Is religious faith the cure for terrorism? [View all]
The Globe and Mail
Published Saturday, May. 18 2013, 12:00 PM EDT
Last updated Sunday, May. 19 2013, 1:39 AM EDT
An Israeli law student assassinates a prime minister on behalf of other Jews. A twentysomething Christian militant plants pipe bombs at the Atlanta Olympics in opposition to abortion and gay rights. A young Norwegian man embarks on a mass shooting to “save” his country from Muslim immigrants. Former Ontario high-school classmates become radicalized and join a plot to attack an Algerian gas plant. Two Muslim brothers, one just 19, bomb the Boston Marathon in supposed defence of Islam.
Extremism transcends age and faith, but young people – and young men – are particularly susceptible. Many of their outbursts are carried out in religion’s name, although the dynamics are usually more complex than that. The Globe’s Faith Exchange panel has convened to discuss what religious communities can do to engage young people and provide alternatives to extremism.
•Sheema Khan writes a monthly column for The Globe and Mail. She has a master’s degree in physics and a PhD in chemical physics from Harvard. She is the author of Of Hockey and Hijab: Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman .
•Matt Wilkinson is director of youth ministries for Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec and author of Youth Ministry: Now and Not Yet .
•Sikander Hashmi is an imam, writer and teacher in Kingston, Ont.
•Lorna Dueck has been reporting on Christian practice in Canadian life for the past 20 years. She is an evangelical Christian and host of Context with Lorna Dueck , seen Sundays on Global and Vision TV.
•Howard Voss-Altman has been serving Temple B’nai Tikvah, Calgary’s reform Jewish congregation, for the past 10 years. He is a community leader in the areas of human rights and civil liberties.
•Moderator Guy Nicholson is an editor in The Globe’s Comment section. He professes no religious beliefs.
Guy Nicholson: Looking at a list of incidents like the one above, some Canadians would conclude that religious teaching is a cause of extremism, rather than a solution. What would you say to that, panelists?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/is-religious-faith-the-cure-for-terrorism/article11999628/
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