The media is as scared to report that hatred and violence are epidemic among a large segment of the Muslim population as they are bold to correctly report Republicans’ and Trump’s support of white nationalists - and their hatred and violence.
2
It is so sad such insidious hateful indoctrination can turn seemingly normal people into large scale murderers, so well ingrained that made the pregnant woman blow up herself and her family, not forgetting the police while doing their duty. On the face of it it looks like the plot was concocting in concert with the whole family, born to extreme wealth, privilege and tertiary education. It is beyond all reasoning they could reach extremes usually associated with the poorly educated influenced by lunatics spouting vengeance but sadly where hate is concerned evidently there are no bounds. For some reason watching the first video, I was struck by the purposeful, urgent stride of the man with the backpack, seemed rather incongruous hurriedly weaving his way through those leisurely standing by. Who could have known his murderous intent?
3
What makes young, educated, well to do, or at least "comfortable", men and women want to end their lives as suicide bombers? And murder hundreds of innocent people? So much has been invested in them. Are they really that miserable with life? Where are all the "Pro-lifers" who should be talking with them?
5
Is Wealth, Privilege and Entitlement enlightening? Is a diploma from an elite University education? Since When? Our esteemed religious leaders and gurus in history say the opposite don't they? We have White Men in America, the sons and daughters of immigrants, shaking in their safe gated neighborhoods complaining and whining about the dearth of the poor and desperate, mowing their lawns and tending to Megan and Muffin. 9/11 wasn't a testament to America's flawless and cooperative intelligence and law enforcement services. The Federal bureaucracy was so bad, New York City, under Miller, Kelly and Bloomberg formed its own intelligence bureau. Works Great. NYPD has detectives sitting in the 3 Ms right now. San Francisco PD pulled out of the FBI Joint Terrorist Task Force. Too scary for the Supers. You want to see Apple, FB, Google and Sales Force drop? Not hard to do. The suicide vest bombers won't be from Mexico or Guatemala. And they won't be poor uneducated laborers. They will be White Men with access.
2
So much for the terrorist-as-victim trope ( poverty, oppression, disenfranchised yearning youth).
5
@applegirl57
Nothing is that simple.It just means there are many paths that people take that lead them to radicalism and violence. There are many different situations and we shouldn't ignore any of them. To do so would be irresponsible.
1
Terrorism is a modern phenomenon that defies all explanations. Blaming one or two socio-economic or technological factors is simplistic. Governments (or bodies such as the UN) need to get together and do a comprehensive study of the causes of this modern-day scourge. Meanwhile, it may not entirely be fair to blame governments, whether in North America, Europe or Asia for failing to prevent terror attacks.
That said, the failure here to heed specific warnings is really egregious. At the very least, it bespeaks of astonishing incompetence and dysfunction within the highest echelons of the Lankan govt. The Lankan people should demand a complete overhaul of their leadership and bureaucracy. Sadly, this is unlikely to happen. Already anger is being (wrongly) directed at innocent members of society. Real demands for long-term, systemic fixes will be lost amidst such religious and emotional murkiness.
5
Hatred once again, based on what? Differences between religious groups? A belief that one religion is superior to others?
Like every other major world religion, Islam teaches love for others, but somehow that belief has been corrupted by radicals.
Shame on all extremists!
6
Sadly, blind loyalty to extreme ideology and nonsensical ideas exist also in this country.
And no, well connected and wealthy families are not immune.
Rather the opposite. Mob and other crime families are just one example.
The Trump family would be another example of filial loyalty run amuck. Brainwashed children and their spouses, doing the bidding of their crime boss leader. All for entry into the promised land, a sliver of wealth and power, here on earth.
15
The funniest denial came at the end when one of the government minister, SS, declared about giving the tycoon an award. I know nothing, we give out so many.
Perhaps instead of doing public relations grandstanding they can do some self examinations. I'm sure those who lost family and those injured would prefer that.
7
Considering how wealthy and politically connected this spice magnate is, it seems obvious why the warnings from India were ignored: the people in charge in Sri Lanka didn't want to go after the sons of such a powerful local business man.
