Terrorism: The time for action is now
After another heartbreaking terrorist attack in Europe, this time in the heart of London, it is time to pull our heads out of the sand and face the very grim reality that this is not going to end. This is 2017 and we live in a much darker world than previous generations, yes in the past we saw some horrific wars but at least we knew who the enemy was and usually got warnings of incoming bombing raids. Now we walk the streets and anyone we pass could be about to launch a full-scale terrorist attack, that is the reality of the world we live in now.
We are forced to live in a vigilant state, with our fight or flight response activated at the slightest loud noise on a busy city street, a fear that we shouldn’t have to endure. Of course the do-gooder’s will pull out the statistics of just how likely you are to die from a terrorist related incident compared to let’s say a car accident and yes we still are more likely to die from things like car accidents then becoming the victim of a terrorist incident, but that doesn’t make the fear any less real. This is just as much psychological warfare as it is real physical attacks.
When we are constantly bombarded with images across the world of families going about their lives and doing things that bring enjoyment to our lives, like those in the Bataclan Theatre in Paris, who one moment were enjoying a band, dancing and singing away, and the next minute brutally murdered; or the people enjoying a night out at the pulse night club, one moment having a drink with friends, then the next panic erupts as gunshots interrupt the night and death and destruction reigns; or how about all the families celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, a night full of smiles and entertainment suddenly interrupted by a roaring truck ploughing through families like they were just rag dolls; or simply excitedly waiting at an airport to greet a loved one returning from an overseas trip, before terror strikes and tears your life apart like we saw in multiple airports including Brussels. This is the reality of 2017 and there is one common denominator in every attack, which is that they are carried out by those who follow the Quran and believe they are acting out the commands of their prophet Mohammad.
But despite attack after attack, despite the fear that is being created and the horrific images that fill our TV screens on an increasingly regular basis, our governments fail to act. A political war is being waged between those who want to separate the terrorist from the religion and refer to them as “Lone Wolves” and actively promote Islam as peaceful, loving and not a threat, but the reality is that there are those within the religion that wish to bring chaos and destruction across the world. We have whole nations in chaos across the Middle East as Muslims who act out the extreme instructions of the Quran run riot waging war and barbarically killing en masse. At what stage do we stop and say that we can no longer accept the barbaric nature of Islam? Yes we all know that there are many Muslims who don’t subscribe to the more extreme passages of the Quran, yes we know they are not all out to kill us, but does it matter anymore? Does the pain and suffering that the extreme ones are inflicting not matter because we dare not offend any Muslims? Are the lives of non-Muslims that irrelevant?
It is time for the political right and left to unite in each and every nation, to find common ground to actually start to send a message that we will not tolerate this terror. Yes we understand that the do-gooder’s want to protect the average Muslim, but sorry enough is enough. We understand that the more socialist politicians will never accept the calls by politicians like Pauline Hanson and Donald Trump to ban Muslims and we understand that the majority of citizens in the world have trouble accepting this as the only reality, but failure to accept these policies should not mean we tolerate the intolerable.
There are things that can be done, that have to be done to start to address the radical aspects of Islam. All politicians need to agree on these actions and all civilians must stand united behind these actions. These policies need to be implemented in every nation across the globe, and we need to show the world that religion is not a get out of jail free card, religious freedoms should not include society having to accept the intolerable and being forced to live in fear. The time is now, for us to unite and send a clear message to all Muslims that we will not tolerate the intolerable anymore.
The below actions need to be addressed immediately
1. All mosques to be monitored for hate speech and intolerable teachings, any imam preaching hate; or any supporting, promoting or calling for attacks on non-believers should be charged immediately and imprisoned. Mosques that continue to promote this hate speech after previous imams have been charged shall be closed for good.
2. All Islamic schools will need to adhere to strict curriculums supplied by the relevant countries education departments with constant checks done, if any teacher is found to be teaching, preaching, promoting or supporting attacks on non-believers they will be charged and imprisoned and forever be banned from teaching again. Schools that continue to promote this hate speech will be closed.
3. Any Muslim inciting violence online must be charged and imprisoned immediately.
4. Any Muslim traveling to active ISIS war zones shall not be permitted entry back into their nation including if they were born in that nation, these people have shown their true colors and deserve to die alongside the rest of the extremist fighting throughout the Middle East.
5. The Burqa must be banned, it is a sign of extreme religious ideology and nowhere in the Quran is it even mentioned. The Quran advises women to dress modestly, not to cover their faces. For security purposes this cannot be tolerated and to send a clear message that extremism cannot be tolerated under the guise of religious freedom, then this must be implemented worldwide. Remember that even some Muslim nations have banned it, the West must follow.
6. We must address Halal certification worldwide, this does not mean we ban it. We know the do-gooder’s won’t accept that, but we must address the very real possibility that the funds collected are getting in the wrong hands. The simple answer is to regulate it at a government level, with minimum fees charged, enough to cover the costs of the government organisation overseeing the certification.
7. Extreme vetting of all Muslim immigrants must be done by all nations, it is essential that our leaders ensure that they have checked every immigrant coming into our countries to ensure they do not harbor extreme views.
The above list of actions won’t stop terrorism, but it will reduce it. It will send a very clear message that whilst we respect religious freedoms we will never ever accept extremism and we will come down on it with an iron fist.