When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
CLARIN

The Pope Is Wrong, 'Islamic Terrorism' Does Indeed Exist

Just as terrorism in the name of other religions has existed throughout history. We must call evil things by their name if we want to overcome them.

Still image from an ISIS propaganda video
Still image from an ISIS propaganda video

-OpEd-

Pope Francis declared in February that there was no such thing as Islamic terrorism. By doing so, he negated the existence of terrorism that is inherently religious in nature whether it's Christian, Jewish or Muslim. I do not dispute his good intentions — he avoids slandering a whole religion because some of its followers commit acts of terror — but I do have a serious problem with the actual truth of his assertion.

History provides us with many examples of religious terrorists. The Jewish assassins who cut the throats of Romans and their own compatriots in a war against Rome (66-73 AD) invoked the God of Israel. Jesuits did the same to non-Catholics even if it does seem ironic to do so considering the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Islamic case is essentially different, as I point out in my book Mahoma, el guía ("Muhammad the Guide").

Prophet Muhammad was a different character before and after the year 622. Prior to that year, he was a peaceful man who announced the approach of the Day of Judgment, and urged people to submit to The One God.

religion violence islam muhammad

In 622, when Muhammad left Mecca for Medina, he became a military ruler who used the sword to spread his word. Since Islam considers Muhammad's life a model for emulation, even in its smallest details, this change of path would lay the foundation for legitimizing various forms of violence including terrorism.

While there are Muslim terrorists whose actions cannot be attributed to Islam. Many Muslims are, certainly, opposed to terrorism. But this does not mean that Islamic terrorism is not, as the pope claims, simply terrorism perpetrated by Muslims. ISIS, al-Nusra, Hamas, Hezbollah and similar groups backed by regimes in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran, are terror groups that invoke Islam in their actions.

This makes Islamic terrorism a real threat, even though many leaders, including the pope, are regrettably unable to face that fact.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Green

Forest Networks? Revisiting The Science Of Trees And Funghi "Reaching Out"

A compelling story about how forest fungal networks communicate has garnered much public interest. Is any of it true?

Thomas Brail films the roots of a cut tree with his smartphone.

Arborist and conservationist Thomas Brail at a clearcutting near his hometown of Mazamet in the Tarn, France.

Melanie Jones, Jason Hoeksema, & Justine Karst

Over the past few years, a fascinating narrative about forests and fungi has captured the public imagination. It holds that the roots of neighboring trees can be connected by fungal filaments, forming massive underground networks that can span entire forests — a so-called wood-wide web. Through this web, the story goes, trees share carbon, water, and other nutrients, and even send chemical warnings of dangers such as insect attacks. The narrative — recounted in books, podcasts, TV series, documentaries, and news articles — has prompted some experts to rethink not only forest management but the relationships between self-interest and altruism in human society.

But is any of it true?

The three of us have studied forest fungi for our whole careers, and even we were surprised by some of the more extraordinary claims surfacing in the media about the wood-wide web. Thinking we had missed something, we thoroughly reviewed 26 field studies, including several of our own, that looked at the role fungal networks play in resource transfer in forests. What we found shows how easily confirmation bias, unchecked claims, and credulous news reporting can, over time, distort research findings beyond recognition. It should serve as a cautionary tale for scientists and journalists alike.

First, let’s be clear: Fungi do grow inside and on tree roots, forming a symbiosis called a mycorrhiza, or fungus-root. Mycorrhizae are essential for the normal growth of trees. Among other things, the fungi can take up from the soil, and transfer to the tree, nutrients that roots could not otherwise access. In return, fungi receive from the roots sugars they need to grow.

As fungal filaments spread out through forest soil, they will often, at least temporarily, physically connect the roots of two neighboring trees. The resulting system of interconnected tree roots is called a common mycorrhizal network, or CMN.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Already a subscriber? Log in.

You've reach your limit of free articles.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime.

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Ad-free experience NEW

Exclusive international news coverage

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Monthly Access

30-day free trial, then $2.90 per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch

The latest