18
As a Unitarian, I don't understand why Muslims hate Christians, and are hated by them -- just because they have different scriptures, different "gods"? Must be an underlying economic- -- and power -- factor, but those writing here don't seem to think so.
4
@Martha Stephens It's the same god though, they're both Abrahamic religions, Jesus is even a part of Islamic theology (albeit as a mortal prophet, and not as the son of God). I do believe that there needs to be a true introspection from both sides though. At the very least, people need to start realizing that demonizing/attacking Muslims only creates *more* terrorists, unless people don't care and just want to punish a perceived "other."
3
@Martha Stephens
Muslims do not hate Christians. One cannot use a handful of misguided so-called Muslims to generalize about 1.5 billion Muslims globally. There are rotten apples in every barrel. As for the scriptures followed by Christianity, they were heavily distorted and embellished during the five centuries following the attempted crucifixion two thousand years ago. The God is the same, but the interpretations of who God is are different. If it weren’t for the attempted crucifixion, all the scriptures would be the same.
@Martha Stephens
I've read that the Crusades and the European colonial occupation of many non-Christian cultures is used as a way of inspiring hated against all things Western/Christian. It could be a factor.
2
The rich father is now accuses of assisting his sons with the violencs. Which kind of puts the lie to the claim that it is poverty that causes the radical murdering islamism, doesn't it?
8
It may seem unlikely that rich people would do this, but please bear in mind that cults like the Ranjeesh in Oregon were comprised of middle class folks . Crazy knows no bounds.
13
The social media is deeply involved in terrorism. Ban it now or suffer the terrible consequences.
2
I feel sorry for Mohammad Yusuf Ibrahim.
It must horrific to loose two sons this way.
2
Unfortunate that in almost all of these terror attacks the attackers were often known and identified way ahead of time yet nothing was done. We need tore evaluate our ways of monitoring these people.
13
@RichardHead
nothing is done by the security or government apparatus which is composed of radical islamists.
And you need to evaluate why nothing was done???
3
We have all to thank and appreciate the information gathered by the Indian government intelligence agencies. The information was passed onto the Sri Lanka authorities. There was even a reminder, a few hours prior to this tragic incident.
Yet, all the information was not addressed with any seriousness. There is no evidence of immediate initiatives on the part of the intelligence services in Sri Lanka. Between the country's President, Prime Minister and other Cabinet officials, they are all now blaming each other.
This tragedy that has hit Sri Lanka is very sad. Violence in Sri Lanka is not new. In the past, there has been domestic terrorism, communal riots, the civil war involving the Tamil Tigers. This recent Easter Day incident is the worst of them all. What lessons will the people and the leaders learn from all these tragedies? What solutions will they find to avoid a repeat of these incidents in the future?
5
Doubt the government there will want, or be able, to do anything.
Striking this country off my bucket list!!! Simply too dangerous to be white, American, and Christian there.
If ISIS and would be terrorists are posting on FB and You tube, why can't intelligence agencies monitor the social media and take preventive action. Zahara, ring leader, was known for hateful speeches and incitement and was reportedly kicked out of his village, yet Sri Lankan intelligencies agencies didn't seem to surveill him. The carnage could have been prevented.
12
This implies that having money or not having money has no real diff on wannabe terrorists.
In fact, having money makes them more dangerous as they can execute this with more independence, makes them harder to track.
I won't be surprised; if we find that in fact father was involved in terms of revenge for Christ church. Radical Islam prefers revenge.. over reconciliation.
You can see that by silence on Islamic leaders including who spoke vehemently after Christ church bombings.
8
@P2
If this is revenge for Christchurch, it means the perpetrators collapsed religion (Christianity) into ethnicity (White Australian) in a quite ahistorical manner. In today's world, 70% of confessing Christians live in Africa, Asia and Latin America. (Atlas of Global Christianity). Let that sink in for a moment. The Christchurch shooting had as little connection to Christian faith as a Klu Klux Klan lynching, that is, nil. Both are about the worship of raw power to dominate, the wolf in sheep's clothing whose devotees lie hidden within many religions.
5
Maybe his extensive fortune should be confiscated to pay the families of the many victims.
