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Noah Smith
Mr Wright
July 14th, 2015
ENG4U

The Facade of Terrorism

A social chasm is continuously expanding between two very different worlds. A rift
exacerbated by the social, political, and religious differences is seen on two fronts. One region,
very much oppressed by the other is attempting to relieve the grip placed on it by any means
necessary. Acts of violence by both parties only aggravate the ever worsening situation. The
word Terrorism is thrown into the conversation by those who are ignorant to its true meaning.
An insensitivity which runs rampant through a hateful society. An ignorance that breeds and
damages an already weak relationship between Muslim and the Western World. The West does
not fully understand the impact that they have played when looking at the issue of a broken
Islamic relationship. In order to successfully deal with these conflicts, societies must look at the
whole picture. A picture which depicts a history of injustice, violence, and inequality. The issues
of today share striking similarities to the conflicts of the past. Only when the whole picture is
examined, will the key to resolving the conflict be revealed.

The rise and fall of tyrannical governments is a perpetual occurrence. As generations

pass, the world is witness to ascent and demise of these oppressive rulers. Resistance to these
governments seems to habitually manifest itself in the form of revolutions. The results of these

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uprisings are ofttimes social, political, and demographic reformations. The revolutions of the past
tended to remain within a singular nation. The reformations would seldom impact other countries
directly. The revolutions of today are often overlooked but manifest themselves in a global
presence. The world over the past decade has been witness many greatly impactful uprisings,
from the Egyptian Revolution in 2011 to the more recent Coup in Ukraine having its outset in
early 2014. The implications of these uprisings are much more global than their predecessors.
There are, however, revolutions that aren't as obvious presently occurring. The global issue of
what the media presents as terrorism, in fact, shares numerous similarities to the uprisings of the
past. Although not painted with the same brush, when studied, the title of terrorism could very
well be considered a facade.

A revolution can be described as A radical and pervasive change in society and the
social structure, especially one made suddenly and often accompanied by
violence(Dictionary.com). What is there separating the movement of ISIS in the 21st century
from the people's movement in France during the 18th century? The fundamental foundation of
the ISIS campaign is to restore to the original form of Islam practiced by its founder
Muhammad (Greg Ritcher). The Middle East in the present day is being oppressed and
influenced by Western traditions, a culture which is not native to that region of that world. The
many invasions staged by the United States has flooded these regions with these alien traditions.
The West controls of parts of the Middle East has altered the once common practices of these
nations. The uprising of ISIS by definition is a revolution. Often described as radicals, the
members of this group aim to free themselves from the ever expanding grip of Western
influence, just as the people of America did during the American Revolution. The overseas
control that Great Britain had on America during its genesis is very similar to the control the

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United States now has over the Middle East. One can only subjugate another so long before the
oppressed group together in an effort for social betterment. The use of violence is often the key
to success when revolutions are underway. Seldom do passive movements result in serious
change. Uprisings and violence often go hand in hand. The 10-year period in which the French
Revolution took place is considered to be one of the bloodiest periods in European history. The
mass executions of The Reign of Terror saw 16,594 beheadings by way of guillotine. The
Revolution which ISIS is currently executing has seen the mass executions of many opposers to
their cause. The violence seen in many Islamic revolutions share a sort of connection with the
uprisings the world has witnessed over the course of history. Despite such commonalities, these
groups are still not recognized for what they truly are.

Why is ISIS painted with a different brush? The perspective the Westerly populations
have of Islam is blurred by the depiction and the ways that the media portrays this portion of the
global population. Without proper understanding, the motives and behaviors seen exhibited by
these groups cannot be fully understood. Much of this ignorance is established by the lack of
worldly education. Schools and media do not explain the roots and meanings seen in Islam, they
disregard the important aspects and display only the violent acts committed in the name of this
belief. Since the attacks on the World Trade Centre society has developed a serious hatred for all
those that share roots with Islam. This is an unfounded hatred, one based purely on assumptions
and generalizations. There is an immediate expectation of violence from Middle Eastern
descendants, regardless of their religious beliefs. This hatred is not one sided, there remains a
great divide between the West and Islam. Such a conflict is bred on the basis that each is ignorant
towards the others lifestyle. Many in the West see Muslims as fanatical, violent, and as lacking
tolerance. Meanwhile, Muslims in the Middle East and Asia generally see Westerners as selfish,

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immoral and greedy(PewGlobal.org). These views seem to be the result of a push shove
reaction. The West has invaded the Middle East for the purpose of economic and political gain,
and the Middle Eastern population have resisted by way of violence. This Western resistance has
resulted in some grave social issues in the United States. A country in which only 27% of its
population has a positive view on the Muslims of the world(PewGlobal.org).

America has turned into a country of hatred, and this hostility is at a higher level than
ever before. Such a prevailing feeling of malice is very much due to the media's portrayal of
Islam as a whole. Big box office companies are making a fortune off of the American contempt
for the Middle East, simultaneously reinforcing this social stigma. Motion pictures such as
America Sniper glorify the-the killing of Muslims from the perspective of a dubbed American
Hero. The film passes a message that to be an American Hero, you must hate and kill Muslims.
In a sense, these films fall into a category of propaganda. Had the roles been reversed, and the
film had been from the perspective of a Muslim killing Americans the outcry would have been
enormous. A double standard currently exists in the West, one that is telling society that it is
acceptable to mistreat people because they do not pray or act the same way as the larger part of
the population. These factors only deepen the fissure between these two very different worlds.
There is no education in school systems on the true meaning of Islam, this lack of teaching only
further worsens the already serious issue the West faces of ignorance. To understand how to end
the conflict, Western countries must first breach the social gap they have created. It is only when
Islam is fully understood that its radicals can be dealt with appropriately.

