, Weapons - Will Linger in the New Year

by John R. Bolton • December 29, 2017 at 4:00 am

Saudi Arabia's "modernization" efforts in economic and social policy as well as religion, unleashed by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (pictured), may appear unstoppable, but it would be a mistake simply to assume so. (Image source: kremlin.ru)

Domestically and internationally, President Trump finished 2017 in dramatic fashion. Obtaining the most sweeping tax cuts in 30-plus years (and repealing ObamaCare's most philosophically oppressive aspect, the individual mandate) was a landmark achievement. And, by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital, then suggesting major changes in U.S. funding of the United Nations, he disrupted foreign-policy conventional wisdom on both the Middle East and "global governance."

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