TED2014
Zak Ebrahim: I am the son of a terrorist. Here's how I chose peace.
Zak Ebrahim: Jeg er søn af en terrorist. Her er hvordan jeg valgte fred.
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Hvis du er opdraget med dogmatisme og had, kan du så vælge en anden vej? Zak Ebrahim var kun 7 år gammel da hans far hjalp med at planlægge bombningen af World Trade Center i 1993. Hans historie er chokerende, kraftfuld og endeligt inspirerende.
Zak Ebrahim - Peace activist
Groomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence. Full bio
Groomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:14
On November 5th, 1990,
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Den 5. november 1990
00:16
a man named El-Sayyid Nosair walked
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gik en mand ved navn El-Sayyid Nosair
00:19
into a hotel in Manhattan
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ind på et hotel i Manhattan
00:21
and assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane,
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og myrdede Rabbi Meir Kahane,
00:24
the leader of the Jewish Defense League.
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lederen af Jewish Defense League.
00:28
Nosair was initially found not guilty of the murder,
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Nosair blev fundet ikke skyldig i mordet,
00:31
but while serving time on lesser charges,
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men mens han afsonede
for mindre forseelser,
for mindre forseelser,
00:34
he and other men began planning attacks
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begyndte han med nogle andre mænd
at planlægge angreb
at planlægge angreb
00:37
on a dozen New York City landmarks,
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på et dusin af New Yorks vartegn,
00:39
including tunnels, synagogues
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deriblandt tunneler, synagoger,
00:41
and the United Nations headquarters.
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og FN's hovedkvarter
00:44
Thankfully, those plans were foiled
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Heldigvis blev disse planer forpurret
00:46
by an FBI informant.
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af en af FBI's meddelere.
00:49
Sadly, the 1993 bombing
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Desværre blev 1993 bombningen
00:51
of the World Trade Center was not.
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af World Trade Center ikke.
00:54
Nosair would eventually be convicted
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Nosair blev til sidst dømt
00:56
for his involvement in the plot.
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for hans involvering i plottet.
00:59
El-Sayyid Nosair is my father.
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El-Sayyid Nosair er min far.
01:04
I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Jeg blev født i Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
01:06
in 1983 to him, an Egyptian engineer,
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i 1983, til ham, en egyptisk ingeniør,
01:09
and a loving American mother
and grade school teacher,
and grade school teacher,
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og en kærlig amerikansk mor
og folkeskolelærer,
og folkeskolelærer,
der sammen gjorde deres bedste
01:13
who together tried their best
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01:14
to create a happy childhood for me.
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for at give mig en lykkelig barndom.
01:17
It wasn't until I was seven years old
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Det var først, da jeg var 7 år,
01:18
that our family dynamic started to change.
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at vores familiedynamik
begyndte at ændre sig.
begyndte at ændre sig.
01:22
My father exposed me to a side of Islam
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Min far udsatte mig for en side af islam,
01:25
that few people, including the majority of Muslims,
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som få folk, inklusiv
størstedelen af muslimer,
størstedelen af muslimer,
01:28
get to see.
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får at se.
Det har været min opfattelse,
at når folk tager tid
at når folk tager tid
01:31
It's been my experience that when people
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01:32
take the time to interact with one another,
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til at interagere med hinanden,
01:35
it doesn't take long to realize that for the most part,
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tager det for det meste
ikke lang tid at indse,
ikke lang tid at indse,
01:38
we all want the same things out of life.
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at vi alle vil have de
samme ting ud af livet.
samme ting ud af livet.
01:40
However, in every religion, in every population,
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Dog er der i hver religion,
i enhver befolkning,
i enhver befolkning,
01:43
you'll find a small percentage of people
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en lille procentdel,
01:46
who hold so fervently to their beliefs
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der brænder så inderligt for deres tro,
01:49
that they feel they must use any means necessary
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at de føler, at de må bruge alle midler,
01:52
to make others live as they do.
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for at få andre til at leve, som de gør.
01:55
A few months prior to his arrest,
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Nogle få måneder før hans anholdelse,
01:57
he sat me down and explained that
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satte han mig ned og forklarede,
at i de sidste par uger
havde han og nogle venner
havde han og nogle venner
01:59
for the past few weekends, he and some friends
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02:02
had been going to a shooting range on Long Island
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taget til en skydebane på Long Island
02:04
for target practice.
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for at øve målskydning.
02:07
He told me I'd be going with him the next morning.
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Han sagde til mig, at jeg ville tage
med ham den næste morgen.
med ham den næste morgen.
02:10
We arrived at Calverton Shooting Range,
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Vi ankom til Calverton Skydebane,
02:12
which unbeknownst to our group was being watched
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der, ubekendt for vores
gruppe, blev overvåget
gruppe, blev overvåget
02:15
by the FBI.
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af FBI.
Da det var min tur hjalp min far
mig med at holde riflen til skuldren,
mig med at holde riflen til skuldren,
02:18
When it was my turn to shoot,
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02:19
my father helped me hold the rifle to my shoulder
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02:21
and explained how to aim at the target
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og forklarede, hvordan man sigter
på målet 30 meter væk.
på målet 30 meter væk.
02:23
about 30 yards off.
