New research suggests political freedom and geographic factors contribute significantly to causes of terrorism, challenging the common view that terrorism is rooted in poverty.
“There is no significant relationship between a country’s wealth and level of terrorism once other factors like the country’s level of political freedom are taken into account,” says Alberto Abadie, public policy professor at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Abadie’s review of the World Market Research Centre’s Global Terrorism Index found no clear correlation between terrorism and poverty. Abadie’s research was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The finding comes despite several international meetings designed to address issues of terrorism and poverty. For example, in March 2002, leaders from more than 50 nations met at a development summit in Monterrey, Mexico to call for more aid to poor countries to help eliminate extreme poverty as a motivation for terrorism.
Michael K. Moore, then the head of the World Trade Organization, reportedly told delegates, “Poverty in all its forms is the greatest single threat to peace, security, democracy, human rights and the environment.”
But Abadie says the big takeaway from his study for policymakers is that although development aid is important, it is not clear that it is an effective tool for reducing terrorism, at least not in the short-run. He says more attention should be paid to political freedom because it “correlates with terrorism, but in a complicated way.”
“Nations with very high or very low levels of political freedom tend to experience little terrorism,” says Abadie. He points to North Korea as an authoritarian country with a low level of terrorism. He speculates that the repressive tactics used to eliminate political dissent may help keep terrorism at bay.
On the other hand, nations similar to Iraq with intermediate levels of political freedom, or that are transitioning from high to low or low to high levels of political freedom produce conditions more favorable for terrorism.
Abadie couldn’t say whether recent U.S. actions in Iraq would eliminate terrorism in the long run as that country transitions to a new government with presumably more political freedom.
“It’s not clear,” he says. “It’s true that countries with higher levels of political freedom tend to have lower levels of terrorism. However, actively intervening from the outside to increase the level of political freedom in a society may have unforeseeable consequences.”
“People say ‘poverty breeds terrorism’ and that seems obvious, but when one looks at the data, it has to be questioned if it’s really true,” says Nancy Lutz, economics program director at NSF. “In fact, the data tell us that there’s no link between poverty and terrorism, which suggests that attempts to reduce terrorism by fighting poverty will not work.”
Abadie makes the point by underscoring conditions in his native Basque Country of Spain, which has endured terrorism for almost half a century as groups persistently generate violence as a way to promote Basque independence. The Basque Country is one of Spain’s richest regions.
“While we may not be able to fight terrorism by fighting poverty, we do have a strong economic incentive for fighting terrorism,” says Lutz, pointing out the widespread consequences of terrorist acts. “Even though the physical damage from a terrorist attack is usually confined to a small area, we can see much larger effects in the whole economy,” she says.
Chicago is an example. While no one was injured in the city on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., those events severely affected real estate markets in Chicago. A separate NSF-funded analysis of the area by Abadie and Sofia Dermisi of Roosevelt University in Chicago showed the attacks created a large increase in the perception of terrorist risk in Chicago’s central business district and changed decisions about where high-end office tenants wanted to locate.
Abadie and Dermisi looked at three of the most distinctively tall buildings in Chicago, as well as other nearby commercial buildings and found the attacks caused a significant increase in their vacancy rates. The high vacancy rates persisted through mid-2006, the end of the study period.
“If I were a Chicago alderman,” says Lutz, “I might argue from this study that zoning approval for additional extremely tall buildings is a bad idea on economic grounds.”
In his research, Abadie found more than 1,700 terrorist acts occurring in 2003, as reported by the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism were domestic incidents, where both the terrorists and their victims lived in the same country. Additionally, the database registered only 240 international terrorist acts in that year.
Abadie also found evidence that terrorist activities are more common in areas with certain geographic characteristics. Areas difficult to access like Colombia’s tropical jungles or mountainous terrain like that in Afghanistan may offer safe haven to terrorist groups.
Such areas may facilitate training, and provide funding through other illegal activities, like the production and trafficking of drugs such as cocaine and opiates.
While we are taking on the topic of Rich terrorist, poor terrorist | Science Blog, Whether you are having trouble financially or you just want to earn some extra money on the side, there is always a way for you to make that money without having to bend over backwards to get it.
