In an article titled ‘How Religion Can Lead to Violence’, Gary Gutting explains his view on the current state of terrorism in the world. Gutting (2016) elaborates that almost all the recent terror attacks all over the world have received almost the same response from Islamic leaders who have distanced the causes of terrorists from their tolerant religion. Clearly, Gutting is of the position that Islamic teachings have failed to teach Muslims tolerance as Christianity has done to its adherents. After reading the article, I was utterly disappointed in the arguments that Gutting presented in a topic defined by divisive and intolerant opinions. In this regard, I am responding to Gutting and letting him know that his article fails to present the reality on the ground, and enhances the division that has led to increased terrorist attacks in the world today.
Most of those who participate in terror attacks are not strict adherents to the Islamic religion as the world knows it. Most terrorists are not the normal Muslim friends and relatives that one can expect. They rarely read the Koran and the few verses they always cite are actually forced into their heads in their training cells spread across the world (Jones, 2015). Apparently, this is a fact that Gutting ignores in his editorial article, and it is baffling the way he fails to acknowledge this commonplace fact. In fact, the so-called terrorists are thugs and criminals who know nothing about religion, specifically Islam. Their trainers use apocalyptic Islamic rhetoric to corrupt their minds and that alone, never qualifies them to be Muslims. Therefore, Gutting should be in a position to understand the actual face of terrorists by analyzing the evidence that has consistently been published concerning the activities of terrorists.
Gutting has an ethnocentric view on the problem of terrorism, an aspect that makes him fail to realize the reality of the topic. Ruggiero (2006) explains that an ethnocentric view on a topic focuses on just a specific group while avoiding to appreciate the nature of the effects of an issue to the other groups. Additionally, Gutting’s article depicts poverty of aspect because, as Ruggiero (2006), it fails to appreciate the broad perspective on the topic of terrorism. Gutting’s article exhibits the error of irrational appeal because he states the wrong but common belief that Islam is at war with Christianity. Additionally, the article by Gutting displays the error of contradiction in which he explains that Islam fails to enhance tolerance but also states that both Islam and Christianity share the same values.
Gutting plays into the very tune that terrorist organizations have been playing for several years now. Terrorist leaders have always been urging their supporters to attack the members of other religions by convincing them that they are the cause of their problems. In his article, Gutting paints a picture of an Islamic religion that has failed to teach their adherents tolerance and worryingly, he states that Christians have been successful in that aspect. Considering all facts, Muslims are not in a war with Christians or any other religion. In fact, terrorist groups like ISIS have been documented to be attacking all people without considering their religions, an aspect that further Gutting fails to consider by mentioning just Christians as the primary target of terrorist attackers. It is clear that Gutting’s article represents opinions that are largely on the basic facts, as the world knows them.
The real cause of terrorism and the main motivation to violence is not a religion. The root cause of the problem is the apparent failure for leaders to tolerate opinions from diverse groups that due to prevailing circumstances in the modern civilization have to live together. Any argument that brings religion into the concept of terrorism is misleading and is oblivious of the fact that terrorist misconstrue religious facts to their advantage an aspect that leaders should address urgently. The article by Gutting is misleading by bringing religion into the argument about the violence in the world today. Therefore, Gutting should re-study the facts about terrorism and I bet he will find enough clues to inform it that terrorist are not necessarily Muslims and the targets of terrorism are not necessarily Christians.
References
Gutting, G. (2016). How Religion Can Lead to Violence. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/01/opinion/how-religion-can-lead-to-violence.html?ref=international&_r=0
Jones, S. (2015). Don’t Blame Islam for the Paris Terrorist Attacks. TIME.com. Retrieved 2 August 2016, from http://time.com/4117190/paris-attacks-religion/
Ruggiero, V. (2006). Beyond Feelings A Guide to Critical Thinking (9th ed.). New Delhi: McGraw-Hill.
