In the context of the unprecedented massacre in modern American history that happened in Las Vegas, the US politicians and media did not describe the perpetrator of the attack as a “terrorist”, although he killed about 57 innocent people and injured hundreds.
Still, the Las Vegas massacre is a heinous terrorist crime. The motives are the same in various cases: hate, the desire to kill and the thirst for bloodshed.
It is unlikely that Stephen Paddock, who claimed the lives of about dozens of innocent people was mentally unstable, as claimed by the US media. Security authorities know that he carefully planned his crime, which he deliberately intended to commit. Paddock kept a large quantity of weapons and ammunition in the room where he was staying in the hotel. For the record, he was not a Muslim.
Whatever their ideological or personal motives, all such murderers and criminals should be called terrorists. Whether they raise Islamic or other religions’ slogans or hide their motives, they perpetrate their crimes intentionally and with premeditation.
Using psychological and social conditions to explain these crimes is an attempt to hide the truth. We should call these crimes terrorist acts if we believe that terrorism has no religion, is not an exclusive product of extremist organizations claiming to defend Islam, and encompasses all activities hostile to human values and threatening lives.
The terrorist crimes committed by non-Muslims are not described so also due to the lack of a precise legal definition of terrorism. Despite the many claims and calls to crystallize this concept in order to support counter-terrorism strategies, an international definition has not yet been reached.
Certainly, the credibility of the major powers and the international community in combating terrorism and emphasizing the separation between Islam and terrorism can gain stronger support by not reducing terrorism to the Extremist Islamism of Daesh or others. Some promote linking Islam to terrorism but this has nothing to do with the precise characterization of terrorism as much as it has to do with the root of the wrong back-thought these people have of Islam as encouraging terrorism. This is a great injustice to this great religion. It also undermines the opportunities of moderate Muslims to confront terrorists.
The separation of Islam and terrorism may be the responsibility of Muslim clerics in the first place, but it is also the responsibility of the media and Western governments. Many point out in their conversations that terrorism has no religion, but in reality many accuse Islam of being linked to terrorism.
The fight against terrorism requires a long-term close international partnership. We can eradicate terrorist ideology through building a long-term strategy and giving no pretexts for terrorists to accuse the West of being hostile to Islam and targeting Muslims. Terrorism must be clearly defined as a crime motivated by hate and racism so as to better combat terrorism and promote the values of coexistence.
