Naomi Shihab Nye Analysis

A terrorist attack is one of the most frightening things that one can encounter. They are unpredictable, random, senseless, and devastating. One of the largest and most well known acts of terrorism was the attack on the twin towers on September 11, 2001. During the attack close to 3,000 people were killed (September 11) and the nation of America was left in complete and utter fear. The laws and regulations passed as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have been helpful to American society because of new safety precautions, assurance that nothing of that magnitude would ever occur again, and an overall increase of safety for American citizens.

In the 12 years since the terrorist attacks on the world trade towers in New York city, thousands of hours of research and interviews has been conducted, scores of books have been written, and countless documentaries and films have been produced in an effort to help us understand how and why terrorists were able to carry out the massacre of nearly 3500 people. Despite the plethora of religious and nonreligious beliefs represented by the friends and family of those who died, one universal belief binds them all: the belief that an unspeakable act of cruelty has changed our nation and our people for all time. The name ascribed to this act of terrorism is debated widely. Some call it evil. Others call it nothing more than supreme cruelty.

In my point of view, terrorism actions generally contribute nothing to their political ends. I acknowledge that perhaps some terrorists care about proportionality. However, how can acts such as detonating a suicide bomb in a busy subway station or attacking a school help achieve their political goals? Actually, the vast majority of terrorist groups merely intentionally decimate the lives of innocents. What those acts of terrorism bring about are thousands of civilian deaths and injuries, and the most exquisite torment to their families. For example, in September 11 attacks, terrorists successfully bombed the World Trade Center. Such terrorism act indeed disturbs the American political and economic system in a short run. Nevertheless, the loss of the World Trade Center definitely does not make an impact on the American economy. On the contrary, the terrorism action causes a large amount of casualties. Lots of children therefore lose their parents and family members of those victims have to suffer from intense sorrow of loss of a loved one constantly. It is categorically immoral to violate human dignity and deliberately inflict suffering on others, for pointless political ends.

The word “ terrorism” is used a lot in the world nowadays. The definition of a terrorist is someone who uses intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror or fear, in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim. Some example of what we have establish as terror attacks are the Twin Towers in New York on the 11 of september 2001 or the Paris attack on november the 13 2015. The attacks were done by two different groups of terrorists, but what people tend to ignore is that these terrorist groups did not come to life from the unknown. What people tend to ignore or maybe just don’t understand or don’t know is that in this case, Al Qaeda was a creation of the United States of America, a country which was colossally

Terrorists deny the authenticity of states, the rights of people , the unique importance of individual human beings and ultimately morality. Terrorists for one reason or another, loathe our freedom and our way of life. (Zupan, 2004)

As you read, ask yourself the following questions: “why have they committed acts of terrorism,” “what do they believe in,” “does everyone think they are terrorists?” Write your answers to these questions in your notebook or tablet/PC. Write down any other information that you find interesting about these people or groups.

The effective use of Ethos and Pathos by Naomi Shihab Nye in “To Any Would-Be Terrorists” BOOM, BANG, POP the noises heard from the clashing of the twin towers collapsing floor by floor to the ground. September 11th 2001 the 9/11 attack will always be a tragic day to remember all around the world, but especially to Americans. This day recreated the stereotype towards Arabs to be known as “terrorists”, this word they worked so hard to get rid of. In the article “To Any Would-Be Terrorists” written by Naomi Shihab Nye, who is an Arab-American explains and tries to redefine the frequent idea of terrorism and what her people have to go through ever since the attack. She gives an incredibly personal view which uses emotion to sway her readers,

We live in a new world; it is a world where there is the ever growing threat of terrorism.

“I want to change my name and religion, “ little Abdul cried to her mother. “what happened son” .”I don’t like my name and religion, everyone in school think that I am a terrorist” replied Abdul . This is a story of a 7 year old boy who wants to get his religion changed because everyone think that he is a boy who will become a terrorist when he grows up. He thinks that everyone has a perception for him and he is unwanted in the society. Its is very easy to believe that muslim are terrorists but it is very hard for us to belive that we all are influenced by the media and media created a sterotype that all muslims are terrorists or they have a terrorist connection with them. The idea of this came into influence when Osama bin laden attacked United

To recent times, terrorism has taken a different purpose. Todays terrorism is religiously based. One of the most significant events that has occurred on the United Stated is the attacks of September 11th. These attacks have lead to groups, such as al Qaeda, to bring light to what their goal is, which is trans- or supra-national Islamic rule (Hoffman 2014). Al Qaeda has described their own seven-stage victory, which the final stage states their goal is to triumph over the rest of the world by 2020 (Hoffman 2014). For many of the attacks following September 11th, al Qaeda has shown their seven-stage victory has slowly become true, not only within the United States, but throughout the world. In 2004, attacks on commuter rail bombings in Madrid killed 191 individuals. The following year, suicide bombers on several busses in London, killing 52 people and several other plots that were never followed through with.

There has also been long time assumption among professionals and average citizens that terrorists are ‘mentally ill’ individuals. However, there is yet again no evidence that supports that theory. As a matter of fact, there is countless examples in history that counters that said theory of being ‘mentally ill’ and this article provides those examples; as well as, providing the avenue in which an individual can and has been radicalized. Moreover, this article articulates and lays out a method in which could be used to counter the radicalization

Walter Laqueur’s book, “The New Terrorism: Fanaticism and the Arms of Mass Destruction”, is empowering readers with the entire spectrum of terrorism. The reasons behind terrorism are not easy to understand, but Laqueur goes into great detail to try and bring the reader to an understanding of what the terrorist is thinking in order to justify the means to the end.

The history of terrorism can be traced back as far as the French revolution. Some of these acts of terrorism only seem as distant reminders of our past, but at the same time, are not a far cry from today’s brutal acts; and although these acts seem distant, it doesn’t also mean they are no longer in the thoughts of individuals in today’s time.

After the attack of 9/11 many American citizens sought out an answer to why one would hijack a plane and run it into the Twin Towers, killing millions. According to the Huffpost, Islam became the main reason for the attack and furthermore labeled religion as the inspiration for many terroristic attacks (Gibson, 1). According to many Muslims, however, the attacks are anti-Islamic because the Quran states not to harm civilians who are not involved with war and to avoid it at all possible times (PBS, 3). The conflict between Muslims and Americans is growing and many issues in the Middle East has become the focus for religious terrorism.

Millions of Americans and people around the globe consider the terrorist bombings all over the Earth to be the work of cowards who can only execute such murderous acts because of the knowledge that they won't live to face the repercussions. However, while the actions of these people can never truly be justified, they are within the general spectrum of Islamic teachings. If these men believed that their faith was under attack by America, they raised the "sword" to defend it. As the Quran once again states, "Fighting is obligatory for you, much as you dislike it. But you may hate a thing although it is good for you and love a thing although it is bad for you. God knows, but you do not" (Van Voorst 312). Muslims are taught that any martyr who dies in defense of Islam has the rewards of life multiplied many times over waiting for him in Heaven. "Allah has given those who fight with their goods and their persons a higher rank than those who stay at home" (Sherif 166-168). However, the idea of martyrdom and a beautiful afterlife for martyrs is not exclusive to Islam, but present in many other religions, including Christianity. The teachings of Islam are not to blame for