Recently, terrorists have unleashed their terror in Great Britain, the home of Sir Isaac Newton, the father of physics and calculus. The United Kingdom is the home of Newton, who invented calculus to lay the foundation of physics. As a student of math and science, my heart broke in a million pieces when I heard that terrorists chose England, the birthplace of physics and calculus, to carry out their barbaric acts of terror, first on March 22nd, then on May 22nd, and finally on June 3rd.
On March 22nd, a 52-year-old Muslim man named Khalid Masood drove a car into a crowd of innocent people near the Palace of Westminster, the meeting place of the parliament of the United Kingdom, injuring more than 50 people. Two months later, on May 22nd, Salman Ramadan Abedi, a 22-year-old Muslim man, carried out a suicide bombing following a concert of the American singer Ariana Grande, killing more than 23 people, including children—some of them younger than my own children, Isaac and Albert. But that’s not all: Yesterday, three terrorists started killing people in Central London by using sharp knives while shouting “Allahu Akbar.” By doing so, these terrorists destroy the real definition of “Allahu Akbar.” As a result, I decided to take to social media, using the hashtag #PrayersForEngland, to inspire people around the world—especially Muslims—to support us in accelerating our anti–Islamic State campaign. In the morning, I went to Columbia University to make a speech detailing the terrorist attack and the terrorists’ use of the Islamic phrase “Allahu Akbar,” but I could not finish my speech because of an emotional outburst:
I’m very tired due to fasting. However, I have still decided to stand before you to make this anti-terrorism speech because terrorists chose Ramadan, the most holy month, to unleash their terror in England, the birthplace of calculus and physics. They even shouted “Allahu Akbar” while carrying out their barbaric acts of terror. By doing so, they destroy the real meaning of “Allahu Akbar.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “God is great,” but today it means “I’m about to hijack an airplane to destroy the World Trade Center to kill the American economy.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “education,” but today it means “I’m about to shoot a 14-year-old girl, Malala, to stop women from receiving an education—to keep women at home, using them as baby-making machines.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “love the children,” but today it means “I’m about to go to a school in Peshawar to kill all the children, including five-year-old Khola, and cover them all in blood.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “freedom of the press,” but today it means “I’m about to go to the Charlie Hebdo headquarters with my brothers to kill all the journalists and stop the freedom of the press.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “respect other people's culture,” but today it means “I’m about to go to the Bataclan theater to kill all the movie watchers and stop the thriving culture of French.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “respect other people’s choices,” but today it means “I’m about to go to a nightclub in Florida to kill all the dancers and stop the freedom of choice that every man and woman deserves to have in his and her life.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “show your respect to foreigners,” but today it means “I’m about to go to the Holey Artisan restaurant to kill all the customers, including 19-year-old Tarishi and 20-year-old Faraaz, to keep foreign investors out of Bangladesh and punish Prime Minister Hasina, who has a zero tolerance to terrorism.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “celebrate other people's holidays,” but today it means “I’m about to drive a cargo truck onto the ocean of people who are celebrating Bastille Day in France.”
“Allahu Akbar” used to mean “respect other people’s lifestyles,” but today it means “I’m about to go to an Ariana Grande concert in England to kill all the audience members and destroy Western music and culture.”
Now the question is obvious: Why did these terrorists kill their fellow human beings in the most barbaric way possible?” The answer is simple: hate. Hate drove them to chant Allahu-Akbar while shooting Malala, hate motivated them to shout Allahu-Akbar while killing 130 children in a school in Peshawar, hate led two brothers to recite Allahu-Akbar before killing journalists at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, hate allowed them to kill 137 people in the Paris attack, hate motivated Mr. Mateen to kill 50 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, hate motivated terrorist to kill 29 people , including 20 hostages (18 foreigners and 2 locals) in Holey Artisan Bakery, hate drove Mr. Bouhlel to kill over 86 people during the Bistille Day and hate motivated Ramadan Abedi to kill 23 innocent people in Ariana Grande's Concert in England. How can we remove such hate from the minds of the people who have committed these disgusting, inhumane acts? Parents play a big role in instilling hate in their children’s minds—some of whom become terrorists like those who have killed many innocent people in England. True revenge is only achieved through education and good moral values, and to do this, parents should stop giving their children Taliban training and start training them to become scientists like Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein.
Let’s fall in love with math & science, the motto of Bari Science Lab
A few years ago, I founded Bari Science Lab in Washington Square Park, the famous campus of New York University, to create a campaign against the Islamic State. Bari Science Lab is based on a simple motto: Let’s fall in love with math and science. Our goal is to inspire every single child to fall in love with math and science. Once we accomplish our goal, there will be no terrorism because people will be too busy solving problems instead of creating them. So I ask every one of the 1.6 billion Muslims in the world to join our campaign: Let’s fall in love with math and science.
Rashidul Bari, a doctoral student at Columbia University, teaches mathematics at Bronx C. Community College of the City University of New York and physics at Brooklyn Tech. His email is rb3080@columbia.edu and website is Bari Science Lab