Anti terrorism

Youjung Kwon

kwon1996@gmail.com

   As society advances simultaneously with the expansion and amalgamation of various nations and cultures, terrorism and anti terrorism movements have gained momentum over the past few years. The abysmal episode of the 9/11 attacks and recent IS terrors among Middle Eastern nations have intimidated governments and struck fear into individuals all over the world. In order to alleviate this paranoid atmosphere, the Korean government promulgated and enforced a new Anti Terrorism legislation, number 14701 on May 3rd, 2016. In this article, we plan to examine the definition, purpose, and dynamics of anti terrorism, and finally the controversy that it stimulates.

   Anti terrorism legislation aims to prevent terrorism, prepare the nation for imminent danger, and protect its people from the threat it projects. “Terror,” according to anti terrorism laws, is defined as the unlawful use of force to intimidate or coerce against the government or local agencies for social objectives. Terrorism has five notable characteristics: First, it is premeditated. Second, it is directed at a wider audience than the victims. Third, it attacks random yet symbolic targets. Fourth, these acts are perceived by society as abnormal. Lastly, it tries to influence political behavior in some way, such as to persuade revenge tactics or undermine the government.

   During the 1970s, Italy suffered from the Red Brigades, a national terrorist group. They were led by Marxist university students that were ready to rise up against their "capitalist masters." They committed more than 10,000 terrorist acts throughout Italy, including kidnappings, bombings, political assassinations, and shootings, killing over 400 people. As the Red Brigade’s violence germinated over the years, the Italian government increased the authority of the police to stop them. One of the most successful tactics the Italian government used was to reduce the sentences of convicted terrorists if they volunteered to provide information about the Red Brigade activities. Many eventually decided to cooperate with the authorities, and the Red Brigade consequently began to collapse. By the mid-1980s, the Red Brigades were nearly extinct. This way, Italy was able to successfully counter its threat.

   However, although there have been effective measures taken to combat anti terrorism, there have been times where repercussion diverged from those actions have occurred. In the case of the US, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI, the US’ prime law enforcement organization) was criticized severely for consistently phone tapping without a warrant. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the FBI had used an elaborate program called Stingray in order to eavesdrop on suspicious phone calls over the past five years. Stingray is a system that includes an antenna, computer software, and a particular installation, and imitates a phone base station in order to connect to a phone without direct connection. When this fact was leaked, the FBI was denounced nationally. However, there was only public rage that took place, but no specific actions were taken in order to change the system. This was a public instance where an anti terrorism countermeasure had backfired.

 

   As expected, Korea is also going through controversy after this anti terrorism legislation was passed. The arguments of those who agree are as such: first, the nation is protected by a minimum amount of safety. As Korea has been a divided country with constant threats from the North, there is more need for the government to be cautious. Most of OECD countries have already passed counterterrorism laws and ran institutions that act as a control tower. However, domestic counterterrorism regulations are very weak, for there is a total of only five legislations related to terror statutes. Second, those who support anti terrorism assert the importance of premeditated elimination of those who are in great suspicion of terror acts by eliminating a small portion of everyone’s rights, rather than fully taking away everyone’s right to be safe. Lastly, ordinary citizens are not inspected, meaning there is no risk of personal information to be exposed or hacked.

 

   However, there is another side that disagrees to this legislation. Their reasons are as follows: when the government has the right to gather information without the consent of individuals, there is a possibility to abuse this power. This inevitably leads to those in power becoming only stronger with this dominance. Anti terrorism legislation opposes the basic human rights stated in the constitution, disregards the existing separation of powers, and fully goes against warrant requirement laws. Second, the anti terrorism law’s definition of “terrorist” is flexible and vague, meaning that anyone can be defined within this category with a bit of fabrication and comprehensive investigation. Although the nominal objective of anti terrorism laws was intended for the good of everyone, the end does not justify the means. In other words, individual rights should still be respected.

 

   Then what is an appropriate measure that the government can take in order to properly counter this problem? In a broad view, the government must focus on increasing education. Prevention is better than a cure, but unfortunately, our laws are more to serve as a cure than prevention. Nothing is better than fundamentally understanding the differences between one another to reduce hate and terrorism. On a more elaborate view, the government must modify the legislation that they have passed. The indiscriminate power to investigate without a warrant must be reassigned from the National Intelligence Agency to the counterterrorism center. Also, an institution of restraint must be set up in order to rein in rash decision-making.

 

   The recently passed anti terrorism legislation has created a permanent burden for the government and the nation. There are still many that hold suspicion against each other and authority, let alone uncertain regulations. Hardly a week goes by without an act of terrorism affecting innocent people in the wrong place and wrong time. When the nation is able to finally reassure its people, countering this scourge will become much easier.

 

Halal

Youjung Kwon

Kwon1996@gmail.com

 

   In such an ever growing technological society, which has inevitably resulted in instant and even unsanitary foods, reliability towards everyday dietary and tools has unfortunately plummeted. For this reason, halal food and cosmetics have become an upcoming trend to compensate for these problems. In this article, we aim to focus on what halal is, the two most latent contents of halal: food and cosmetics, and how Korea and even sejong is adjusting to the dissemination of this new movement.

 

What is halal?

   

   About one-fourth of the earth’s population, estimated to be about a little more than 1.5 billion, are Islamic muslims. Muslims base their lives on the scriptures of the Qur’an and thoroughly follow the contents indicated in the texts. Among the narratives that they specify, “Halal” means to be “allowed.” According to the Shari-ah law, halal is one of the five measures of morality: Ford (compulsory), Mustahabb (suggested), Halal (allowed), Makruh (not recommended), and Haram (prohibited). These five commandments are enforced as long as one does not suffer from it and are merged into the Islam culture, making them inseparable.

