Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and Pan-Islamic Terrorism

¶ … Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Pan-Islamic terrorism in the Middle East and beyond.

The foundations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict run deep and are very multi-causal, but in general the conflict is utilized as fodder for extremist teachings that can lead to terrorism. In general Israel is seen as a western power, that is contrary to Islamic values and the actions of the western powers, as well as Israel have led to an increased sense of us against them mentalities. In general the situation in Israel and the occupied territories feeds ideology through the extreme militaristic nature of the culture as well as the overt and covert oppression of what many consider the indigenous population, being the Palestinians. Each side claims some right to historical physical control of the region and the Palestinians, being the underdog express much hatred toward Western powers, and especially America for what it sees as blind support of the Israel right to settle and in some cases exploit the land and its peoples. The support of Israel, in a sense as a response to the inaction of many on the part of the Jews during WWII is in many ways seen as appropriate reparations and yet in supporting the Israeli agenda the Western powers are allowing and even advocating the suppression of the Palestinians, which for some extremists translates to an overt attack of Islam and the Islamic way of life. Though the history of the conflict in the region runs much deeper than WWII the modern actions of the Western Powers and Israel are frequently called upon by terrorists to expound on why the nations of Islam should band together and rise up against the Western states, with additional emphasis on the ideals of the historical conflicts. The conflict is then fed by these ideas and observations of conditions and situations of racism and religious and ethnic discrimination as well as general variances in the living conditions of the Palestinians as apposed to Israelis, is utilized as an overt example of the foundations of terrorism, and the need to strike down those who seek to oppress and control Islam. (Preble, 2004, p. 20)

2. Make a case for a link between Western foreign policy and the proliferation of terrorism worldwide.

Western foreign policy, is often fixated on the democratization of nations, through military as well as economic means. The idea of democratization in many non-western nations is equated with dominance, colonialism and suppression of the traditional forms of government as well as faith. The U.S. In particular has played a dominant role in attempting to openly spread its forms of both government and economy, namely capitalism which often results in extreme social and moral changes that can be seen by many as offensive and unreflective of the traditional manner in which peoples of other nations live their lives, govern their peoples and trade goods. Terrorism is directly linked to Western foreign policy as Western foreign policy is seen as an invasion of traditional ways of life, especially for Islam, and transitional periods where highly structured societies transform themselves into "democratic" and "capitalist" societies often strikes fear in fundamentalist thinkers. These fundamentalist thinkers then teach these disparities to followers, who can and often do attempt to elicit change through acts of terrorism. Terrorism grows out of misinformation and exaggeration but the fundamental ideas of it are correct, the democratization and capitalization of other nations often leads to a transitional breakdown of systems that have been in place and respected for centuries, regardless of their effectiveness. Immorality, as these transitions are often reflective of, by fundamental and even moderate Islamic standards is often seen as a symptom of Western proliferation and the deliberate destruction of Islam, by Western foreign nations. It would seem from an outside point-of-view that Western foreign policy tends to ignore indigenous traditions that are not a part of the democratic and capitalist agenda, further feeding the problem or ideological difference. (Preble, 2004, p. 7)

3. Terrorist organizations are quickly adapting to advances in mass media and Web technology. Explain how groups like Al Qaeda exploit this new technology to spread their message.