Combating Terrorism

By:

Dr. Ali S. Awadh Asseri

(Former Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon)

MUSLIM GRIEVANCES

     In so far as the Muslim world is concerned, the root cause of terrorism are not difficult to trace. For centuries, the world of Islam has undergone subjugation at the hands of the West, in the run-up to European colonialism, during it, and even in its aftermath. Given that, I is but natural for reactionary tendencies to emerge in a section of the Muslim populace. Muslim immigrant communities in Western Europe or North America – whether of African, Arab or South Asian origin – have quite often confronted racism. But that is not the end of the story. In contemporary world history, most of the regional conflicts have seen Muslim communities being victimized by non-Muslim states. The Serbian atrocities against the Muslims of Bosnia and Kosovo, the cases of the Chechen and the Kashmiri Muslims, and above all the Israeli state terror against Palestinians, who happen to be mostly Muslims, are major examples in this regard.

(To Be Continued)