Let’s Not Talk Politics..!
Let’s Not Talk Politics..!
By Samah Shada
11 September was a turning point for thousands of young people around the world; it made many of them, and not enough of them, aware of the rest of the world because it brought great attention to the massive issue of terrorism. This word was much more known and feared now, especially in the United States. Meanwhile, Iraqis were still isolated from any sort of media that could expose or indicate what was happening at the time, and the falling of Saddam’s regime was not even thought of!.They had no idea what was coming their way. And thus brain-washing took place. As I try to contemplate the source of this political and social concern, I find myself tracing it back to its roots. And through that aching journey I analyse every possible event that led to a chain of unfortunate disasters. Not just where I come from, Iraq, but around the world, terrorism has been a crisis that keeps reoccurring increasingly. And I recognize that it takes more than a practical essay to go about addressing it. When it comes to practical solutions we have to change our way of thinking, rule out the other ways that were unsuccessful over the decades and try to see the problem from every angle. This would of course require us to see ourselves differently by appreciating other nations, communities and the pain they had gone through and build a sense of understanding to their humanity. And so, based on that knowledge. I started to ask questions that led me to address the issue through two important aspects. The first one was religious terrorism, the big threat that continues to be a major political concern to which many other aspects of religion tend to be ignored. We witnessed an example of it in the violent Anti-Christian attacks in India since 1964, but why go far when one of the most recent attacks of religious violence were executed on a religious holiday in Mosul. While the source of the problem is religious, the results can create political tension between different parts of one community. This tension is leading to a state of conflict. Addressing the problem politically hasn’t worked out very well in the past so we need another more effective approach that can take us to a higher level of communication and in order to do that we need to recognize that our reaction, if violent, can only lead to a chain- reaction of hostility. Another important factor that we shouldn’t neglect is the foundation for many of the political parties, religious groups, and even sports! It is the sense of security that any youth in a social organization or community needs and that comes by knowing they’re not alone or that they play an vital role in something bigger. And to a certain extent, it is understandable. But when does that notion cross over to the more violent side that they find themselves charging through a wire fence with an M-16? When my sister was still in Baghdad, working with the New York Times newspaper, she told me about a story they were doing on teenagers aged 11-15 who joined a group called Fityan Janat Adan meaning ‘The Youth of Eden’ forced by recruiters of course who turned out to be their own older cousins, uncles and estranged brothers. It was not very strange for me to hear that since my neighbourhood was one of the surrounding entrances to Al-Sader City, and most of my neighbours, college mates were in the Mahdi Army (also known as Mahdi Militia, an Iraqi paramilitary force created by the Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sader in June 2003). But Family ties and rebellious acts are certainly not the first ideas that cross our minds when we look back at the events of September 11 suicide attacks, of course not. It was a highly coordinated mass murder. But can you imagine what training they had to go through to be convinced of actually dying for that cause? And was it the cause itself or something else that we overlooked? This is when I started to link it back to its source as I remember the news two years ago, the headlines are still in my head: “Iraq Teens Trained As Suicide Bombers” or “Police arrest a 16 year old girl wearing an explosive vest in Baaquba” so I started thinking that what we thought might be the solution is in fact an execution to whatever glue that is left holding whatever society that is left; In order to create an idea of a more neutral youth, opt to be politically opinionated and purposely lethargic, as in not acting without thinking, I had to change my perspective of them and clear my head of any preconceived ideas about them. For them to reach a level of education where they can make a sound judgement of not joining is not just making the decision that this was BAD. They had to be well aware of the far consequences of their action along with somehow a draft of a plan b, an alternative since disobedience is unheard of and is not tolerated. As in my way or the graveyard way, literally. So what do we need, recreate an emotionally dead modern family that has no actual ties let along holding anything sacred without questioning it? Education is a focal point because it is the foundation in any community and it can be aimed at two directions. The first one would be religious education, according to Canon Andrew White, in his research about the establishing of a the premier interfaith organization in Iraq, he argues that the religious interfaith dialogue can be the key to deal with the tension between various religious communities and so he suggests that peacemaking is a mission that needs to be carried out by religious leaders. He explains that empathy and compassion are two important elements in all religions that can have a “religious effective peacemaking”. By establishing more organizations for interfaith dialogues like the Iraqi Institute of Peace, we can reduce violence and also limit the chances of religious terrorism. The second direction would be to raise awareness through a broader education process, one that is not angled at one direction like the one we had and still do today in Iraq but one that presents the options for a free decision to make your own opinion. It can be accomplished not only with expanding the school curriculum to different point of views but also by using media and civil society organizations with youth awareness programs and civil dialogue so that they can use that energy to have an active, more objective role in their society. I have been enrolled in one of those associations and it had an effective part of changing how I perceive conflict resolution and peace building as two important concepts that can serve as tools that the next generation could use to contribute to building a society based on passion and love for country and yet knowledge and tolerance at the same time.
2 July 2010
Date: July 18, 2010