Being a Muslim i want to argue that whatever the man above claims is ridiculously manipulated..like the perceptions of many being influenced by men like dahl.. the information above is distorted.. if you truely want to learn the teachings of islam..buy the actual Quran from a academic book shop and solve the mystery for yourself instead of being fed by Islam haters who create moral panicks and islamaphobia making each and evry muslim look like an enemy.. those tthat commit violent terrorist acts may be muslims but you DO NOT JUDGE THE RELIGION BY THE PERSON! NOT EVERY PERSON IS PERFECT.. JUDGE ISLAM BY THE RELIGION; IT IS THEE RELIGION THAT IS PERFECT..Hence why it is the fastest growing and has many thousands of reverts….
if you want to name someone a terrorist .. you should try diverting the attention to USA AND THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION!!! THE CAUSE OF THE MILLIONS OF DEATHS GENOCIDES AND WAR CRIMES ACROSS THE WORLD TODAY LAY UNDER THE HANDS OF THE UNITED STATES! THE ZIONISTS!! THAT WANT POWER AND CONTROL OVER THE WORLD.. PEOPLE THINK!!!! JUST USE THAT HEAD AND THINK!! DONT BE FOOLED AND FED BY THE MEDIA PROPAGANDA.. USE YOUR OWN BRAINS!
I have thoroughly studied this.. so go and teach yourself!
Salaam
The WHY??? of Terrorism in Islam – And WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT!
I am an American living in Asia. I am not Moslem, but I am a writer and historian. I would like to share some information with you: information concerning Moslem violence and terrorism, and why the United States and its military allies throughout Europe and Asia must continue to be vigilant, and when appropriate, respond to individual acts of violent Islamic terrorism with relentless, overwhelming, and deadly force.
This information may help you understand what is going on not only in India, Pakistan, and China, as well as other parts of Asia, but also the Middle East, as well as Africa, Europe, and even the United States. In the not too distant future, Moslem extremists hope to involve you and your loved ones, as well as a vast number of other innocent victims in a man-made catastrophe: an organized and violent calamity of biblical proportions that is based on teachings that were added to the Koran, decades after the faith was founded.
Disregarding the social, economic, and political factors that serve as underpinnings for Islamic terrorism, I will address the more fundamental issue: the religious teachings that sanction violence against non-Moslems and AGAINST ALL WOMEN. Here are seven verses from the Koran. These scriptures have been translated into modern English.
…murder, crucify, or cut off the hands and feet of non-Moslems…Chapter 5 Verse 33 – The Koran
…create terror in the hearts of non-Moslems …cut off their heads…Chapter 8 Verse 12 – The Koran
…and fight non-Moslems until Allah’s religion is the only one…Chapter 8 Verse 39 – The Koran
…of all the loot you plunder from non-Moslems, 20% belongs to Allah and to Mohammed. Chapter 8 Verse 41- The Koran (Author’s note: Loot included kidnapped female sex-slaves.)
…Take as many as four wives from the women you are sexually attracted to … Chapter 4 Verse 3 – The Koran
…God has made men superior to women… Virtuous women are obedient. If a woman becomes disobedient, beat her. Chapter 4 Verse 34 – The Koran
…When it comes to marriage, Allah makes it legal for you to take as wives, women whom your right hand possesses. Chapter 33 Verse 50 – The Koran (Author’s note: This verse talks about the “loot†non-Moslems call… kidnapped female sex-slaves.)
Most people in the western world have never heard of these astonishing scriptures, but they are in the Koran … along with a relatively short list of others, just like them. This is important because not all Moslems are the same; there are two very different types. Militant Moslems view these verses as commandments from their god – a primitive desert god, from an ancient land of heat, sand, scorpions, and death. Militant Moslems think these teachings apply to life in the Twenty-first Century and they try to use them, regardless of the suffering and mayhem they create, whereas moderate Moslems ignore such verses because they were uttered a long time ago, when the Arabian peninsula, from whence Islam came, was a wild and savage place.
Historians tell us these terrorist teachings are part of a cluster of ferocious beliefs that were deliberately added to one specific part of the formerly peaceful and tolerant Koran. These startling changes were made, decades after Islam was first founded in the Arabian city of Mecca. By the time of these changes, the original (and real) prophet of Islam was dead. Thereafter the religious headquarters was uprooted and moved to the city of Medina. Islam began changing; under new leadership it turned cruel and predatory.
In fact, historians also tell us Islam didn’t simply fall from the sky as a full-blown religion, but rather evolved from a persecuted sect of Jewish-Christians. The first Moslems in the city of Mecca were actually part of a larger group of Jesus’ followers called the Ebionites.
Ebionites were peace-loving disciples of Christ, who shared their wealth with fellow believers, and taught that a man should marry only one wife.
