Islamic Fundamentalism
In 1993, Islamic terrorists bombed the World Trade Center in New York City, killing 7 people and injuring more than 1,000. In 1995, 19 Americans were killed and 500 were injured when Islamic terrorists blew up American barracks in Saudi Arabia. Islamic terrorists bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania simultaneously in 1998, killing 258 and wounding more than 5,000. Seventeen U.S. servicemen were killed when Islamic terrorists bombed the USS Cole at a Yemen port in 2000. In 2001, Islamic terrorists hijacked four U.S. airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon, and rural Pennsylvania, killing more than 3,000 people.
These and other terrorist attacks contribute, not unreasonably, to the Western perception that all Muslims are anti-American terrorists. Terrorist attacks receive enormous media attention, and most Americans base their views of Muslims on the stories they hear on the news. To be sure, most Westerners are unaware of Muslim customs and ideologies, except for what they learn from the media. It is important to acknowledge that not all Muslims are fundamentalists, and not all fundamentalists are terrorists. However, fundamentalism, by its very nature, carries the threat of extremism, and extremism can easily morph into violence. Islamic fundamentalists can therefore pose a terrorist threat to their enemies. Unfortunately, many Middle Easterners perceive America as an enemy. Knowing the principles of Islam