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Use Free Learning Resources on “The Misguided War on Terrorism” from Parliament Keynote Dr. Robert Pape

November 19, 2015

In the below follow-up message to the global interfaith community, Dr. Robert Pape shares further resources from the body of academic and media work conducted at the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism, where he directs research at the University of Chicago. Hear from Pape in the video below question if the war on terror could actually be increasing the number of terrorists during his keynote address at the 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions plenary on Confronting War, Violence and Hate with Love and Compassion in Salt Lake City, Utah, October 17, 2015. 
Dispelling the dangerous and pervasive myths regarding what conditions created the rise of global terrorism is a fundamental step in not only defeating terrorism, but also putting a stop to the violent and discriminatory backlash faced by suspect ethnic and religious communities.

 

Dear All,
My name is Dr. Robert Pape and I had the honor of speaking to all of you at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City last month. My work as a researcher of terrorism and violence often exposes me to some of the worst of what the world has to offer and it was a wonderful privilege to look out at an audience of 10,000 people instead determined to see the world at its best.
I am the director of the Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism at the University of Chicago where I conduct grant-based terrorism research for the Department of Defense, the Office of Naval Research and the Carnegie Corporation of New York
This work is spreading the word about how to actually fight terrorism. For too long, we have relied on the false impression that we are in a war against Islam. Instead data from thousands of attacks around the world shows that foreign occupation, not religion, is the key driver for suicide terrorism.
I am including:

a transcript of the speech I delivered at the Parliament Plenary | Download Here >
a pdf of a recent editorial published in the Chicago Tribune | Download Here >
the first chapter of my latest book, Cutting the Fuse. | Download Here >

You can find more online at cpost.uchicago.edu, on Twitter @CPOST_UChicago, or by signing up for our newsletter here.
Above all, please speak to those around you, including your family, friends, and colleagues about what you see as the best way forward. If each of us would tell three people and they in turn would tell three more, we could avoid the mistakes of the past.
Sincerely, 
Dr. Robert Pape