Extremism: The Destruction Of American Way Of Life

The United States of America has experienced terrorism in many forms over the years. From domestic terrorism in the 1920s (the Palmer Raids and Wall Street Bombing) to international and domestic terrorism in the 2010s (Najbullah Zazi, Cleveland Bridge Plot). But on February 26, 1993, the threat of terrorism took a significant leap when the garage underneath the World Trade Center was bombed.

When discussing terrorism, the groups which most frequently come to mind are those which operate either internationally or specifically in foreign countries, such as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Al Shabab. However, the United States has a number of domestic terror groups some well-organized, some loosely connected that have perpetrated serious attacks over the last few decades. Al-Qaeda's attacks on September 11th, 2001, and the subsequent wars born out of the United States' response to these attacks have meant that domestic terrorism is less widely discussed topic, this does not mean that domestic terrorist groups do not present a serious threat to the United States and its citizens. By examining known terrorist organizations within the United States and their classifications, it will be possible to demonstrate how and why the country has seen a rise in domestic terror over the last three decades, as well as some possible government responses to these groups that could help to prevent individuals from joining in the first place.

My understanding of extremism is that it’s a term used to describe the actions or ideologies of individuals or groups outside the perceived political center of a society; or otherwise claimed to violate common moral standards. In democratic societies, individuals or groups which advocate that democracy should be replaced with some kind of authoritarian regime are usually branded extremists.

Counter-terrorism expert Steve Emerson, senior advisor to the RAND Corporation Brian Jenkins, Ryan Mauro and the Clarion Project have documented and exposed the reality of radical Islam in the United States. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1, English Standard Version). Since the attacks on 9/11, the American public has settled into a false sense of security while the internet has enabled homegrown radicalization and enlarged the footprint of radical Islam inside the United States. “Many law enforcement officials fear that a new style of jihadist group is appearing, a hybrid of foreign and homegrown terrorists” (White,

Throughout the world, terrorism affects cultures in a myriad of ways. The United States Department of Defense defines terrorism as, “ the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological” (DOD). Terrorism has emerged in the last ten years as one of the most crucial issues governments attempt to tackle. Many movies and documents can help people better understand the major strain of terrorism. As seen by the effects of the September eleventh attacks on American security, tourism and economy, the Taliban, and Somali piracy, terrorism has had an utmost impact on the world.

Radical Islamists are activists whose main goal is to form an international group of Islamic believers. They are determined to form this group in whatever way they can, even using violence and having mass killings. The United States of America allows them to be radical because of their needs such as, oil. They take teachings from the Qur’an and radicalize them into violence and harsh beliefs, however, the majority of Muslims do not believe in most all of the ways of radical Islamists.

In 1999 there was said to be a huge increase that focused on the terrorism in the United States (fbi.gov). Even though this focus was on terrorism in general, it was mainly focused on the domestic terrorist. Eight of the ten terrorist incidents were those domestic terrorisms that year in the United States. There were seven plots that were prevented by law enforcers this year and in 1998 there were twelve. The seven that occurred in 1999 were because of the Animal Liberation Front also known as ALF. All of these led to financial damages that ended up being more than three million dollars (fbi.gov).

The most recent presidential race associated the most dangerous fear and entity to the United States is ISIS, which is a radical Islamist extremist group that models their actions closely with Sharia Law. ISIS mainly consists of terrorists that are willing to do anything to destroy more prominent Western civilization. ISIS is the terrorist group of this current generation; however, they were not the first terrorist group in this region. Terrorist groups started as a result of Arab nations lack of ability to militarily confront Israel during the 1960s. The Palestinian secular movements such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Al Fatah began to target civilians that were not associated within the immediate arena of conflict.

Any policy concerning homegrown radicalization needs to be consistent with America’s unique set of constitutional, political, and social laws. The search for policies and solutions concerning domestic radicalization and terrorism has been ongoing for nearly two decades. Constitutional freedom to express radical or extremist views creates unintended consequences in homeland security policies. One policy passed into law weeks after 9/11 was the 2001 Patriot Act. Policy makers believed that the act would be use to break barriers created between terrorist and counterterrorism, and law enforcement provisions. However, it created several unintended consequences.

Imagine being hated for your skin color or the way you worship God. Imagine that you live in a world where people persecute you for a crime that you did not commit. For many people, a life that we cannot even begin to fathom is their reality. Millions of believers of Islam and people of Middle Eastern origin are unjustly stereotyped, harassed, and killed over the belief that they are evil. Innocent men, women, and children are held to this type of prejudice in the United States for their faith being wrongly used by extremists. In America, we pride ourselves on being the “Land of Opportunity”, yet many Muslim-Americans are denied that very thing. The subliminal racism that we have towards Muslims because of these radicals prevents us from moving forward as a nation and as human beings. America’s embrace of Islamophobia is more prominent than ever and we need to stop it now.

To Bakar 's point, public figures, such as President-elect Donald Trump, through fear inciting speech, has created a social "us" versus "them" social binary. His call to ban all Muslims is not only distasteful, but he makes an ignorant, un-presidential blanket statement that harms the global perception of Muslim Americans. Last year, it was recorded that 78 mosques had been attacked and 2016 is on track to reach these number of attacks. As a direct result of the recent election, there has inevitably been an increase in anti-Muslim rhetoric and one can only assume that the projection of hate crimes committed against Muslim Americans will continue to rise. People of color are regularly targeted victims of Islamophobic rhetoric—not by these "terrorists"—but instead by those who perpetuate and act on white supremacist misconceptions. These racist groups dehumanize Muslim-Americans for "looking like terrorist" (as if terrorism can be personified) and are wrongly scrutinized based on mere appearance. Even as participants of western democracy, Muslim-Americans often question their role as citizens in a society that has cast them as the "feared other."

I think the one and only reason why there is extreme Islamism is because when it was a bad time for the economy the Government promised many things about having a better live with more jobs and more opportunities. But because that didn’t happen the people made up a group to fight against the Government. The reason young British Muslims join ISIS, Cameron claimed, is ideological. It is an Islamist extremist ideology. One that says the West is bad and democracy is wrong, that women are inferior, that homosexuality is evil. It says religious doctrine trumps the rule of law and the Caliphate trumps nation state, and it justifies violence in asserting itself and achieving its aims. So I think that the West didn’t really change anything from the

Terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. Discrimination is defined as the unjust treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex. In the United States government system, terrorism and discrimination are two words that meet hand in hand. This technique used by our government is not only morally wrong but also unconstitutional. Terrorist are not defined to one race or nationality, they are seen in every race, color, and culture. Which makes terrorism a vital problem that needs to be dealt with correctly for this country’s National safety.

America is a country that is home to millions of immigrants. In fact, our country was built on the back and labor of immigrants. Our founding fathers established a constitution that allows an immigrant to practice his or her religion without government interference. They were not written as a mere formality to get people to come here. It was established because our founding fathers wanted to establish a government that was for the people, and by the people.

Secularism as an belief can contain religion and allow the division of the state and the religious institution. However, it cannot overcome religious extremism. Religious extremism refers to a different ideology that is a mix of the CIA blowback and a fear of extermination by radicals who pay back with violence. Extremism has various different forms and can not only be only attributed as a characteristic of religion. Even though terrorism is responsible for fewer deaths than other causes of death such as gun violence in the US or road accidents, religious extremism has been exaggerated and presented more alarmingly in the world than it should have been. A report in 2005, showed statistics that proved that the number of deaths from car crashes