By Amanda Cohen ’18

Since 2014, the terrorist group commonly known as ISIS: The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or the “Islamic Caliphate” (a theological empire), has established their reign of radicalism in the areas they control, which are mainly in western Iraq and eastern Syria. They have instituted a genocide based on the idea of ethnic cleansing of those who oppose their beliefs, carrying  out mass killings of Christians, Alawites, and other Shiites and Yazidis in the territories they control. However, these attacks are certainty not limited to the areas controlled by ISIS, as they seem to progressively gain power and inflict global fear through their obvious indifference to human life. As a passionate protector or human rights, I have been repulsed by the nature of ISIS-related violence. Overall, I think it is very important that we keep up with the spread of ISIS in attempt to prevent further detrimental effects. While it is clear that this terrorist group has been present for a while now, recent attacks over the past few months are proof that they will never give up their attempt to take over the world through acts of severe violence.

On June 12th, 2016, Omar Mateen, an American citizen, raided a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida and went on a shooting rampage. This horrific act was classified as the worst mass shooting in American history, as it left 49 people dead and 53 wounded. After shooting the victims, Mateen spoke to law enforcement officials and claimed allegiance to the terrorist group, ISIS.

Later in the month, on June 28th, there was a grenade attack at a nightclub in Puchong, Malaysia, believed to be the first ISIS-related attack in Malaysia. The two men involved in carrying out the violent attack, which injured eight victims, received orders from a member of the terrorist group named Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi. Malaysian police officers arrested 15 people who were involved in the act, and the Islamic State later took credit for the grenade attack on Facebook.

On June 29th, 2016, suicide bombers went into the Istanbul international airport and killed 44 people. Although the definitive nationalities of the bombers are unknown, officials believe the three attacks to be from Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and think that they were living in Turkey for a month prior to the attack after leaving Raqqua: an ISIS base in Syria.

Several gunmen went into a restaurant in Dhaka, Bangaldesh on July 1st, 2016 and set off explosives. The gunmen held at least twenty people hostage over the course of an eleven-hour standoff with the police officers. Police successfully rescued some of the hostages, however two officers were killed in the attempt to stop the gunmen. The Islamic State later claimed responsibly for this tragic attack.

On July 16th, 2016, an attacker by the name of Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who was believed to be a soldier of the Islamic State, carried out a deadly attack with a 20-ton truck to plow down hundreds of people in Nice, France. Bouhlel killed 84 civilians, and left many others critically injured.

While these acts are unbelievably tragic, it is crucial that we educate ourselves properly on the presence of ISIS so we can fight the radical sectors of the Islamic State.  When asked about her perception of the global threat imposed by ISIS and any other implications, Ellie Pitkowsky ’18 described her “immense fear and inability to propose any sort of solution”. The only way to combat this fear is through education.  As members of the Newark Academy community, we should encourage much discussion about this current issue, as it will clearly affect our generation. It is extremely important that we understand modern of global terrorism, especially as we look to elect our next United States president in November.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/25/world/map-isis-attacks-around-the-world.html?_r=0

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/16/europe/france-attack-on-nice-isis/

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/us/orlando-shooting.html

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/04/homepage2/islamic-state-attack-malaysia/

http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/01/europe/turkey-istanbul-ataturk-airport-attack/