Vision is required to stamp out extremism

There are 85 people on the most recently issued Saudi terror suspect list, the majority of them Saudi nationals. Recently Abdullah Al Asiri, a Saudi national, walked into the Saudi Ministry of Interior and blew himself up in a bid to assassinate the assistant Saudi Minister of Interior. Al Asiri died in the explosion. He was 23 years old; and his brother Ebrahim is also on the Saudi terrorist list. Since September 11, 2001, Saudi Authorities have jailed hundreds of suspected 'Saudi militants'.

The majority of hijackers on September 11 were from the Gulf, primarily Saudi Arabia. This article is not about Saudi Arabia; it is about our region and the type of world we want to grow old in.

I often hear people referring to the world in terms of pre- and post-9-11. I would disagree. Extremism and military or violent solutions have been with us since the beginning of time, masked in different ideologies.

The inclination to use violence as a means to an end whether through militaries or insurgencies is a tragic reality of human existence and a consistent projection of the baser side of human nature.

September 11 merely highlighted issues that were already there, but were being ignored. When deep-rooted problems are ignored they fester beneath the surface and often become institutionalised outside the law, giving rise to groups such as Al Qaida.

Extremism affects you and your way of life directly or indirectly through its consequences, which include terror attacks, illegal immigration, failed nations and the loss of human potential.

Extremism cripples healthy socio-economic development and it takes lives. I will give you a small example of what the killing of one person really means. Mustafa Akkad was a renowned Arab-American film maker. He was the only man who was able to make Hollywood-calibre movies about Islam and Arabs. In 2005 he was killed by a bombing in Jordan. The stories about Arabs, our heritage, our history, and our future, stories that Akkad intended to turn into films for the world to see, died with him in that bombing.

Akkad is just one person, yet there are countless nameless people who have been killed and whatever they had to offer the world was taken with them.

The 'war on terror' was launched by the US administration after September 11, to 'eradicate global terror'. Eight years later, every day we hear of the dangerous instability and insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan (a nuclear-armed state) which analysts fear could become failed states.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband recently argued that the 'war on terror' and its approach was a mistake and caused more harm than good. American commander General David Petraeus recently said the Western Coalition in Iraq "could not kill its way out of the problems of insurgency and civil strife".

Saudi Arabia recently arrested 44 'militants', many of whom were university professors and businessmen.

America's top diplomat for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrook, stated that radical groups such as the Taliban rely heavily on funding from the Arabian Gulf region.

I once read that "through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder the hate". The real war that needs to be fought is the war of ideologies and mindsets.

I believe in the words of Pope Paul VI: "if you want peace, work for justice". There is no doubt that injustice and poverty can lead human beings to extremism. However, we are not talking about poverty-stricken people who are driven to extremism; the issue is more complex and multifaceted. Osama Bin Laden was not poor or underprivileged, neither were the hijackers of 9-11, nor was the Oklahoma City bomber.

The individuals who chose to carry out those acts didn't wake up one day thinking 'let's blow something up'. It was an accumulation of internal and external forces that shape the human psyche - internal forces in the human mind that perceive one's way of life being threatened and external factors that reinforce that perception.

Political will and long-term vision are required to fight the culture of extremism. An honest hard look at our own societies is required to address and reform any socio-economic aspects that inadvertently fuel extremist mindsets.

We must have legitimate, peaceful platforms for people to voice their opinions; truly independent judiciaries to settle grievances; progressive, sustainable economic policies that secure people's right to earn a living; and enlightened education systems that promote critical thinking, rationality, tolerance, and civic duty in everyday life.

There will always be rogue, imbalanced individuals who will veer off this path, but at least we will not live in a culture of violence and in an era plagued by the phenomenon of extremism.

I am always reminded by the words of our holy scripture the Quran that we can become the greatest, most gracious nation humanity has ever known. The choice is ours.

Najla Al Awadhi is a member of the Federal National Council.