Poverty and Terrorism causes
Another study has come out showing that the supposed link between terrorism and poverty is bogus. From the report of the study

One finding was that the wealthier and better-educated the Muslim was, the more likely he was to be radicalised....
They continue: “It’s no secret that many in the Muslim world suffer from crippling poverty and lack of education. But are radicals any poorer than their fellow Muslims? We found the opposite: there is indeed a key difference between radicals and moderates when it comes to income and education, but it is the radicals who earn more and stay in school longer.”

In fact, the surveys found that the radicals were more satisfied with their finances and quality of life than moderates.

Yep. Education and increased wealth are more of a cause than poverty.

Another theory about the cause of terrorism, from people like Bin Laden, is that it is because of the bad morals of America, yet the study also found

The Gallup findings indicate that, in terms of spiritual values and the emphasis on the family and the future, Americans have more in common with Muslims than they do with their Western counterparts in Europe.

If it was just morals, then Europe would be more of a target.

Apparently, it isn't even about the US being Christian either...

Religion was found to have little to do with radicalisation or antipathy towards Western culture. Muslims were condemnatory of promiscuity and a sense of moral decay. What they admired most was liberty, its democratic system, technology and freedom of speech.

One particular note is that this study also counters the idea that how religious you are affects whether you are a radical extremist or not. (Take note Professor Dawkins)

“We find that Muslim radicals have more in common with their moderate brethren than is often assumed. If the West wants to reach the extremists, and empower the moderate majority, it must first recognise who it’s up against.”

“They often charge that religious fervour triggers radical and violent views,” said John Esposito, a religion professor, and Dalia Mogahed, Gallup’s Muslim studies director, in one analysis. “But the data say otherwise. There is no significant difference in religiosity between moderates and radicals. In fact, radicals are no more likely to attend religious services regularly than are moderates.”

This makes the job of dealing with terrorism even harder. There is no simple way of differentiating between moderates and radicals by anything other than when they are attacking you.

(HT: Tim Blair)
- posted by Alan Grey @ Thursday, February 22, 2007