20
"Sarath Fonseka, a member of Parliament who was an army chief in the last stage of Sri Lanka’s civil war, told Parliament on Wednesday that he had known about the memo, as had the national intelligence chief. He said it was “obvious that the letter would have gone to the president.”
And why did Mr Fonseka and the national intelligence chief fail to warn or act to prevent these events?
It seems that in Sri Lanka, as in the US, party politics trump patriotism, let alone human rights.
10
I find it unbelievable that so many here are surprised that people who willingly subscribe to a hateful, murderous, ideology commit hateful and murderous acts. It is like going to a wife beater convention and being surprised that so many women there have black eyes.
9
Seems like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc., is always at the core of these things.
I know there are many who feel social media is key to their lives being happy and meaningful, but I ask really? My life was pretty ok before and it is now. I have no use or time for any of them.
They snoop, track, sell and harass you all over the internet with your permission every time you sign on. You have zero privacy - you've given it away.
They are IMO a scourge,on civilized society. If the plug was pulled tomorrow, that would be a very good thing.
8
@Deb:It is historical: Anything new is cornered by greedy and unscrupulous elements to exploit the uncritical for more money. And the uncritical go to their own slaughter --taking others along.
2
@Deb This behaviour was around hundreds of years before computers.
1
@john - Yes, but it didn't spread like a virus to the other side of the planet in a nanosecond.
2
What difference does it make what economic strata the terrorists came from? Islamist ideology may influence Muslims regardless of age, class and gender. It’s qual opportunity and doesn’t discriminate, like disease.
4
If your God is telling you to kill, then your worshiping satan. The true God represents love.
Blessed are those who do not see yet believe. To those who believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of will of man, but of God.
3
The Ibrahim family, like the Bin Laden’s, were extremely wealthy, well-educated, successful business people, yet their privileged offspring perpetrated two of the most devastating terrorist acts in recent history. This explodes the myth about poverty and lack of education and economic opportunity constituting the so called “root causes” of terrorism. Hatred, whether religious or cultural, apparently is not financially motivated. I hope those crafting the new Middle East peace plan take note.
58
This isn't terribly surprising.
The 9/11 hijackers disproportionately came from backgrounds that were middle class or even more comfortable in their home countries, which included Egypt and Lebanon. The hijackers had also had an opportunity to study in western countries well before they ever affiliated with Al Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden himself was independently wealthy as one of the scions of the founder of the Bin Laden group, a major construction firm in Saudi Arabia.
Along similar lines, the "mastermind" of the attacks in Paris was raised in comfortable circumstances in Belgium by parents who had come to Belgium from Morocco.
What is the chance that we'll see a shift in news coverage overall that begins to acknowledge that extremist Islamist political and terror organizations do not have their appeal limited to those living in poverty?
48
We fear the wrong people.
Recruiting among the wealthier and well educated is a masterful strategy and one we see time again in movements across history.
In our own time these are the people who can easily get visas and afford to travel. They can walk into churches carrying backpacks loaded with bombs because this is what privilege confers. This is a lesson that bin Laden's life should have taught us.
We err in thinking that the huddle masses among the millions of refugees created by these endless wars are responsible for the danger we face. They simply want to live in peace, to raise their families and make lives for themselves. How much easier it is to point the finger at the poor, to build walls to keep them out, and to blame danger on them.
74
@historyprof This is SUCH an important point, one the media completely ignores.
6
Class: Some key basic underlying causes of global problem leading to terrorism in Sri Lanka, New Zealand, USA & elsewhere:
(1) wrongheaded ideology of "absolute religious freedom" (2) religious ideology of vengeance, holy war & harsh punishment (3) misguided tribal allegiance & identity politics (4) excessive liberal political correctness
Discuss among yourselves.
14
@Observer
“excessive liberal political correctness”.
Yawn. Can you provide a single instance where PC per se led to terrorism? You/I might find “excessive” PC distasteful, but that’s a very different matter.
