Mark Meets World: Don’t stoop to #StopIslam after Brussels bombing

Washburn Review writer, Mark Feuerborn

Mark Feuerborn

Not even four months after a gruesome attack on Paris, ISIS has claimed responsiblity for a bombing attack on Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

This was a very strategic location for the terrorists to strike. As the headquarters of the European Union, the message ISIS wanted to convey in Brussels was very clear. No place is safe, as they hope we’ll believe.

I was very saddened to learn that an attack I initially thought had been prevented had instead been carried out successfully. Last Friday, the lone survivor of the terrorists involved in the Paris attack, Salah Abdeslam, was found and arrested in his hideout in Brussels. The Foreign Minister of Belgium also concluded the terrorist seemed to be plotting another attack.

That attack was carried out yesterday without Abdeslam.

I offer my condolences to those who lost loved ones in the attack and those who were injured. I can only hope that Belgium and its European allies will crack down to prevent any further attacks.

That does not, however, mean that they need to target all Muslims of any nation. As I previously stressed in my column on the Paris attacks, the terrorists involved with that attack were all confirmed European nationals. They were all born and raised in countries of the European Union, and it was proven that they carried fake Syrian passports to spread fear among the world towards Syrian immigrants. Unfortunately, they were successful.

No information on suspects has been released, but I must conclude that the terrorists in Belgium were also European nationals, especially considering their successful infiltration after Paris.

Now I see a similar reponse emerging from our presidential candidates. Donald Trump has continued his typical rant against Muslims, saying the United States needs to close our borders to them and reintroduce waterboarding.

What really surprised me is that even Ted Cruz joined in, advocating that our law enforcement be allowed to monitor and patrol Muslim neighborhoods. #StopIslam has even begun trending.

I now plead with Ichabods and Americans nationwide to keep from falling for this call for a witch hunt. We only make more enemies when we inaccurately point fingers.