Editor’s note: This article contains descriptions of graphic events that may be triggering to some.
This past Friday, Novemeber 13th, the world saw horrors that will go down in history books. In the span of 24 hours, ISIS (hereafter referred to as Daesh) orchestrated three attacks in Beirut, Baghdad, and Paris, resulting in the deaths of at least 181 people.
In Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, at least 41 people were killed and at least 200 were wounded in two suicide bombings. The attack, which occurred late Thursday night, was the deadliest since the end of Lebanon’s civil war in 1990. The first bomber wore a suicide vest and detonated outside of a Shia mosque, the second detonated inside a nearby bakery, and a third man who failed to detonate the vest properly claimed that Daesh was responsible. On the day after the attacks, the nation held a day of mourning for those lost.
On Friday morning, a suicide bomber attacked a funeral being held in Baghdad, Iraq. The bomb, which was detonated inside a Shiite mosque, killed at least 17 people and wounded at least 33. The funeral being held was for a volunteer paramilitary soldier, and a Shiite Muslim. Daesh views Shiite Muslims as heretics, which may have been a motive for attacking the funeral.
Friday night, Paris was hit with the most deadly attack since World War Two. Almost simultaneously, terrorists hit six places in the City of Lights – the Stade de France, La Petit Cambodge restaurant and bar, the Rue de la Fontaine au Roi, the Bataclan concert hall, the Boulevard Voltaire, and La Belle Equipe bar. Between the shootings and suicide bombings, at least 120 people were killed, and the streets were absolute chaos. Buses and cabs drove people home for free, and social media lit up with the hashtag #porteouverte – French for “open door” – to let those trapped on the streets know that shelter was being provided for them.
photo courtesy of www.npr.org
As this article is being written two days after the attacks, French military jets are bombing the Daesh stronghold in Raqqa, Syria. Twenty bombs were dropped and destroyed their targets, including a command center, ammunition storage base, and training center. A media page associated with Daesh claimed that all targets had been evacuated before the bombings, but this has not yet been confirmed.
How You Can Help
If you are religious, consider praying for Paris, Beirut, Baghdad, and other countries that have been victims of Daesh attacks. There are many wounded who are struggling to recover, and cities being rebuilt.
It may seem simple, but consider using the name Daesh instead of ISIS. Daesh comes from the acronym for the group’s name in Arabic, al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, but has now been forbidden in territories controlled by the terrorists; for in Arabic it sounds like the insult used for “bigot.” Also, identifying these terrorists as an Islamic state gives a false sense of legitimacy and validity, since it allows the group to name itself and equates it with a religion. World leaders are dropping ISIS and using Daesh, if for no reason other than that it annoys the terrorists.
Be sure not to spread unsourced information – if you hear something about ISIS naming its next target, make sure the information is true before you pass it on. Spreading false information can cause unnecessary fear and panic.
And finally, collegiettes, remember that terrorism has no religion. Every religion has its extremists, and they do not speak for every member of that religion.
Terrorism is meant to divide, so do not let it divide us.