6
This reminds me of the brutal attack on Dhaka's Holey Artisan bakery in Bangladesh in 2016 - most of the attackers, including the gang leader, were young men from very affluent and well educated families. After that attack, the govt put together a list of almost 200 people with similar profiles, who had suddenly disappeared in the last year or so - i.e. most likely joined or trained with a terrorist group, and started a crackdown to track them down and capture them. May be they are going through a similar exercise now in Sri Lanka - but in Dhaka, they did not have any advance warnings of the attack.
16
With mass shootings, bombings, the rise of ISIS, do we need more evidence that brainwashing from social media is a problem? Google, Facebook and other platforms are the primary tools for spreading hatred and worse.
97
@Paulo
I google something everyday either google directly, or search my voluminous and wonderful gmail. Reading this paper, I can highlight one or more words, right click and choose ( with my highlighted text appearing after) "Search Google for". Whenever I am on the treadmill, I view some of the smartest people I have come across giving presentations or being interviewed on YouTube. Would not like to live without it. Please don't lump them in with FaceBook.
7
@Paulo
Google, Facebook and other social media are no more than tools that can be used for good or bad. These people use them for bad, but many others, like my friends and I, use them for good.
1
We punish those that commit crimes- not those associated with criminals or those that knew of the crimes beforehand and said nothing. We would prosecute a wife beater but not the members of a Pro Wife Beating organization that only aides and abets wife beating.
21
@willt26
Not necessarily so. Aiding and abetting are often aspects of conspiracy, which is a crime.
2
One thing is undeniably clear - the vast majority of terrorists are well-educated and come from well-off families.
Obviously, poverty and powerlessness aren't driving terrorism despite whatever nonsense we've been told the "experts".
After all, a man doesn't live by bread alone.
53
@OTT 'vast majority'? citation please...
21
@kevin You can check the bios of the 19 9/11 hijackers, the underwear bomber, the British-born doctor who committed a terrorist act at Glasgow airport, and of course, Osama bin Laden and his successor Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri.
If poverty and hopelessness were the reason for terrorism, people crossing our Southern border would be wearing suicide vests, but (as I'm sure you know!) they don't. In fact, there are studies showing that they commit less crime than the native born.
23
For President Maithripala Sirisena to say he "was not kept informed" is insulting. A mechanism is in place to deal with impending criminal acts. If the police know that a major department store would be robbed at midnight do they need to inform the president? The fact is there were only three churches attacked and it would have been very easy to place police officers or even army soldiers at the churches. Or even inform the archbishop so services would have been called off. The only reason they are so lackadaisical is because there is no mechanism in place to hold them like how our congress is holding hearings to keep Trump accountable for at last ten incidents of obstruction of justice. Also the two men seen with backpacks in the elevator of the hotel that should never have happened. Security at the entrance of the hotel should have inspected those backpacks by hand or X-ray machine. Being that Sri Lanka is known as the country where suicide bombers started they of all people should have known better.
36
Here we go again. We all want to eradicate these vile killers of innocent people, yet many are already impulsively commenting as if they knew anything about this man or his family. Boycotting the company? He may well be guilty of something but we shouldn’t behave like our president.
This type of judgmental stereotyping is what terrorists act on when they commit atrocities. The posts reflect a dangerous mob mentality.
We should know better.
14
This is a frightening development when sons of bilioners are suicide bombers. Goes to show how much radicalisation can do such horrendous harm.
This has taken a different turn. My heart gies to Sri Lankans who by nature are a peaceful people
49
@Eraven
LOL I guess you never heard of Osama Bin Laden?
Son of a Saudi construction billionaire.
Rich sons adopting radical murdering jihad is far from a new development...
3
Well, there goes the nonsensical theory that terrorism is an act of desperation and powerlessness.
99
Terrorism is a political act of those lacking the power to overcome a political adversary by other means. More often than not the oppressed are in that position. Terrorism disrupts it does not defeat.
1
@Casual Observer - Except these people weren't oppressed. Their family was in the elite upper one percent of the country. As someone who was born and raised in Sri Lanka I can say that Muslims as a group were much more successful than the rest of the population, on average. They could have experienced some acts of discrimination (like all the non-Sinhala groups have) but were still dominant as traders, merchants and entrepreneurs.
