[Opinion] Terrorism in Russia

It is now clear that Islamic organizations have assisted the Chechen rebels responsible for the recent hostage crisis in Russia. Unlike their Christian Russian counterparts, Chechens, known to follow the ways of Islam, have religious ties with Islamic terrorist groups. Most of us, when asked to picture the conditions in an Islamic country, picture poverty, terrorism, and chaos. However, starting with the revelation of Islam from the 7th century to the 17th century, the most prosperous and rich areas of the world were part of the Islamic empire. Their strong military power controlled trade and provided the foundation for science and the arts to flourish.

To them, Westerners were uncivilized groups of people living in distant lands to the far west. However in the age of science during the 19th and 20th centuries, the West began to take the initiative in global affairs while the Islamic empire rapidly deteriorated. After two centuries, Islam is slowly starting to revive by self-consciously trying to tackle the problem. Islamic intellectuals have pointed out a chronic problem of Islam, which is its tendency to “put off their own responsibilities while blaming others for their problems.” The Islamic world has deteriorated while blaming European imperialism or American hegemony as the reasons behind the problem, rather than trying to identify problems within their own societies.

Although one cannot fully ignore the part of external influences in these problems, blaming others is undoubtedly the easiest way to rationalize the situation and at the same time evade responsibilities. Acts of terror perpetuated by Islam represent its anger and hatred targeted at foreign enemies. The problem is that this can never be a fundamental solution. Even though the Chechen rebels have the obligatory duty to fight for independence and liberate themselves, prolonged terrorist activities will only bring more pain and suffering to innocent citizens.

The inhumanity of terrorism is apparent in the fact that it causes permanent pain and suffering to its victims, even after the act of terror has been terminated.

The medical term “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” has become a familiar diagnosis. The disorder causes the victim or friends and family of the victim to experience nightmares and hallucinations lasting almost indefinitely. A glaring example is that the students who have been held hostage in the recent hostage crisis are already showing signs of instability and fear.

Under the current circumstances, in which Islam is directly related to most terrorist activities, Islamic states must stop terrorist activity if Islam wishes to emerge successfully in international society. To do so, a global cooperative effort is mandatory.

Hong Chank-sik, Editorial writer, chansik@donga.com