It seems that violence and cruelty of some nations is continuously justified and
overlooked. When the roles are reversed and the country accustomed to dealing the damage is

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faced with a threat or action against their own, this justifiable action instantly changes into a
lawless engagement. Such is the double standard of terrorism the people of the world are quick
to reject. Having no clear-cut, impervious definition of terrorism, countries are free to rationalize
their barbaric actions without Western consequence. However, the repercussion of this disguised
terrorism is in most cases a violent rebuttal. A powerful response with an antithetical
classification. When people decry civilian deaths caused by the U.S. government, they're aiding
propaganda efforts. In sharp contrast, when civilian deaths are caused by bombers who hate
America, the perpetrators are evil and those deaths are tragedies(William Scanlon). Such a
statement illustrates the exact mindset the western world bears. What defines terrorism is very
much in the eye of the beholder. There are numerous unsanctioned definitions to it, meanings
that are used as they suit a particular situation. Many view terrorist group as whichever organized
the group that the United States opposes. An American outlook which can be summed up by
saying, One man's terrorist, is another man's freedom fighter (Jonah Goldberg).

The definition of terrorism is greatly subjective, however, this lack of perspicacity only
benefits one side of this double standard. A universally accepted component to what
distinguishes terrorism is the inclusion of causalities. This is where, without proper
understanding of global occurrences ignorance is bred. Over the course of a period spanning the
length of 42 years, between 1973 and 2015, Islamic related terrorism has killed an estimated
3,259 United States citizens. This figure includes the infamous strike on the World Trade Centre.
An unrecognized figure is that of the citizen death toll as a result of the war on Iraq. This conflict
which was initiated in 1991 with the very first Gulf War has seen a death toll of 1.7 million Iraqi
civilians. This unchallenged United Nations figure is a direct outcome of the Sanction's imposed
by the United States on the country of Iraq. Chemicals and water treatment systems were

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withheld from the country due to these sanctions, on the basis that they could be used to create
weapons of mass destruction. The Iraqi counterparts of Afghanistan have been the victim of
similar brutality from the United States. The calculated civilian death toll of the 2001 bombing
campaign against Afghanistan was announced to be roughly 8000 causalities. Professor Gideon
Polya of the University of Melbourne deduced that the death toll as a result of the war initiated in
2001 is approximately 3 million. Of those 3 million death, 900,000 infants under 5 years old. In
any other circumstances, this would be treated as genocide. A portion of these attacks were
justified by a Pentagon official who said, "the people there are dead because we wanted them
dead."(Cursor.org). Change the source of that statement, what would have the reaction been had
it came from an Islamic based official? The United States is an equal, if not more of a contributor
to global terrorism when the entire picture is examined. Genocide is justified due to its source,
but retaliation is lawless unacceptable behavior. The War on Terror was a facade, one that was
able to overshadow its global impact due to the propaganda it provided. Terror is not isolated to a
couple particular groups, terror is the use of physical, psychological, and political tactics
regardless of legality to instil fear for the purpose of political or social gain. If the United States
is attempting to win The War on Terror by way of fear, are they not engaging in the exact
behavior they claim to be eradicating?

Extremist groups will never be fully eradicated, there will always be those who have been
raised to hate others. When the ignorance and systemic hatred society demonstrates is improved
upon, only good results will come in terms of the Muslim-Western relationship. The conflicts we
see today are ones that have been created in worsened over the course of decades. It completely
unrealistic to assume that a population will sit idle while being oppressed. In order to deal with
the conflict at hand, the countries involved must first fully understand the goals and morals of

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one another. Perpetuating hate and ignorance will only dig a deeper hole. Terrorism is a facade
for a much deeper social and political issue that has been created by Western countries. Such an
issue can only be resolved by first eliminating ignorance from society, then and only then will
the tear in the relationship and conflict be mended.

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Works Cited
The Facade of Terrorism
July 14, 2015
Primary Sources:

Bjrgo, Tore. Root Causes of Terrorism: Myths, Reality, and Ways Forward. London: Routledge,
2005. Print.
Goldberg, Jonah. The Tyranny of Cliches. New York: Sentinel, 2012. Print.
Polya, Gideon Maxwell. Body Count: Global Avoidable Mortality since 1950. Melbourne: G.M.
Polya, 2007. Print.
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Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 15 July 2015.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reign_of_Terror>.
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com. Web. 15 July 2015.
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"America Is Running the World's Largest Terrorist Operation." Global Research. Web. 15 July
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Dr, Mahathir. "Ignorance Breeds Terrorism." Religion News Blog. 6 Sept. 2004. Web. 15 July
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Libaw, Oliver. "How Do You Define Terrorism?" ABC News. ABC News Network, 11 Oct. 2015.
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Obeidallah, Dean. The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast. Web. 15 July 2015.
<http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/11/13-years-after-9-11-anti-muslim-bigotry-isworse-than-ever.html>.
Ritcher, Greg. "US Must Understand ISIS Religious Beliefs to Defeat It." Newsmax. 16 Feb.
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Scanlon, William. "Marathon Bombings Were Payback." Telegram.com. Web. 15 July 2015.
<http://www.telegram.com/article/20130505/>.
"Terrorist Attacks and Related Incidents in the United States." Web. 15 July 2015.
<http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/terrorism/wrjp255a.html>.
"The Great Divide: How Westerners and Muslims View Each Other." Pew Research Centers. 22
June 2006. Web. 15 July 2015. <http://www.pewglobal.org/2006/06/22/the-great-divide-howwesterners-and-muslims-view-each-other/>.
"Understanding Tyranny and Terror." The Heritage Foundation. Web. 15 July 2015.
<http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/06/understanding-tyranny-and-terror-from-thefrench-revolution-to-modern-islamism>.