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The new anti-terrorism measures announced by Tony Blair are sure to stir a hornet's nest with Human rights activists and organisations in the UK. Blair clearly finds himself in an unenviable position. One hand, he has to protect his people and make sure that another 7/7 does n't happen again. On the other hand he has to preserve individaul freedom and values of a vibrant, pluralistic and a democratic society. He had to do something and he did.
It's a typial case of "You are damned if you do something and you're still damned if you don't".
When we are fighting with an unknown enemy who is using unconventional methods like suicide bombing, some prophylactic measures should be adopted. Having said that, mere deporting of radical islamic clerics and curbing the freedom of few individuals will not do. I think, people who are fighting the terrorism should realise that cosmetic solutions will only be counter productive in the long run. The root cause of terrorism lies in the economic backwardness. If we look at the British muslim society in parts of London are isolated and economically deprived. In a sense they are a neglected society which makes them a easy target for radical islamic clerics.
We no longer can afford to think that terrorism is just a political, religious and ideological conflict. It has one more important component in Economic Dimensions. The regions that generate and harbour terrorist activities have long been economically backward regions where poverty and hunger have fed violence and extremism. These regions continue to lie under the viscious cycle of poverty, political instability, and terrorism.Unless this cycle is broken, we're definitely barking at the wrong tree.Be it Palestine or Kashmir or Afghanistan or the latest one in the list Iraq, the terrorist groups depend on the educated and unemployed youth from poor and deprived families. These young men are bought,indoctrinated and trained by some radical and powerful indivduals like Osama Bin Laden to achieve thier own ideological aims.
Therefore all the nations both individually and collectively should address the issue of terrorism as an economic problem,besides the corrective measures in the form of military action and spreading the ideology of good will and hope. A society with an equitable distribution of wealth and power is the only way to eradicate terrorism. Until we do that, terrorism will remain a Damocle's Sword over our neck and will be a nagging threat in the 21st century to the whole human society
This was a good read and very thoughtful. Poor people are obvious targets for terrorist recruitment. However the poor in say inner London are not poor in the same sense as poor in more deprived parts of the world. Furthermore there are also "non Muslim" poor too. It is not just a religious thing. There are Asian "islands" all over the UK that have nothing to do with poverty. It is a more a question of self isolation and wanting to retain the Muslim enclave. But why are there "poor" people in this country anyway? Perhaps the level of education is not good enough or that education itself is not seen as particularly worthwhile by many young people. Either way I think that this is the key along with more integration and inclusion of the host community by Muslims themselves. Britain is not Iran. It is a liberal secular democratic society and attempts to shut the hosts out or shun the lifestyle results in introverted communities. Nevertheless there is an important point that you have made... and that is the economic one. I have said elsewhere that whilst I am not too keen on the EU, it has created a mutual economic inter-dependence on the member nations to make it just not viable to fight each other anymore. I wish that this participation could be extended to other countries, especially Muslim ones so that we can share the same/similar values regarding our political and social standards of behaviour.