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| Africa North |
| Algerian experts examine terrorisms origin |
| 2010-04-10 |
| Well, first the dinosaurs came. But they got big and fat and died and turned into oil... [Maghrebia] Terrorism can only be eliminated with more media involvement and further study of the root causes, journalists and professors said Wednesday (April 8th) at an Algiers seminar. "Algeria has reached a significant stage in curbing terrorism, but hasn't yet reached the most important stage, that is, addressing this phenomenon by examining the causes that led to its appearance," researcher Ahmed Adhimi said at the seminar, which was organised by the Center of Studies of the government-owned newspaper al-Shaab. Terrorism might return after 15 years or more if not addressed in an in-depth way by extracting the lessons of the past through study and reflection, Adhimi said. Government reports of an increase in arms trafficking by drug smugglers add to such concerns. Seminar attendees focused on the role of the media and communications in confronting terrorism. They also tackled the origin of the radical discourse that led some Algerians to become suicide bombers and terrorist operatives in the 1990s. Their official recommendations included ending government dominance of the audio-visual sphere, allowing more private-sector participation in the media, and facilitating the role of intellectuals in leading public opinion. Some participants, however, said that harnessing the media to combat terrorism would be easier said than done. "Media outlets in Algeria have found themselves forced to deal with two bitter choices -- either to report security news and face the resulting accusations that they promote extremist groups, or to avoid security news and leave foreign satellite channels to report the news through non-Algerian eyes," journalist Samir Kateb said. "The role of journalist is to report the facts to the people, even though this is not always welcome in official circles for reasons related to public security," he added. The media itself came under fire from some who took part in the seminar. Mohamed Semim, a professor who studies Islamist groups, said in a statement to Magharebia that "the media in Algeria has only reported on security information and terrorist operations without trying to understand the causes of religious extremism and understand the nature of the ideology fueling these groups". "Political Islam in Algeria won't disappear without identifying the causes that led to its appearance and which turned it, in a short period of time, into violence and extremism that killed Algerians," he said. "The drop in ... violence in Algeria doesn't mean that the terrorist threat has vanished. Rather, this period requires intellectual effort in the wake of security gains to try to uproot the extremist ideology ... by opening channels of dialogue". To follow through on the seminar's recommendations, Dr. Adhimi called for "establishing research centers specialised in studying and treating the causes of terrorism" that would serve as "'floodlights' for the state in uprooting terrorist ideology". Examining the causes of the appearance and spread of terrorism "is the only way to avoid the re-appearance of this crisis after several years, especially because many of the questions related to this phenomenon haven't been raised up till now," he said. The mosque is the largest communication channel, said Dr. Adhimi, given that it attracts more than 14 million Algerians. He called for creating a commission "consisting of a group of specialists in psychology, religion and politics to be tasked with writing the mosque discourse in order to completely eliminate the idea of terrorism and violence from Algerians' thinking, raise their awareness and instill a culture of tolerance." |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 IIRC, Comgresscritter Bob Kerry publicly claimed that 9-11 and the GWOT was part of a 30-year or more international conspiracy, possibly including traeson at the highest offices in the land. |
| Posted by: Clyde Thatch7826 2010-04-11 00:00 |
| #4 To be fair, phil_b, the Romans as Christians and as pagans also massacred Berbers for what seemed to be reasonable causes at the time, although the Berbers never agreed. Remember Carthage? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-04-10 23:02 |
| #3 Well, the Arabs starting massacring Berbers (insert original inhabitants for countries other than Algeria) in the 8th century and haven't stopped since. Maybe, I'll get an invite to the seminar. :-) |
| Posted by: phil_B 2010-04-10 21:48 |
| #2 Terrorism can only be eliminated with more media involvement and further study of the root causes, journalists and professors said... Journalists and professors justify more pay for themselves. Otherwise, there will be trouble... |
| Posted by: Free Radical 2010-04-10 17:14 |
| #1 Hope representatives from all the islamic countries are represented. Give each participant a mirror upon registration. Provide instructions for use. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-04-10 10:19 |