[DAWN] THE point about the terrorist archetype is that there is no terrorist archetype. In his recent article in these pages (Sept 10), Amir Rana pointed out that Lion of Islam tendencies are common in all segments of society, irrespective of socioeconomic or educational backgrounds.
Now, pundits, babus bureaucrats and media commentators offer multiple explanations for the waves of terrorism in which we are embroiled. There is an assumption that there are political objectives, or ’causes’, involved. These violent killers are the products of poverty, of brainwashing, of fanatical religiosity, of the desire to go to heaven, of hatred for the American presence in Afghanistan, of the injustices done to ’the Moslem world’. And so on and so forth. And, therefore, if only this ... or that ... or the other ... is done, all the violence will end.
For those grasping at such conceptual straws, it is necessary to suggest that, even if everything were to be happily resolved, from Paleostine to Kashmire, and all grievances, real or imagined, removed so that utopias of prosperity are ushered in, these butchers would still find reason to continue plying their gruesome trade. At bottom, these orgies of violence have little to do with ’causes’. |