14
Actually despite their social advantages they felt oppressed. Why, I don’t know. But clearly they sought freedom in the next life.
It might serve as a context to know that many foreign college students from non-Western countries were discouraged by their families from liberal studies. They wanted their children to learn the tricks of modern advances of technology, medicine, and business but not modern ways of thinking.
5
A tragedy indeed for this self made man.
Hope he was not complicit.
I don't know where to begin to express my anguish for a country and it's people who have gone thru so much.
Tamil Tigers almost bifurcated the country in two independent ones - without success, but with incredible loss of life and atrocities.
Let's not forget that suicide bombings are not the exclusive province of the muslims there.
A Tamil Tiger killed an ex prime minister of India in India.
During the civil war - the Tigers inflicted all kinds of atrocities on Sri Lankan people including bombing its airport in Colombo.
I was in Sri Lanka during Tamil Tiger days and years after.
It's a shame that these hostilities did not cease with the end of that secessionist war.
And this new Islamic threat of a small minority of people - I don't know what to say.
But Sri Lanka is looking for more days of peril, that's for sure.
25
Prosperity comes at a price. Resentment by those who don’t share in the bounty, ennui by those who do.
14
If the Sri Lankan Authorities ignored these warnings, you have to wonder WHY.
72
@Jean
same reason the US government ignored warnings before 9/11?
4
@Jean
Perhaps because in the ever increasing din of hate speech and mongering the obvious signs are blending in with the less dangerous ones. If the govt investigated each and every warning sign it would be in a quagmire of red tape.
What is the name of his company so we can boycott all of his products and/or the companies it sells to?
40
@Scott Because of his children?
14
@Scott
It's called Ishana Exports. Also, one of the sons ran a copper factory where it's believed the explosives may have been made.
This story is a bit more informative than the NYT's:
https://www.thisisinsider.com/the-father-of-2-of-the-suspected-sri-lanka-bombers-has-been-arrested-2019-4
1
@Scott: What? And give up spice?
The fact that the privileged background of the bombers is so puzzling and counter-intuitive suggests a wider failure to understand what is happening in the world. There is a general rejection of neo-capitalism, globalism and western consumer culture that is taking many forms: the Brexit mess and also the Extinction Rebellion in the UK, the Gilet Jaunes in France, the Trumpists in the US and the actions of group like ISIS are not directly linked but demonstrate a general dissatisfaction and rejectionist impulse towards what we in the west take as 'the best of all possible worlds' - our 24 hour a day, technology driven, consumption driven, greed motivated political economy and lifestyle. The 2020 presidential election is shaping up to be a referendum on our excesses with the Orange Julius King Donald being the great pretender when it comes to reining in the excesses.
135
@Jemenfou
Anybody with an IQ of less than 90 would certainly feel cheated by the information economy that is taking over the world. They would have very limited prospects for future prosperity. They may also be more suggestible due to their lower comprehension of facts and critical thinking. I am not trying to be elitist, I am just saying that this may be part of what we are seeing. I doubt that this is smart people rejecting a technology-driven world and lifestyle.
2
@Will Hogan Oh but they are, particularly the people fighting to save the planet. Here is an example of it https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/25/capitalism-economic-system-survival-earth
I find this fact more terrifying than the terrifying event: most of the bombers had been well educated and had come from middle-class or upper-class families.
88
The names of the bombers must be kept secret. Their families, neighbors and community members knew what was going to happen and said nothing: and they must be protected from punishment.
12
Ok my fellow Americans see what can happen when leaders and or a political party refuses to act on intelligence information gathered both domestically and from abroad. Just put that in your mind for a few minutes and do some critical thinking about where are nation currently sits.
258
@Chris Please explain. Are you talking about Russian influence that propelled Trump to office? Private servers used for email that condemned Ms. Clinton but lets Jerod and Ivanka off the hook? You have me thinking but I could use a little more info. Thanks.
15
@Chris...Critically thinkingly, Chris, are you referring to the US Intelligence Community that alerted the US Administration to Russian attempts to influence US internal affairs as early as 2012? Are you referring to the US President who has acknowledged personal knowledge of Russian attempts to influence the 2016 US elections, yet that US President decided to do nothing because he did not want to appear to be attempting to influence the US election himself? Critically thinkingly, is that to which you allude, Chris?
