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EMU Professor Urges Vigilance, Tolerance In Face Of ISIS Threat

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As the Obama administration lines up international support in the effort to dismantle the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, the local Muslim community may find itself caught in the middle.

 

Eastern  Michigan University political science professor Edward Sidlow says prejudice ands bigotry are a reality in the U.S., but we can work to sensitize those around us.

"Frankly I think the younger generation is doing a far better job than their parents and grandparents at not being quite as judgmental or prejudicial in their treatment of others in society," Sidlow says.

Sidlow ads that the Arab-American community can do things to help itself, such as vocally condemning terrorist activity. 

He says ISIS may not be as organized as al-Qaeda, but as we learned from Timothy McVeigh in Oklahoma City, "it doesn't take a lot of people to plan a great, big attack."

He says the threat to the average American may be more emotional than anything else, but we should still be as concerned about ISIS as we were about al-Qaeda during the Bush administration.

Sidlow says President Barack Obama and his administration have a lot more information on ISIS than the general public, so he finds it disheartening that some automatically question the actions being taken to try and dismantle the organization.