World Summit on Counter-Terrorism
ICT's 8th International Conference - September 11, 2008
Workshop - Closing and/or Countering Radical Islamic Media?
Counterterrorism tends to assume the existence of terrorists and to stop them from doing damage. On this panel, we take a step back to offer a deeper form of prevention.
We propose to reduce the number of new recruits to terrorism by cutting off the Islamist incitement and ideology that inspires individuals to offer their souls, bodies, and even their lives to terrorism. Our goal is to remind counter-terrorists about the need to devote serious attention to the war of ideas.
Our discussion begins with a brief introduction that establishes the importance of ideas. In contrast to the widely accepted neo-Marxist focus on economic interests, we hold that convictions drive political actions in general and terrorist assaults in particular. Yes, you are what you eat – but, even more, you are what you think.
Our panelists will (1) document terrorist incitement in the Muslim world with vivid video clips; (2) trace efforts to limit the reach of Hezbollah’s Al-Manar radio and television station complex, perhaps the leading terrorist propaganda vehicle in the world; (3) note how Islamists exploit Western free-speech protections to incite to violence; and (4) explain what steps Western governments, in light of their free-speech codes, can take to restrict the spread of pro-terrorism messages.
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