 

What is halal food?

   Halal food is food that has been processed according to the halal regulations, also known as Dhabihah. As the nature of halal food, it does not include haram: no poisonous substances, no liquid that stupefies (ie. potable alcohol), and no materials detrimental to the body. The reason why halal has funneled into the spotlight owes its reason to halal’s morally produced procedures and clean sanitation, which ultimately guarantees its taste, freshness, and quality. As a matter of fact, halal industry takes up 16 percent of the world’s, approximated to be about 160 trillion dollars worth.

   To understand “morally produced by Islamic law,” it means to avoid haram. First, hygiene and exact declaration of its components are crucial. There must be no excretion, blood or saliva originating from animals, and the ingredients inputted must be written according to the halal certification format. Second, additives contaminated by haram or humans are not allowed. This applies to the time beginning from its production to transportation and even retail.

   Extending on to Dhabihah, Dhabihah is a humane method of slaughter, purposed to kill with the least amount of pain required. The steps in butchery goes as such: one must first hold the animal’s head towards the Mecca, the holiest city according to Qur’an, and shout the phrases, “bismillah ir rahman ir rahim, Allahu ekber (In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious. the Most Merciful / God is greater). Then, with a metal knife specifically made for the slaughtering process, the butcher must quickly cut from the neck through the veins to its esophagus. This is done in order to push out all of the blood in the animal’s body since Islamic law prohibits drinking of animal blood. A small merit rooting from this commandment is that the meat becomes softer, but a downside is that there is little gravy to enjoy after cooking. Along with the rules mentioned above, it is essential that the slaughtered animal is killed for the one purpose of being consumed.

   As demonstrated as above, halal food undergoes rigorous inspection in safety and hygiene, which promises establishment of trust amongst customers. In fact, credence towards halal food has heightened its popularity among wellbeing and vegetarian groups in countries such as US and Europe. Korea’s domestic market has also caught up to the pace by signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU: official partnership) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and by even promoting halal food in the Korean industry.

 

How does one obtain halal certification?

   In order to obtain halal certification, one must first fully understand the procedure that international halal certification institutions, such as JAKIM (Malaysia) and MUI (Indonesia), undergo to validate its process. As the expiry of halal certification is only one year, one must take into account and annually take note of the small changes of the process that the institutions make. After fully comprehending the procedure, one must visit Korean halal certification institutions, such as Pentaglobal, GCC, or Halal Industry Research Center, and go through the authentication process. Certification fundamentally depends on the Islamic law, which means full understanding of Islam as a religion is also required.

 

What is halal cosmetics?

   Halal cosmetics is, alike halal food, cosmetics that uses ingredients from halal substances. Because it does not include extractions from pigs or potable alcohol, countries such as Indonesia, favoring natural looks, are increasingly becoming interested in halal cosmetics. According to 2015’s, “Present Islam’s Economic Briefing,” global halal cosmetics is predicted to double, from 2013’s 40 billion dollars to 2019’s 73 billion dollars. These numbers are proportionately large in scale, considering it only includes halal cosmetics, not the whole halal industry.

 

How does halal differentiate from other types of cosmetics?

   As the nature of halal cosmetics, there are restrictions into what can be included as ingredients. Recycled water is not allowed and any substance affiliated with haram and animals classified as Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species and Flora (CITES) are prohibited. Although potable alcohol is banned, khamar, which is alcohol that does not intoxicate no matter how much consumed, such as Cetyl or Ethanol, is allowed.

   

   Halal cosmetics also shares differences and commonalities with Natural / Organic and vegetarian cosmetics. Organic cosmetics is usually regulated under the US Department of Agriculture, which legally monitors their cosmetics and other substances to be composed of 70 percent organic ingredients. This means it must be mostly naturally extracted, and preservatives, such as paraben and sulfate, are banned. Extending onto this guideline, companies thoroughly follow the expiry date and store their cosmetics in glass, rather than plastic or rubber, in order to maximize the quality.

   Similarly, Cruelty-free cosmetics and Vegan Beauty parallels with halal cosmetics in their faith. Vegan beauty, rooting from vegan and vegetarian, is usually classified by dermatologists as cosmetics that do not contain by-products of animals, such as fatty acids, collagen, and gelatin. Cruelty-free also shares the ideology of Vegan, where it does not include anything associated with any type of animal cruelty or animal testing. Halal can be seen as an ultimate combination of Organic, Cruelty-free, Vegan cosmtics, and essentially the halal certification.

 

What are Sejong students doing to raise awareness?

   Sejong Nanuri, Sejong’s Innovative and Sharing Volunteer Group, has fast realized this latent field of halal food and formed a volunteer group named Stimulating Culture Interaction (SCI). SCI aims to solve the lack of awareness in halal amongst Sejong students. They have held various programs, such as making halal rice balls, improving perceptions of Muslim culture by education, and selling halal food in the school cafeteria. Yoonjung Yang, one of the volunteers, commented, “It felt rewarding to visually be able to perceive the people's perceptions slowly change as we carried out the volunteer work.”

 

How should Korea prepare for the bloom of latent halal industry?

   Halal industry, including not only the above mentioned halal food and cosmetics, but also a whole obscure fields yet to be discovered, is expected to become the next big current. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC: regional intergovernmental, political, and economic union of Arab states in the Persian Gulf) and international halal product certifying institutions are taking steps to cooperate, finding a way to better certifying procedures and environments.

   As halal is becoming not only a lifestyle tendency of the Islamic countries, but also of anyone who wishes for an upswing of daily customs, halal industry is expected to be a big hit. Hence, it is important for Korea to follow the current with eager anticipation, keeping up with the pace of International Halal Integrity Alliance (IHIA), to target consumer layers.