Dr. Ibrahim Al-Othaimin
The terrorist attack which took place in the US city of Orlando on Sunday, June 12, 2016 leading to the death and injury of dozens of civilians was a criminal act that contravened all moral and humanitarian values and principles. Such atrocities are not acceptable in any divine religion, norm or international convention. There is no humane or moral justification for any act of terrorism. This incident only indicates that terrorism is a global threat that requires quick and effective cooperation among the international community to eliminate and fight its extremist ideology.
Although Omar Mateen, the attacker, acted individually in planning the massacre, a number of key factors contributed to the terrorist attack.
First of all, extremist ideology has became transboundary. Since September 2014, the US-led international coalition together with Arab countries including Saudi Arabia has launched heavy air strikes on Daesh (the self-proclaimed IS) including in Syria, Iraq and even Libya, causing the organization to be financially paralyzed and economically stifled.
Therefore, it was predictable that Daesh would take its battles across borders as seen in France, Belgium and other European countries, and an attack on US soil came as no surprise since at the very start of the coalition’s air strikes, a Daesh spokesman threatened that the organization would respond to the strikes by carrying out attacks in the US as well as against its allies.
In February 2016, Director of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, Vincent Stewart, in his testimony on Capitol Hill said that “Daesh is likely to try carrying out attacks in Europe and it will try to carry out attacks directly on US soil in 2016”. Thus, Daesh’s attack against member-states of the coalition was not surprising; the question, rather, lies in its ability to reach and target the depth of these countries in which it does not have a huge network of cells.
However, it has the ability to use the media to send messages to sympathizers to carry out attacks even though they are not necessarily affiliated to it. This is what CNN’s national security analyst, Peter Bergen, refers to as "resource mobilization for jihad". So, extremist terrorist ideology is no longer confined to a particular country, it has become a transboundary ideology that requires international mobilization and serious efforts to fight it in all areas.
Secondly, there is a security gap that is represented in the misuse of guns. The debate on guns is an ongoing, hugely controversial issue in American society which raises heated debate in academic circles, in the media and between Republicans and Democrats. However, there is explicit provision in the US Constitution for the right of individuals to own weapons. The sale of arms in the United Sates is as popular as that of groceries. Big shopping malls with Kmart and Walmart sell firearms alongside foodstuff and toys. Omar Mateen, the Orlando attacker, had a license since 2011 to carry a semi-automatic rifle and a pistol. Had he not had permission to carry a rifle, the loss of human lives would not have been as high.
Coincidently with the Orlando attack, a bomb blast took place in the Chinese Shanghai Pudong International Airport resulting in light injuries to four people. The difference between the two incidents is evident. Possession of firearms is not permissible for ordinary people in China, making it easier to control the situation.
Data published by the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention show that people in America are more likely to be killed by a weapon than people in other developed countries. The average number of victims of gun violence in America from 2007-2009 was 10,987 people/year.
Another report from the FBI shows that firearms were used in 8,583 out of 12,664 cases of murder in America in 2011. The report adds that California leads the states in firearms murders followed by Texas. Therefore, the right to own a weapon must be reviewed as suggested by a writer in the Washington Post who states that “possession of firearms is behind everything, and the provision of the Constitution was drafted in the 18th century and has nothing to do with weapons of this age”.
Finally, homophobia was also an important factor in the tendency toward violence that led to the Orlando massacre. Despite signing the United Nations convention to eliminate all forms of discrimination against homosexuals, and the legalization by the US Supreme Court of same-sex marriage in June 2015, controversy over this moral issue has raged for decades within American society. With regard to his son's recent actions in Orlando, Mir Seddique, stated: “We were in Miami center and people were playing music, and all of a sudden, Omar saw two men kissing each other in front of his wife and kid, so he flared up”.
Hence, when an issue which has a moral aspect is put together with an extremist terrorist ideology where there is a misuse of firearms, we can see how the likes of the Orlando tragedy can occur.
— Dr. Ibrahim Al-Othaimin is a Middle East affairs specialist and security analyst based in Riyadh. He can be contacted at Ibrahim.othaimin@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @Alothaimin
