December 13, 2006

Fighting terrorism with microcredit

2006 Nobel Peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus says guns are not the way to fight terrorism. In his view terrorism will prevail until the world addresses its root causes, like poverty and human rights. If poverty is alleviated peace will prevail in humans.

Egyptian writer Dr. Alaa Al Aswany says that the recent fanaticism in Islam is not due to a clash of civilization but poverty.

Fanaticism in Egypt starts in poor areas, because the poor are desperate. The current regime here is dealing with them in an inhuman way, arresting and torturing them. Religion is being used as a cover for social unrest, a way to empower these people who are not empowered.

Here are some of the links of Dr. Yunus's interviews:

* PBS News hour: Video, Script.

* The Daily Show: Video

* The People Speak: Video

* The Charlie Rose Show: Video.

And there is even a music video tribute to Yunus. The CD is for sale to raise fund for eye hospitals in Bangladesh. Cool!

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