Tag: Extremism

In case you have had your head in the sand for the last week, Paris was stricken by a horrific series of terrorist attacks on Friday, November 13. The attacks, claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), took a total of 129 lives, including Cal State Long Beach student Nohemi “Mimi” Gonzalez, who was spending a semester abroad at the Strate College of Design.
Six locations in Paris were targeted by the terrorists, including the Bataclan concert hall where the California rock band Eagles of Death Metal were performing, the Stade de France where France and Germany were having a friendly soccer match, and several restaurants where gunmen unloaded round after round upon innocent patrons.
As a response to the attacks, Paris officials raided an apartment Wednesday, November 8, where suspects were believed to be staying, leading to two deaths and eight arrests.
The day after the attacks, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi sent the western world a terrifying message: “Let France—and those who walk in its path—know that they will remain on the top of the list of targets of the Islamic State.” He has warned that these attacks are “the first in a storm.”
These threats, whether empty or not, are terrifying, and will inevitably lead to an intensification of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment, as well as an increased international fear of the Syrian refugees.
The sick irony in hiding behind media-influenced fear of Muslims is perfectly explained by Reading Football Club player Dan Holloway, who tweeted, “To people blaming refugees for attacks in Paris tonight: Do you not realise [sic] these are the people the refugees are trying to run away from…?”
People who instinctually generalize the entire Muslim population of the Middle East as Islamic extremists need to take a step back and realize that these ISIS militants are a miniscule minority; only 0.01% of Muslims in Europe have gone to fight with ISIS.
Responses by countries across the globe are admirable, including Barack Obama’s speech stating that the crisis in France was an attack not just on the French people, but on all of humanity.
However, despite the social media outbursts of #PrayForParis and large public awareness of the attacks, it seems that terrorist attacks in third world countries will continue to go unnoticed.
On Thursday, November 12, the day before the Paris attacks, the streets of Beirut, Lebanon, were struck with a double suicide bombing killing 43 and wounding 200 others. It was the worst outbreak of violence since the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990. The country is devastated, not just by the deaths of its people, but also by the rest of the world’s ignorance.
Because Lebanon neighbors  Syria, the world tends to ignore its crises, assuming constant chaos in Lebanon merely because of its geographic location.
I am not suggesting that the horrors of Paris are unimportant, or do not deserve sympathy and support. I am proud to see all my friends add the Paris Flag Filter to their Facebook profile photo. I just want us all to realize that the Western World is not the only place affected by terrorism; other countries suffer similar attacks on humanity that are ignored by the majority of the world. Eighty percent of all deaths caused by terrorists take place in only five countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Syria.
Tens of thousands of people die this way each year. That is unacceptable; the world has to unite if we wish to fight against the killing of civilians all over the globe.