we need to fight extremist ideologies and racial and religious hate -- they are the starting point of every terrorist. --- the abrahamics create all sorts of evil.
On Saturday, September 10, 2016 at 8:15:44 AM UTC-5, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > > *An Inherited Culture of Hate* > > > *by Tharwa Boulifi > <https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/author/Tharwa+Boulifi>September 9, 2016 > at 5:00 am* > > *https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8770/tunisia-culture-hate > <https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/8770/tunisia-culture-hate>* > > "I hate Christians and Jews. I don't know why. I don't have any apparent > reason to hate them but I always hear my mom talking badly about them. She > hates them too, and this is why I hate them, I guess. Mom has always told > me that Muslims are Allah's favorite people," — F., a 15-year-old Tunisian > girl. > > - "They said that non-Muslims deserve to die; we should have no pity > for them. They will burn in hell, anyway." — M., a 16-year-old Tunisian > boy. > - People who do not read tend to fear things they do not know, and > this fear can turn into suspicion, aggression and hate. These people need > to fill the void, to remove the discomfort, so they turn to terrorism to > create a goal in their lives: defending Islam. > - As most Tunisians do not read, they watch TV a lot. "After watching > 'The Sultan's Harem,' I wanted to be one of the Sultan's concubines, to > live in the Ottoman Empire era; I wanted to be like them," said S., a > 14-year-old Tunisian girl. > > A Pew Research Center report, published in 2013, entitled, "The World's > Muslims, Religion, Politics and Society > <http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-overview/>," > > explored attitudes and opinions of Muslims around the world regarding > religion and its impact on politics, ethics and science. > > A sample of 1450 Tunisian Muslims from all the 24 governorates of Tunisia > were interviewed between November and December 2011. According to the > study, 50% of Tunisians consider themselves living a conflict between their > religion and the modern world. According to the report, 32% of Tunisians > consider divorce unethical -- the highest rate in the Arab and Muslim world > -- compared to 8% in Egypt, 6% in Lebanon and 3% in Jordan. Although 46% > respondents said that religion is compatible with the modern world, the > study indicated that the Tunisian population is more prone to advocate > individual choice -- with 89% favoring -- in wearing the *niqab* > (face-veil). > > Similarly, based on the United Nations report and research from the > Quilliam Foundation in 2014, Tunisian terrorists > <http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/11/tunisian-jihadis-profile-fighting-syria.html> > > represent the highest number (3,800) > <http://www.tunisie-secret.com/Les-Tunisiens-representent-le-plus-grand-nombre-de-terroristes-en-Syrie-et-en-Irak_a1174.html> > > of foreign terrorists in Syria and Iraq. Syrian authorities also confirmed > that the number of Tunisian terrorists is more than 10,000, out of a total > of 48,000 terrorists in Syrian territory. > > What are the main reasons for Tunisia's high rate of terrorism? > > Religions in general are double-edged: they contribute to solving many > social problems and help to establish security and safety, due to the > ethical laws they impose. It is expected that the majority of people will > not commit crimes because they fear God and his punishment. Religion can > also represent psychological security and stability for some people who > need to be reassured by believing that an unlimited strength of goodness is > watching over them. > > On the other hand, many people have misinterpreted religion -- sometimes > deliberately, sometimes not -- often creating conflicts between different > ethnicities and religions, such as the conflict between the Jews and the > Muslims. Religion, therefore, has also been used to incite violence, hate > and wars -- just as ISIS, a *salafi* jihadist group that is recruiting > more and more soldiers all over the world, has been doing. > > The majority of jihadists are indoctrinated from their earliest childhood > by television programs. For example, Spacetoon, an Arab children's program, > created a fictional female character named Fulla. The program usually shows > Fulla as a pious person, praying and wearing a hijab -- an image that > influences a lot of children. Y., a 15-year-old girl, explained: > > "When I was younger, about seven or eight years old, I used to watch Fulla > and ask my mom to wear hijab like her, since I thought this is how a woman > is supposed to dress. I also tried to wear hijab several times and asked my > mom to let me wear it." > > Kindergartens also play a major role in influencing children. > > "In kindergarten, the teachers used