In fact, women were much more independent in the Ebionite Jewish-Christian days of Islam. They were more influential too. I say this because my research has determined that the first prophet of Islam may have been someone other than Mohammed: I believe the first prophet was a very special Arabian princess named Khadija the Pure. Khadija was Mohammed’s first and only wife for twenty-four years. Khadija was fifteen years older than Mohammed. She was considered to be fabulously wealthy, and she was Mohammed’s employer, before she became his wife.
Mohammed on the other hand, before he became Khadija’s employee, was an impoverished youth who had been raised as an orphan. Ultimately Mohammed worked his way up to a position as Khadija’s business manager. With time, Khadija grew fond of Mohammed. She even married him. However, Khadija was a liberated woman. In fact, Khadija was the one who initiated the marriage proposal to Mohammed! And after their wedding, she never allowed Mohammed to take other wives, or have other women in her house.
Throughout her lifetime, even though Khadija had already converted to Christianity, Mohammed’s first and only wife for twenty-four years remained an important Arabian princess in the ruling family that controlled worship in the Kabba Temple, with it’s pantheon of more than three hundred pagan gods and goddesses. Clearly, in the early days of Islam, Khadija was a person of great influence in Arabian society: and clearly Mohammed, her husband… was not. http://www.TheMoslemInstitute.com
After Khadija’s untimely death from a terrible illness, Islam was hijacked by a cartel of corrupt men, headed by Mohammed himself. The faith was abruptly relocated to the city of Medina and new beliefs were added to the Koran; at the same time, old beliefs were deleted or relegated to unimportance, and the religion was changed beyond recognition. In the end, Islam abandoned many of its Ebionite Jewish-Christian teachings. Women suffered the most: they became the focus of repression, scorn, and violence.
Today, although moderate Moslems are loath to admit these ideas, and many of them are terrified to voice criticism of their militant Islamic brothers, because of fear that violence will come to them and their families, the fact remains that these added teachings are not the original beliefs of Islam; they are amendments: They are the terrorist teachings of Islam.
In the near future, militant Moslems hope to unleash a Jihad: a Moslem holy war upon the non-Moslem world; not only the United States and Western Europe, but also throughout parts of Asia, including India and maybe even China, and Japan. Because the terrorist teachings of Islam sanction treaty breaking, deception, and war, as well as looting, murder, kidnapping, terrorism, and human slavery (including sexual slavery), so long as these crimes are directed against non-Moslems, there is no limit to the things these fanatics can do. But the scariest part: Militant Moslems will do everything… in the name of their primitive desert god.
Once victory is attained in this violent holy war, these fanatics believe Allah will bless them with harems of kidnapped sex slaves taken from destroyed cities and nations, as well as enormous fortunes of loot plundered from the non-Moslem world. They believe this because of the terrorist teachings that were added to the Koran. These terrorist teachings even say ransoms paid to Moslem terrorists, to redeem stolen property (like hijacked oil tankers and cargo ships) as well as kidnapped men, women, and children, are part of the Islamic loot these vicious criminals are entitled to receive.
These same terrorist teachings even allow Moslem men to force their kidnapped female sex slaves to marry them in Moslem wedding ceremonies, and bear children for them: whether the women want to or not. Terrorist Moslem teachings mandate only two requirements: The women must come from Christian or Jewish backgrounds, and secondly, if the unfortunate women resist, these same terrorist teachings say the Moslem husbands must beat them, and imprison them in their own homes.
As an eternal reward for their cruel deeds, if the Moslem fanatics die while committing these crimes against humanity, Islamic extremists believe their fierce desert god will admit them to paradise and bless them with luxurious palaces filled with riches and populated by seventy-two virgin brides, who are exquisitely beautiful, yet modest enough to struggle to control their unbridled lust to have sexual intercourse with a dead Moslem terrorist.
With these stinging indictments against terrorist Islamic doctrines entered into the record, it is important to remember that the majority of Moslems are moderate, decent people, who love God and practice acts of charity and kindness to their neighbors, both Moslem and non-Moslem. Such moderate Moslems recognize these violent teachings as obsolete and out of place in the Twenty-first Century. In the author’s opinion, in spite of enormous cultural and ideological differences that exist between the non-Moslem world and the followers of Islam, it is with this moderate Moslem majority that any long-term resolution to the Islamic terrorism issue will ultimately be negotiated.
