As police investigate the deadly bombings in Egypt and London, public support for terrorism in Muslim nations appears to be dropping. An increasing number of Muslims feel that the methods utilized by terrorists in the name of Islam are disgraceful to their beliefs. MSNBC TV's Lester Holt was joined by Senior Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy, Walid Phares to discuss this issue.
Walid explains that though the numbers are shifting, it does not necessarily mean that America’s presence is welcomed: “The issue here is while there was a large group of people who were apposed to American intervention and supported the terrorists, many are now against the terrorists, but still not in support of the American presence.”
Ideology also plays a large role. Those that may be against the terrorist attacks still share religious and political beliefs with those that are killing others.
This similarity of ideology also makes it hard for any one person to stand up and stop the chaos. “There are 3 groups to summarize quickly. A: are a pro Jihadists, hardcore, ideological group. B: are those that are critical of the policy in the region, but significantly shying away from criticizing the terrorists. C: are those that are with the US rule, and adamantly opposed to the terrorists. The numbers are varied here, they are stable with A, growing with B and slowly growing with C.” Walid said.
However, though the numbers of Muslims that support the American occupation of Iraq aren’t growing significantly, it’s the violence witnessed on their own soil that has seen Muslims turning against terrorism. “The terrorists are helping immensely, the sight of children killed in Iraq and elsewhere, has done a lot of change the minds of terrorist supporters.” Walid said.
“It’s more important that the war on terror becomes a war of ideas.” Walid explains. “Recently the President in Washington, the Prime Minister in London, and even the President of Russia have been targeting an ideology, and saying that the war is against a particular ideology will help find more allies in the region.”
To watch the entire interview between Lester Holt and Walid Phares, click on the "Launch" button on the video player on the right side of the page.
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