The more I see, the more I am coming to believe that our only hope/defense against terrorism is to increase our own education and understanding of the world we live in.
Yes there are passages in the Koran and the Bible that can be interpreted to advocate violence. In fact there are likely passages in all religious texts that advocate violence of one kind or another against those who don't agree with the dogma. Throughout the centuries violence against human beings has been carried out in the name of god. The Catholic Inquisition of the Middle Ages is one outstanding example.
Scholar Philip Jenkins, a professor at Penn State University, points out in an article titled "Dark Passages" that appeared a few years ago in Boston.com: "Most Westerners who have never even opened the Koran assume that it is filled with calls for militarism and murder. They assume those are the texts that shape Islam. But they are wrong." Professor Jenkins even suggest the Bible contains more passages urging or praising bloodshed than the Koran.
The Biblical story of Phinehas (Numbers 25: 1-15) was the basis for the foundation of a white supremacist group. in 1990, Richard Kelly Hoskins used the story as the basis for his manifesto "Vigilantes of Christendom." Hoskins advocated the creation of a new order of militant white supremacists, the Phineas Priesthood, and since then a number of groups have assumed this title, claiming Phinehas as the justification for terrorist attacks on mixed-race couples and abortion clinics.
The point here being: Just because an individual quotes from an ancient religious text as being the basis for the formation of an extremist group, it does not follow that the 2 billion Christians on the planet have his back. It is just as absurd to assume that 1.57 billion Muslims approve of ISIS and their interpretation of the Koran. Those who know even a little about ISIS know this is true because ISIS is sworn to kill 200 million Shia Muslims because the Shia don't follow the ISIS fundamentalist interpretation of the Koran. Therefore it is fairly safe to say that at least 200 million Muslims are opposed to ISIS.
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Terrorists Are Made--Not Born.
Not all, but many jihadists such as the 9/11 are highly educated. It seems to me that what is emerging from the literature on the topic is that given a certain set of circumstances certain people are vulnerable to being recruited as terrorists, just as certain people, given certain circumstances, are vulnerable to being recruited by a cult--regardless how well they are educated. Most of the terrorists are young males between the ages of 20 and 30 years. Some are well-educated and some are not. According to British Arnold Toynbee, contact with the dominant universal society is always the first step in the radicalization of Third World terrorists. He even has defined the path:
1. Intrusive civilization (Western Society) 2. Intelligentsia (Expatriate Liaison Class) 3. Alienation, humiliation loss of identity 4. Voluntary sorting of Affinity Groups 5. Concentration of True Believers 6. Information Depravation 7. Radicalization 8. Terrorism. Toynbee's steps for the making of a terrorist seem to make sense to me--whether the terrorist is born in the USA or not. It also seems to be that at least through the first four steps that successful intervention would be possible.
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We each must make our own important decisions.
Albert Einstein put it well when he said: The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe." Do we choose to believe that we live in a world filled mostly with hate and anger and hostility where people are out to do us harm; or do we choose to believe that we live in a world filled mostly with love and caring? The choice we make will most certainly color the quality of our lives, our health and our happiness and also to some extent that of the people around us.
I choose to believe that I live in a friendly universe. I choose to believe that more people are out to help me than to attack me. That is my choice.
I choose to believe that of the 1.57 billion Muslims and the 2 billion Christians in the world that most of them are more like me than not. They are good people with honorable intentions. I choose to believe that the majority of them want all the same basic things from life that I desire--honorable work, a place to live that is safe for me and my family, and the chance to live a healthy, productive, fruitful life.
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A Good Starting Point Might be to Stop Blaming Billions of People for the Insanity of a Few
Religion can be used as a tool by some to twist others into committing acts of terrorism. All organized religions down through the centuries have been used by those in control to manipulate others. The Christian religion and the words of the Bible have also throughout the centuries been used as an excuse for murder and mayhem. It makes no more sense to blame the Islamic faith for a terrorist event that it does to blame Christianity for the likes of Richard Kelly Hoskins or Jim David Adkisson or Paul Jennings Hill or Eric Rudolph or James Charles Kopp or Fred Phelps or John Salvi to name a few. In fact, all organized religion has throughout history been used as an excuse for hate and murder.
The Islamic faith is no different. All religions of the world share that stage. History tells us that Islam is no worse or better in that regard.