However, given the massive population increases taking place in the Moslem world, at a time when poverty, chaos, criminality, and religious fanaticism are burgeoning, the numbers of Moslems worldwide who declare themselves militant is increasing; the influence their growing networks of terror cells exert on Islamic governments throughout the world has reached crisis levels. Because of the terrorist teachings of Islam, modern civilization faces a nightmarish future; the attacks on Mumbai, India, the World Trade Center in New York, and the subway bombings in Spain and London are simply previews of things to come. In this ferocious Jihad, nuclear and biological weapons are almost certain to come into play.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill: The road before us will be long and dangerous and terrifying; the United States and Europe and Asia must be resolute… and take courage. We must work together to neutralize militant Islamic movements… and if necessary… wage war against the governments that sustain them. At the same time, the non-Moslem world must also nurture moderate Islamic states and establish strong alliances with them. The very survival of our civilization, and even mankind itself, depends on it.
Are you are interested in learning more about an array of Islamic topics including:
1. Who are The Seventy-two Virgins of Islam and how did they become part of Moslem dogma?
2. What role did the Ebionites and Khadija the Pure play, in founding the original religion of Islam?
3. What role does militant Islam play in modern human slavery?
Visit The Moslem Institute website: http://www.TheMoslemInstitute.com
Regards,
Dane Dahl
Author and Historian
It’s been a while since I offered a workshop on presenting specialized information, but I usually start with a recommendation for Simple and Direct by Jacques Barzun.
It’s a great book on how to make your points clearly and concisely.
Fred Bortz — Science and technology books for young readers (www.fredbortz.com) and Science book reviews (www.scienceshelf.com)
Aesthetics
A sentence written using plain English may be aesthetically pleasing, even if its style is not complicated and it does not incorporate irrelevance. Everything in the sentence should work towards communicating to the reader what the writer intended. Everything else should be deleted or streamlined. Plain English is efficient but not brutally so. In fact, it is an act of kindness to the reader, sparing them from confusion and from having to read unnecessary words.
A criticism, however, is that the requirement to use a limited vocabulary actually means that what is communicated is not, in fact, what was intended. This is especially the case in times of reducing literacy, and simplified language skills.
Fantastic!
Here’s one more link, but I’m sure you’ll find more as you explore the subject
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_English
BJS ,,,I will give a hard practice,I am more than ,,I ever get this at school even when I was flexible,with IQ,after IQ,,,,they always avoid my demanding help.Now at 33 years old you make me feel like,,,I have some home work,to do.Rudolf Flesh,believe my word,I will study the “”Plain English style of writing uses scientific approaches to creating clear communication”"also I will play as I ,,,with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Flesch
http://www.editcentral.com/gwt/com.editcentral.EC/EC.html
BJS,this is a good way to get my self better.THANK you,will be as an insult,but THANK YOU SO MUCH,and what I was simply saying WAR,and the poor way to WAR,mean nothing for a culture,,,,,who suffer into this ,,,your truly pal,,,phil
Hey Phillipe, these posts don;t read very clearly. You had asked for some direction on how to communicate your thoughts and I have something I’d like you to explore.
There was a linguist, one of my heroes, named Rudolf Flesch, whose Plain English style of writing uses scientific approaches to creating clear communication. It involves counting syllables, number of words per sentence, etc.
I’d like you to read up on this and give it some practice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Flesch
http://www.editcentral.com/gwt/com.editcentral.EC/EC.html
I was in morocco,Algeria,I felt their GOD,I still till I die be a man who as this HONOR.Hissam,hakmad,as you give all for me,,,,I will still say when I eat my fresh sardine,,,ala “Bismillah……..I will speak about the critic I have made,,,regarding your strong culture.I was free and I was dumb.I don;t
terrorist are a horrible way to DESTROY MASSACRE,with the knowledge and the complete understanding as a terrorist you will decide to sacrificed,your KID,your LOVE,your FAMILY,your COUNTRY, EVEN YOUR FUCKING BELIEVE,to as a Human but without BIG WAR TOY,and with all those INHUMAN DILEMMA,you will prefer train a KID to blow is self for your terrorist CAUSE.I am Canadian but I remember the how much I was respecting RUSSIA,cold war…..this was class……..American if I remember WAS AT LEAST a PART OF D-DAY,,,,,,,,,,,yes H bomb ,,,,,,,,yes RWANDA……..yes TCHECHEN,,,,yes LEBANON ,,,,,,,,,but not in my way of JUSTICE a terrorist will deserved a merit ,,,,,but it is not all terrorist,,,,,,,,will belong to the meaning.If I have to chose ,,,10 tank,2 Helli,and 50 soldier,,or 20
terrorist,,,very piss ,,I am scare to say I do not know?They are scary,,,,and need more that ,,,,we ever get,,,,,but it feel like SATAN,,,I don”t believe but I will feel terrorist and SATAN are the same and need,,,,,,To END.
Is Spain rich or poor. you never said. and this dont help so take it down