to tell us about how we will be > punished after our death, how we will burn in hell if we behave badly. I > was so frightened hearing these stories that I imagined terrible scenes in > my head", said T., a 15-year-old boy. > > Schools in Tunisia teach compulsory religious education beginning in the > first grade, to help children discover and understand their religion's > fundamentals. > > "I used to cheat on the religious education's exams that come at the end > of each term," said E., a 15-year-old girl. > > "I wasn't doing it because I was lazy, but because we had only an hour > each term to study theology in class, with a teacher who gave us a long > *surat* [section from the Quran] and some *ahadith* quotes from the > prophet to learn. We did not understand anything in class; some of us would > just learn it by heart without understanding the meaning. Others just > cheated because they couldn't learn something they didn't understand. The > problem is, school did not give us the opportunity to discover other > religions, since Jews and Christians are considered for most of Muslims as > *kuffar* [infidels]." > > This inherited culture of hate towards other religions has created an > extremist way of thinking and a feeling of superiority. > > "I hate Christians and Jews. I don't know why. I don't have any apparent > reason to hate them but I always hear my mom talking badly about them. She > hates them too, and this is why I hate them, I guess. Mom has always told > me that Muslims are Allah's favorite people," said F., a 15-year-old girl. > > "After the Nice attack, I had some friends on social media expressing > their disapproval of people who empathized with the victims. They said that > non-Muslims deserve to die; we should have no pity for them. They will burn > in hell, anyway," said M., a 16-year-old boy. > > This extremist way of thinking is bolstered by the fact that 80% of > Tunisians do not read books, according to a study > <http://www.businessnews.com.tn/80-de-tunisiens-ne-lisent-pas-de-livres,519,54861,3> > > conducted in March 2015. People who do not read are living in an emotional > void: they tend to fear things they do not know, and this fear can turn > into suspicion, aggression and hate. These people need to fill the void, to > remove the discomfort, so they turn to terrorism to create a goal in their > lives: defending Islam. > > "I know this Tunisian boy who lives in Saudi Arabia with his parents, and > who comes to Tunisia to spend the holidays, in my neighborhood", said R., a > 14 year-old-girl. > > "He was a normal 15-year-old teenager, and he used to play football with > my brother and his friends. Recently, they all noticed the boy isolated > himself and started to read books on faith and Islam. One day, he came to > my brother and his friends and told them to stop playing football; it was > *haram* [forbidden]. Soon after, he was seen in the neighborhood, walking > in the darkness and reading the Quran." > > As most Tunisians do not read, they watch TV a lot. "Hareem Al Sultan" > ("The Sultan's Harem"), a Turkish TV series, is popular in Tunisia. The > series shows how the attractive concubines try to seduce the Sultan by > dancing, singing, and being obedient and submissive -- all of which can > encourage girls to join the *jihad al-nikah* ("sexual jihad > <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-24448933>"), by which girls provide > sex to jihadists. > > "After watching Hareem Al Sultan, I wanted to be one of the Sultan's > concubines, to live in the Ottoman Empire era; I wanted to be like them," > said S., a 14-year-old girl. > > [image: Description: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/pics/1853.jpg] > > "The Sultan's Harem", a Turkish TV series popular in Tunisia, shows > attractive concubines trying to seduce the Sultan by dancing, singing, and > being obedient and submissive -- all of which can encourage girls to join > the "sexual jihad", by which girls provide sex to jihadists. > > All of these factors contribute indirectly to forming an extremist and a > terrorist way of thinking. We always think that it is in Iraq or in Syria > that we should fight terrorism. But the battleground is in schools, in > homes, on TV and on social media. It is there that we need to fight > extremist ideologies and racial and religious hate -- they are the starting > point of every terrorist. > > *Tharwa Boulifi, aged 15, lives in Tunisia.* > > > > > ------------------------------ > [image: Avast logo] <https://www.avast.com/antivirus> > > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/antivirus> > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected] <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmNGFpaDdqBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NzM0NTkyMDU-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! 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