Another blow to the "poverty-causes-terrorism" angle. And, as with the case of the MIT jihadist, it underscores how little attention is given to the question of who our own educational institutions may be equipping with knowledge they can later use to attack us.
"They are engineering 'jihad'," by Robin David for Times News Network, August 22:
AHMEDABAD: Many of those accused of planning and executing the serial blasts of Ahmedabad do not come from stereotypical backgrounds generally associated with terrorists - uneducated men from poor families. They are educated men with some form of technical training.
While this may surprise many, a recent study by two scholars from Oxford University says this is only part of a larger international trend. They have found that over the years, those with engineering degrees are over-represented in Islamic terror organisation.
Among the SIMI men Safdar Nagori is a mechanical engineer. Although, the man behind the 'Indian Mujahideen' terror email Abdul Subhan Qureshi alias Taufique is considered a computer whiz. Iqbal Shaikh holds an ITI diploma in electrical engineering while Gyasuddin Ansari has an ITI diploma in radio technology.
Sociologists Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog compiled a list of 404 members of violent Islamist groups.
Why am I not surprised?
Reverse Engineering comes to mind. We have this notion in the West that to even attempt to vet those who take in is a form of prejudice, if not persecution. Dead civilians seems to be the only thing that moves politicians today.
The thing is our founding fathers never thought that we'd be have become so money hungry and stupid that we'd educate the people who are our mortal enemies.
Nor did they ever consider that our legal profession would whore themselves out like a pack of over priced hookers to them as well.
Ohh well just proves lawyers are scum.
If Hitler was alive today America would have no defense against him. Our ruling elite, business bosses and intellectuals would actively collude with such a monster if it would mean money or prestige.
Our only hope is if the Muslims nuke D.C. and NYC which would eradicate the political and corporate cancers that are eating away at our country.
But then again, dead civilians aren't even enough for our leaders to say and do what must be done. Now, if politicians were murdered en masse, we'd no doubt find them saying and doing what we've been waiting for since 9/11. A sick truth, but it is what it is.
waltc,
YOUR hope is insane and it would 'eradicate' far more than 'the political and corporate cancers' you hate.
Now, on to the early point you made before you lost it:
Capitalism is one thing, but what we're seeing is unprincipled scum making a killing at the expense of our security and future. We're constantly getting Bucked Over by Sowdie-owned politicians who have chosen their narrow self-interest instead of their rational self-interest that emcompasses their country.
You say you're not surprised that the "jihadists" are using our own educational system as a way to gain knowledge and use it agaisnt us.
I would say the least surprised have to be the Saudi's. They send hundreds of students over here basically on a full ride scholarship from the government to go to our schools. When they return, their not only Saudi's who went to Madrassa's when they grew up-- but now Saudi's who have an excellent American education. I'm sure these are the people that Al-qaeda and the Taliban want to recruit.
NO! NO! Cannot be true!
In Britain the liberal left Guardian quotes an MI5 report that;
"The key vulnerabilities identified by MI5 analysts that made those studied receptive to extremist ideology included the experience of migrating to Britain and facing marginalisation and racism; the failure of those with degrees to achieve anything but low-grade jobs; a serious criminal past; travel abroad for up to six months at a time and contact with extremist networks overseas; and religious naivety."
www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/aug/20/uksecurity.terrorism
The Doctors and Lawyers guilds of Egypt have also consistently elected Islamist leadership.
The "lack of education" canard is just that.
"While this may surprise many,...
From the article.
Not to regulars on this site, it doesn't. Still, it's good that someone else is finally taking notice.
It is the holy book and Mulsim UMMA under saudi caliphate which the west is ignosring due to its arms lobby connection to saudi kings
Before jumping to conclusions about engineering and related backgrounds being over-represented among jihadists, it seems necessary to first know the overall ratio of this type of academic training for Muslims generally.
My hunch is the humanities, law,economics and such are grossly under-represented overall among the Muslim population, whereas the technical subjects, Arabic, and Islamic studies predominate.
If so, discussing the reasons for this would not be a trivial pursuit.
No surprise here. Engineers are better equiped to develop the methods to kill people....which seems to be one of the main goals of Islamic people. How can it be that this murderous cult is allowed to continue.
we need to ban students from muslim countries. all of them. they need to pack they bags and go.
Engineering??? I thought most muslims were doctors... Don't these people know 'engineering' is haram? Allah gave 'engineering' to filthy kufrs so they could destroy themselves with it.
Muslims are not supposed to engineer anything.
Is there something in the Quran where Allah says:
'In all your getting, get engineering'?
In all of Islams history, only a few muslims were interested in engineering, while the west has every kind of engineer.
I guess muslims can't all be doctors.
I recall watching a documentary film which aired after 9/11. The veiled female journalist visited several communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan and noted the large percentage of western educated male 'engineers' were chronically unemployed.
Since females were not permitted to speak to strangers, she interviewed a couple of young boys. One of the boys worked collecting (sarcasm) bicycle and auto parts. The other, about 8 or 9 years old, worked in the rug weaving industry. It was noted that a childs small fingers were well suited to such a delicate art. These boys were the sole source of income for their families.
One of the male adult relatives, between 20 and 30 years old, had not worked in years because of a supposed foot injury. He demonstrated his limp for the camera and then sat back down on his dusty doorstep and lit up a cigarette.
The journalist noted a significant number of the adult men were not only unemployed, but under the influence of drugs.
'Insha'Allah'
I guess muslims can't all be doctors.
Posted by: duh_swami
Doctors are pretty good at killing people too.
No amount of education will protect an individual from contempt and disregard for much of his fellow man if a hate-filled ideology gets a hold of him early enough. I think I have one in mind. It masquerades as a religion of peace and tolerance.
I wonder why these people have to study anything. After all, every type of knowledge is in Koran (such as earth is flat, sun dips into a dirty pond every evening, and other such wisdom conveyed by Mo). Muslims want to emulate Mo, but conveniently discard this practice to use infidel inventions like phones, computers, etc.
Great point, IndianTiger.
Ok Citizens of the World, one more time, say it all together now: Stop promoting scientific and technical education to people who want to destroy democracy and kill us. Treat scientific, engineering, and manufacturing education as ITAR restricted information
http://pmddtc.state.gov/consolidated_itar.htm
... or prepare for the rise of our own "non-state actors".