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Terrorism, Humanely

Recently, I read a rather large article on homegown terrorism. It was particularly interesting, and if you are an intellectual type, you should definitely read it. It is called The Jihadist Next Door. However long it is, it is well-written and very interesting.

Fact: A poem he wrote in high school:

?My reality is a bore. I wish, I want, I need the wall to fall and the monster to let me pass, the leash to snap, the chains to break. . . .

?I?ve got a taste of glory, the ticket, but where is my train??

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhuI4BQ-DYA[/youtube]

Skip to 1:15 in that video, and you will find him saying this:

"They're [Christian Ethiopian Forces] supposed to be coming, anytime. We will set up the ambush, and we will sprint out; we're gonna kill all of them.

At left, Omar Hammami as a freshman in high school in Alabama. At right, the same person in a Terrorist Recruitment Video

Another time, he said: "I have hatred, I have love. It's the best life on Earth!"

My opinion: Islamism (I am disregarding Terrorism in general as it does not entirely pertain to this) is something that I can't quite explain, based on this story. Omar Hammami says himself that he does not want to use violence and that is why he does not like Al Qaeda, but he directly counters that, and simply joins the Shabaab, which is an organization that does fight people and is even linked with Al Qaeda. He says he wants a purely Islamic state, one run by Sharia law, and that is what the purpose of Al Shabaab is, but it just doesn't make much sense. Muslims are told not to kill just like almost every other religion in the world, arguably. However, we must not imagine terrorists as this:

And more as Hammami. However, Hammami is also a rare example. Most terrorists have simply lived a life of poverty. What type of people are likely to join gangs? Rich or poor? Poor, obviously. It is the same thing for Terrorism, disregarding Islamism, in that case.