May 3, 2007:
One reason for Islamic terrorism is
there are too many Moslems. At least in the sense that the economies of Islamic
countries cannot create enough jobs for all the young people coming of age.
Consider that for the last fifty years, the population of all Moslem countries
has tripled. That's population growth that is more than double the rate of the
world as a whole, and about ten times the rate of Europe. It's about five times
the rate in the United States.
Many of those unemployed young men are angry, and
making war is a typical activity of angry young men. But the women are not too
happy either, and this is becoming one a major threat to Islamic terrorists. In
Islamic societies, women's activities are greatly restricted. One thing they
are encouraged to do is have lots of children. Many women in Islamic countries
are rebelling against this. You don't hear much about this, because women don't
rebel in the same loud, headline grabbing way that men do. What unhappy women
often do is stop having children. Not so easy to do, you think? Well, think
again.
The rest of the world has found that the best way
to curb population growth is to give women educational and economic
opportunities. This actually works too well, with many industrialized nations producing
so few children, that their populations are shrinking. The primary way around
this is allowing migrants from higher population countries. In Europe, this has
meant lots of Moslems. While this has brought in some terrorists, the vast
majority of migrants are looking for economic and educational opportunities.
But it's in Europe that you get the best look at the womens revolt in the
Islamic world. The men are fighting back, and the rebellious Moslem women
murdered in Western countries get reported. But they are now becoming news in
countries like Pakistan as well.
While Islamic countries tend to have very low
levels of education, especially for women, the introduction of satellite
television and DVDs has enabled even illiterate women to learn that there are
other options. Ignorance is an excellent form of control, but when the
ignorance is lost, so is the control.
Thus in most Islamic countries, the women are
having fewer children, and making more noise about economic and educational
opportunities. This resonates with some of the better informed Islamic men. One
reason the West, and other parts of the world, have enjoyed much better
economic growth than the Moslem countries, is that they have added large number
of educated women to their work force.
Losing control of the women is something that makes
Islamic conservatives very angry. Murderously angry. This is a vicious, lethal
battle taking place largely out of the media spotlight. But, long term, it is
destroying the source of Islamic terrorism.