12,500 Terrorist Attacks Bring Islam’s Evil into Focus

2009 began with the number of Islamic Terror Attacks reaching 12,500 on the tally kept by The Religion of Peace (TROP) website ( www.thereligionofpeace.com ).  Behind the grim data is an emerging picture that the terrorists have no political or social agenda other than causing mass terror, and they are content to accomplish this by attacking soft targets comprised of primarily women and children.  Muhammad  himself  would be embarrassed by the inability of his 21^st Century mujahideen to either shrink the borders of the infidels (per Surah 21:44) or to be steadfast in face the enemy (per Surah 3:148).

Set forth below are tables and narratives with the emphasis on the new developments during 2008. A more extensive 2007 version of this analysis can be found at http://www.annaqed.com/en/content/show.aspx?pod=1&aid=16035

A note about the data:  While the editors of the TROP website would be the first to admit there may be gaps in the data, they have been as diligent as humanly possible to provide an accurate accounting from newspaper articles, tips, and other information sources. If anything, the data grossly understate the true extent of Islamic terrorism.  (See “About the List of Terrorist Attacks” on their website sidebar.) 

                                       Terrorism by Year:

The data show that the total number terrorist attacks and deaths have declined in the past year primarily due to the reductions in Iraq.  Outside this area, however, the deaths and injuries have continued to increase.     

                                Terror in the U.S.:

Probably of most interest to American readers are the data about the U.S.  The first year is dominated by the Beltway Sniper incidents in 2002.  The only recorded terrorist attacks in 2008 were incidents of Muslim fathers killing their daughters – “honor killing.”   One of these perpetrators – Yaser Abdel Said – is still at large a year after the crime.

                                   Afghanistan:

The United States’ “war on terror” began in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.  2008 saw only slight reductions from the year below.  Most of the deaths were police officers and off-duty Afghan soldiers, but the number also included 109 women and children.

                                       Iraq:

Beginning in October, 2007, the United States deployed a surge of ground forces and also changed its tactics to win greater support of the tribal leaders. The number of attacks and the number killed declined dramatically in 2008.  The reason the rate of injuries actually increased is because many of the post-surge incidents were horrific suicide bombings of soft targets, like restaurants and marketplaces, which were packed with Iraqi civilians. For example, in February, Al Qaeda sent two women with Down's Syndrome into two pet markets, then remotely detonated the bombs they were carrying under their burqas, slaughtering about one hundred and injuring an additional 200 innocent shoppers.

                                       Israel:

                Palestinian Authority (Gaza and West Bank):

Although 2008 ended with HAMAS canceling its “lull’ in order to launch rocket barrages aimed at civilians in Israel and with a lethal response by the Israeli Defense Forces,  it is significant to note that during 2008 there was only one suicide bombing incident – a Palestinian killed one woman and injured eleven others in a Dimona shopping mall on February 4.  The dramatic reduction in these attacks is primarily due to 436 mile Separation Wall between Israel and the West Bank.  Most of the injuries suffered by Israelis were due to Arab construction workers going on rampages with their bulldozers or other equipment.  Rocket and mortar attacks killed seven and injured 32.

                                     Pakistan:

Pakistan has clearly lost control of its war on terror, seeing the largest increase in terrorist attacks of any country and the second highest number of total attacks in 2008.  This increased terrorism is spreading across its borders in to Afghanistan and India, as witnessed by the November 27 attack on Mumbai.  Since Pakistan is 97% Muslim, these attacks are virtually all Muslim-on-Muslim attacks, both sectarian or anti-government.

                           Russian Federation:

The data above include Russia, Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia.  

                                   Saudi Arabia:

For many terrorism watchers, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia represents the breeding ground for Islamic terrorism, but somehow it seems to be immune from internal terrorism. Apparently, the Saudis support terrorism as long as it isn’t directed against the Kingdom.  The one victim recorded by TROP was a 26-year-old woman who had her tongue cut out, then was set on fire by her father (a moral policeman) for converting to Christianity.

IS ISLAM TOLERANT OF OTHER RELIGIONS?

One of the most fallacious arguments put forth by Muslims and their apologists is that Muslims are tolerant and want to live in peace with their non-Muslim neighbors.  If violence occurs, it is only due to the “Islamophobia” of the “racist” non-Muslims who provoke a “defensive reaction” from the victimized innocent people of the Islamic faith.  In this context, it is a propos to look at the trends in Islamic terrorism in countries where Islam is a minority faith relative to Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism. 

                  India – Muslims attacking Hindus:

India is 81% Hindu, 13% Muslim, 2% Christian, and 2% Sikh. The most deadly Islamic terrorist attack in 2008 occurred in Mumbai from November 26-28. Ten mujahideen born and trained in Pakistan slipped in to the waterfront area by boat, and then threw grenades and machine-gunned over one hundred and fifty civilians and tourists to death as they attacked several sites, including two hotels, a cafe, a market, a hospital, and a train station.  They specifically targeted American and British travelers. As a grizzly twist to their senseless attack, they tortured a young rabbi and his pregnant wife before murdering them and six other Jews at the Nairman House.  The complete toll – 183 dead and 370 injured.  Indications are that the attackers were members of Lakhkar-e-Tayyiba and were trained by Pakistan’s secret service ISI.  

