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Drew Cunningham
Dr. Hurley
EDU-3314
3/6/15

Reflection on How to Create a Terrorist and How to Stop Terrorism

In both video clips, How to Create a Terrorist and How to Stop Terrorism, wellknown professor of Linguistics at MIT, Noam Chomsky, discusses his ideas on the current state
of terrorism in the world. Both clips have similar themes about how the United States has come
to aid in the formation of terrorists and what the country can do to stop terrorism. Chomsky talks
about how the Reagan years in office were a time that helped to shape modern day terrorism.
From the Contra scandal to the involvement of the US in establishing regimes in South America,
the United States has been culpable in the creation of terrorist groups because of the actions of
the government. The United States, by interfering in international affairs, has given fodder to the
flames of discontent and allowed for modern day terrorist groups, like ISIS, to grow. Terrorism is
largely bound to ideology, and the prevailing ideologies of some groups are anti-American in
nature because of the actions that the US has taken since the 1980s.
When I first watched both video clips I found myself nodding to the words of Chomsky
in agreement. What he said makes perfect sense to me, and while I do not necessarily disagree
with him on the matter of state based violence, I do have objections with his use of the word
jihadism. This comes back to points that I raised in my group presentation about the American
understanding of jihad as a bastardization of the original concept in Islam. From all indications in
the Quran, jihad refers only to a religious struggle for the freedom to practice Islam. It does not

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mean a holy war in the same vein as the Crusades. This is a misuse of the word by both militant
Muslim terrorists and the western media. It is so important for us to stop labeling terrorist actions
as jihad, even if that is what the people committing the acts believe it to be. Words have the
power to shape our realitythere is a metaphysic to words that affects the world and the way we
perceive it. Chomsky knows this. He is a professor of linguistics, of course he knows this. But he
continues to allow the word jihad to be thrown around and it falls in line with the medias use of
the word, and now, we live in a world where jihad has come to be known as an attempt to
overthrow western governments. This is a major problem. In order to change the way in which
the world interacts with the so-called Islamic world, (Islam is a world religion and Arab world
would be a more accurate way in which to describe the region in which people mean when they
say Islamic world.) it is important for us as citizens to not allow for our language to mold jihad
into the concept that it has become. This fundamental misunderstanding of a singular word has
shaped our modern world in a one that cannot escape the threat of terrorism. Listening to
Chomsky speak, I was once again reminded as to why we should never underestimate the power
of language.