2
@Rixax & Albert Edmund re Chris: Nah, go back a bit further in U.S. history of blatant inattention to serious intel warnings. I could be wrong, but I think Chris is talking about all those official alerts sitting on desks, gathering dust prior to 9-11 - while Bush was at his "ranch" bush-whacking & Condi was out buying Ferragamos.
YouTube, too, has a lot to answer for. It has spectacularly failed to remove ISIS-related or white supremacist propaganda from its site. Freedom of speech does not cover people who preach death to innocents.
267
@S North
YouTube is too busy taking down old Kate Smith songs, in deference to its politically correct pandering supporters.
107
Apparently it did in Skokie Illinois
@S North
Youtube is Google - the evil company that brainwashed everyone with their "Do no evil" fake corporate mantra. Silicon valley is no friend to progress. It only cares to sell you whatever it comes up with.
65
I'm surprised they haven't announced an investigation on how this failure to act happened.
13
@EJ I imagine that would be hard when the people who were responsible for not acting are the same ones responsible for starting an investigation..
I suspect though that some will be figuratively executed very soon if only to cover for the appalling failure of the government..
18
@EJ Quit blaming the govt. Blame the people who committed this atrocious act. No govt. can control everyone. China does it, they are safe but Westerners complain they r Big Brother. U can't have it both ways.
9
@EJ
Umm, the security forces, senior security and government officials are mostly extreme islamists.
And you wonder why nothing was done about the warning???
I always believed that education and prosperity would tamper hatred and xenophobia. But incidents of the 21st century has made me pause: 9/11 suicide bombers, to these guys, to our own President, such hatred of "others" seeks no bound as caste, color, creed, economic conditions, or education. As the whole world becomes a cacophony on social media, only dog whistles of violence and hatred are heard to which people react. ISIS tells people on FB to take action, our president tells people on Twitter about our muslim congresswomen and people react.
181
@A Common Man We watch daily the triumph of "faith" over "facts". That is what this is too. Various "faiths" stoking "hate" of those who have a different set.
67
@AnObserver
You said: "We watch daily the triumph of "faith" over "facts". That is what this is too. Various "faiths" stoking "hate" of those who have a different set."
It is easy to turn your claim on its head: that education into the "facts," is not enough. These men were well educated and financially secure. The problem is the binary opposition between faith and reason, enforced, at times, by bot sides. In part because of dismissive attitudes toward faith, our young people, when confronted simultaneously with the emptiness of secular success-monetary and educational-are unprepared to distinguish among competing faith claims. I've seen it time and time again when teaching college students for decades. Trust me, the enlightened secular way is no worthy object of faith. It fails over and over again. The solution is not dismissing faith out of hand. More courses in the great religions of the world, as well as their distorted off-shoots, is what is called for.
17
@A Common Man
I agree. Most Poor South Asian people following different religion live in proximities (at least in cities) and are too busy making a living having no time and money to indulge in modern communication means like youTube and facebook to get radicalized. Mostly it is rich and educated who get brainwashed by propaganda and misinformation online. Once indoctrinated It is very difficult if not impossible to change mind of educated person because they think they know it all.
15
The Indian intelligence services deserve international praise for their diligence and professionalism. The warnings were extremely detailed, and repeated over a long period of time.
The sharing of such information among nations is crucial in the battle against terrorism. That Sri Lankan officials ignored these warnings is nothing short of criminal.
The United Nations should investigate this event, and extend opprobrium and approbation where deserved.
321
@Matt Olson
You were doing fine until that last paragraph. The UN is the most ineffectual organization on the planet.
What are they doing about Yemen and Syria? The Uighurs and Eastern Ukraine? Did they stop the USA from making a complete mess of Iraq and Libya? Have they made a difference against the Shahab in Africa, the Taliban in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Hezbollah in Lebanon?
(Note that whenever Muslims are involved, they're typically the instigators and not the poor innocent victims unless it's Shia on Sunni violence . . .)
2