Has Muslim extremism damaged world tourism irrevocably?

No

10 of 25

by Anup Dixit

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First things first. Let's not call this "Muslim Extremism". It is simply extremism. There are a whole lot of good muslims in this world, and we need their support to tackle the current terror situation in the world. Basically, no religion preaches violence. So, anyone who indulges in violence is not a religious person, in the first place. So, we cannot link such a person (terrorist) to any religion. There are bad people all over the world. It is just that today majority of the terrorists happen to be muslims, by birth only. Since Islam itself preaches peace, such people cannot claim to be followers of Islam. They have left religion far, far behind.

Now, coming to the debate title, well, extremism has definitely damaged world tourism, but it would be rather pre-mature at this stage, to declare such damage as 'Irrevocable'. Today, no country in the world is safe. We all have to accept that once we leave home in the morning, there is no guarantee of getting back. Even if you are at home, there is no guarantee that suddenly your home won't be bombed. As technology has advanced for the better, well the bad guys also have access to it. It is very much possible to spread damage in one corner of the globe, by sitting in some other corner of the globe. This is a situation that we have to live with now, day in and day out.

So, what should we do now? Live in fear, and die everyday, mentally? Sorry, that's no solution. Come what may, I will go to work everyday. When I take leave, I will go on my vacation. At worst, I'll get killed someday (maybe even in some other country). My name may or may not be reported in the media (or I may just be one of the numbers of the people reported killed), but at least I will die only once, not several times everyday, out of fear. At least I will have the satisfaction of living my entire life fearlessly, that is without being terrorised. Dear readers, if I can do that, then I think I would have defeated the terrorists, by not succumbing to their efforts to terrorise me.

However, just keeping this attitude is not the final solution. This is only the starting point. Next, we have to accept Muslims all over the world as one of our own, with all equal rights and more importantly, responsibilities (please note - no special favors for anybody). If we go against all muslims, then we will only increase the number of terrorists plaguing this world, thereby compounding our problems. Then I will probably have to vote "YES" for the debate title. Alternately, if we, take the good guys (good muslims) in our confidence and encourage them to join hands in the fight against terror, there is no doubt whatsoever, that the current terrorists will fail to multiply and will simply phase out, even without being noticed.

Why I feel confident about this solution is because there are reports coming from Pakistan that the general public is furious over the Taliban issue, in their country. Now, if muslims were generally bad, then why would such a huge population of muslims go against Taliban (terrorist)? Basically, to counter terror, we have to fire anti-terror missiles, that is, 'PEACE". Please note that terror is only in the mind. The more you succumb to terror, the more you lose in the war against terror. If you are against terror, then spread peace.

Of course, I am not saying that various governments should direct their armed forces to switch over to peace, and stop usage of weapons. But, while they are doing their job (which they should continue), should we also not do something? By way of this article, I have tried to suggest, on above lines, what we can do.

In my personal opinion only, if we are able to do something as suggested above, and that too successfully, I am quite sure that my vote of "NO" on the debate title is justified.

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