             Indonesia – Muslims attacking Christians:

Indonesia is 88% Muslim, 8% Christian, and 2% Hindu.  Two hundred and sixty-five students were injured in a Muslim mob attack on their Christian school in Jakarta.  The mob violence was incited by a local imam after a student chasing a mouse from the school threw his shoe which accidentally hit the house of a local Muslim. This is an excellent example of Muslims taking even the smallest pretext as a just cause for attacking non-Muslims.

                 Nigeria – Muslims attacking Christians:

Nigeria is 50% Muslim, 40% Christian, and 10% “indigenous beliefs.”  The northern part of Nigeria is predominantly Muslim, and some provinces claim to adhere to Sharia Law.  A disputed outcome of a November local election in Jos (northern Nigeria) triggered rioting that resulted in the deaths of nearly 400 people – both Muslim and Christian. Six Christian ministers were among the dead and several churches were burned to the ground.

           Philippines – Muslims attacking Christians:

The Philippines are 95% Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) and 5% Muslim.  Most of the 2008 deaths were caused by Moro Islamic terrorists who murdered Christian civilian bus passengers. In one incident in August,

forty-nine Christian villagers are shot or hacked to death and another fifty injured by Moro Islamists rampaging through three towns. Abu Sayyaf and Al Qaeda also operate militant cells in the Philippines.

          Thailand – Muslims attacking Buddhists:

Thailand is 95% Buddhist, 5% Muslim, and 1% Christian.  Most of those killed in Thailand in 2008 were shot by gunmen, which results in a relatively low ratio of deaths to individual attacks. Most of the injuries resulted from bomb attacks on markets and other public places.

IS ISLAM AN AFRICAN RELIGION?

As far back as the 1930’s, Islam has been promoted among African-Americans as an African religion because of its origins on that continent. Likewise, in Africa, Islam is promoted as indigenous, as opposed to the white-man’s religion of Christianity. Easily forgotten in this discourse is the historical fact that those who enslaved upwards of 180 million Africans both for domestic use in Arab countries and for export to the American colonies were in fact Muslims using the Quran’s endorsement of jihad against infidels and of capturing “booty” slaves as their justification.  The last countries to formally end slavery were Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Mauritania just a generation or so ago, and then only due to world-wide pressure.

Today’s greatest humanitarian crisis is the on-going genocide of black Africans in the Sudan and Chad by the Arab Janjaweed militias, sometimes supported by government aircraft.  While the context of this killing is a 24-year-long civil war which has claimed over 2 million lives, the terrorist attacks in the past five years have been mostly on peaceful African villages and refugee camps.  The Janjaweed kill the men, rape the women, and burn down the villages as a means of driving the black Africans (many of whom are actually Muslim) out of the oil-rich Darfur region and neighboring Chad.

  Sudan/Chad –Arab Muslims attacking African Muslims:

The terrorism in the Sudan/Chad region may be the most under-reported part of TROP’s database because only limited access to the Darfur region is given to the press or human rights observers.  What jumps out of this table, however, is that the ratio of casualties per reported attack is 55 – the highest of any continuous terrorism campaign. It should also be noted in the data above that the Sudan/Chad region is one of the few regions where the number killed exceeds the number injured by a significant margin, over two to one. The Arab Janjaweed militias are Sunni Muslims, as are most of their African victims.  The high ratio of deaths and injuries per attack supports the claims of genocide and government complicity.  The world-wide condemnation of the government of Sudan has only dampened but has not ended this 21^st Century atrocity.

CONCLUSIONS FOR 2008:

1.  Islamic terrorism is a world-wide problem. While only a few countries were identified in this report, the TROP list of terrorist incidents in 2008 includes 41 countries – both Muslim and non-Muslim.

2. Terrorism is increasing in frequency and severity in countries where it is not dealt with directly and with specific concerted government action, namely Pakistan.  The appeasement approach taken by Pakistan has only accelerated the terrorism. The greatest success stories about combating terrorism come from the U.S. and Israel.

3.  Terrorism has generally failed to accomplish any political or social objectives. The data seem to indicate that it is losing its support as a tactic in Iraq, the Russian Federation, and Nigeria.

4. Muslim-on-Muslim terror and Arab-on-Black terror reveal the evil agenda of its perpetrators, where the desired ends justify the means even if it means killing fellow Muslims.  Examples include Iraq, Pakistan, and the Sudan.

5.  Terrorism is increasingly directed toward soft targets – markets and restaurants – where civilian casualties will be highest. 

6. The high number of  national government personnel, police, and military casualties indicates that Islamists are unwilling or unable to reconcile their political objectives with the elected ruling authorities.  Islamists are do not represent an alternative form of government as much as they do general anarchy as a precursor to imposing Islamic (Sharia) Law. Somalia is a modern-day example of the end result.

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