Nobel winner tells US to drop books — not bombs — on Islamic State jihadists
Shirin Ebadi was one of Iran’s first female judges. She was demoted after the 1979 Islamic revolution and went on to become the country’s most prominent rights campaigner. She won the Nobel price in 2003 and was forced into exile in 2009.
In an interview with AFP, Ebadi said the experience of Afghanistan demonstrated that the US-led campaign aimed at ousting IS from the areas of Iraq and Syria it now controls would not solve anything.
“Look at all the years and all the money that have been put into fighting the Taliban,” the 67-year-old said. “Have we eradicated them? Unfortunately not.“ISIS is like a branch of the Taliban. It is not only a terrorist group, it is also an ideology and, like any ideology, you have to fight it at its roots. When you kill the roots it will not expand.
“For me those roots are two things — illiteracy and a lack of social justice.
“Instead of throwing bombs at them, we should be throwing books at them and building schools: then you will see that fundamentalism will be eliminated.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/nobel-winner-tells-us-to-drop-books-not-bombs-on-islamic-state-jihadists/