The Emotional Intelligence Crisis
What happens when emotions backfire ?
EMOTIONS CAN PUSH US TO ACT compassionately , but they can backfire and compel us to act maliciously .
For example , if you are a parent and you see a toddler who is hungry , that child will remind you of your own child . When you think of your son or daughter , you ’ ll be emotionally charged up . In that state , you will help a stranger ’ s child .
On the other hand , as a reaction to the ongoing wave of Islamist terrorism , average citizens have been found to be committing hate crimes against people who have similar appearances to those involved in terrorism . People of Middle Eastern and South Asian ethnicities , in particular , are victims of this misguided approach .
Let ’ s suppose there was recent news of an Islamist terrorist who carried out a suicide bombing , murdering many innocent people along with himself . Later on , a Muslim man was exhibiting anger or frustration in public ; someone watching him who had seen the news would be reminded of the Islamist terrorist involved in the bombing . This reminder would cause such a person ’ s emotions to reach their peak ; it may even incite them to physically harm the innocent man in front of them .
Four days after 9 / 11 , Balbir Singh Sodhi was shot and killed in Arizona by Frank
Roque , who mistook Mr Sodhi for a Muslim . Mr Sodhi was a Sikh who wore the traditional turban and maintained a lengthy beard per his religion ’ s guidelines ; traditionally , Muslim men also keep lengthy beards and may wear turbans . Mr Roque said , ‘ I can ’ t take this anymore . They killed my brothers and sisters .’ [ A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON
HATE-CRIMES : THE STORY OF A CONVICTED
KILLER ; HUFFINGTON POST ]
This was not an isolated incident ; we are seeing a dangerous rise in hate crimes as Islamist terrorists threaten global peace .
HH Younus AlGohar asserts , ‘ To help stop terrorism – it is not just about deradicalisation – you also have to take care of the emotional intelligence of people so that people do not become outrageous and are able to control their own emotions .’
6 MESSIAH HERALD / ISSUE 05 / JUN 2017