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02:26
That day, the last bullet I shot
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Den sidste kugle, jeg skød den dag,
02:28
hit the small orange light that sat on top of the target
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ramte det lille, orange lys
på toppen af målet,
på toppen af målet,
02:31
and to everyone's surprise, especially mine,
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og til alles overraskelse, især min,
02:35
the entire target burst into flames.
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brød hele målet ud i flammer.
02:39
My uncle turned to the other men,
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Min onkel vendte sig mod de andre mænd
02:40
and in Arabic said, "Ibn abuh."
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og sagde på arabisk: "Ibn abduh."
02:44
Like father, like son.
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Som far, så søn.
De virkede alle til at more sig
over den kommentar,
over den kommentar,
02:47
They all seemed to get a really
big laugh out of that comment,
big laugh out of that comment,
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02:50
but it wasn't until a few years later
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men det var ikke før nogle år senere,
02:52
that I fully understood what
they thought was so funny.
they thought was so funny.
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at jeg fuldt ud forstod,
hvad de syntes var så sjovt.
hvad de syntes var så sjovt.
02:56
They thought they saw in me the same destruction
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De troede, de havde set
samme destruktion i mig,
samme destruktion i mig,
02:58
my father was capable of.
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som min far havde i sig.
03:01
Those men would eventually be convicted
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Disse mænd ville i sidste ende blive dømt
03:04
of placing a van filled with
1,500 pounds of explosives
1,500 pounds of explosives
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for at placere en varevogn fyldt
med 680 kg sprængstof
med 680 kg sprængstof
03:08
into the sub-level parking lot of the
World Trade Center's North Tower,
World Trade Center's North Tower,
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i den underjordiske parkeringsplads
i World Trade Centers nordlige tårn,
i World Trade Centers nordlige tårn,
03:12
causing an explosion that killed six people
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der var skyld i en eksplosion,
der dræbte seks mennesker
der dræbte seks mennesker
03:15
and injured over 1,000 others.
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og skadede over 1000 andre.
03:18
These were the men I looked up to.
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Disse var mænd, jeg så op til.
03:20
These were the men I called
ammu, which means uncle.
ammu, which means uncle.
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Disse var mænd, jeg kaldte ammu,
hvilket betyder onkel.
hvilket betyder onkel.
03:25
By the time I turned 19,
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Da jeg fyldte 19,
03:26
I had already moved 20 times in my life,
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havde jeg allerede
flyttet 20 gange i mit liv,
flyttet 20 gange i mit liv,
03:30
and that instability during my childhood
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og den ustabilitet i løbet af min barndom
03:32
didn't really provide an opportunity
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gav mig ikke rigtig muligheden
03:33
to make many friends.
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for at få venner.
03:35
Each time I would begin to feel
comfortable around someone,
comfortable around someone,
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Hver gang jeg begyndte at
føle mig tryg omkring en person,
føle mig tryg omkring en person,
03:38
it was time to pack up and move to the next town.
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så var det tid til at pakke sammen
og flytte til den næste by.
og flytte til den næste by.
03:41
Being the perpetual new face in class,
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Altid at være den nye i klassen
03:44
I was frequently the target of bullies.
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gjorde at jeg ofte var et mål for bøller.
03:46
I kept my identity a secret from my classmates
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Jeg skjulte min identitet
for mine klassekammerater
for mine klassekammerater
03:48
to avoid being targeted,
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for at undgå at blive ramt,
03:50
but as it turns out, being the
quiet, chubby new kid in class
quiet, chubby new kid in class
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men det viste sig, at det at være
den stille, buttede nye dreng,
den stille, buttede nye dreng,
03:53
was more than enough ammunition.
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var mere end nok ammunition.
03:56
So for the most part, I spent my time at home
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Så det meste af tiden brugte jeg hjemme
03:58
reading books and watching TV
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på at læse bøger og se tv
04:00
or playing video games.
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eller spille videospil.
04:01
For those reasons, my social skills were lacking,
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Af disse årsager, manglede jeg
sociale færdigheder,
sociale færdigheder,
04:04
to say the least,
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for at sige det mildt,
og min opvækst i et fanatisk hjem havde
ikke forberedt mig på den virkelige verden.
ikke forberedt mig på den virkelige verden.
04:06
and growing up in a bigoted household,
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04:08
I wasn't prepared for the real world.
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04:10
I'd been raised to judge people
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Jeg var blevet opdraget til at
dømme folk baseret på tilfældige ting,
dømme folk baseret på tilfældige ting,
04:12
based on arbitrary measurements,
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04:14
like a person's race or religion.
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såsom en persons race eller religion.
04:18
So what opened my eyes?
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Så hvad åbnede mine øjne?
04:21
One of my first experiences
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En af de første oplevelser,
04:23
that challenged this way of thinking
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der satte spørgsmålstegn
ved min tankegang,
ved min tankegang,
04:25
was during the 2000 presidential elections.
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var under præsidentvalget i år 2000.
04:28
Through a college prep program,
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Under et college-program,
04:30
I was able to take part
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fik jeg muligheden til
04:31
in the National Youth Convention in Philadelphia.
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at deltage i the National Youth Convention
i Philadelphia.
i Philadelphia.
04:34
My particular group's focus was on youth violence,
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Min gruppes fokus var på vold blandt unge,
04:37
and having been the victim
of bullying for most of my life,
of bullying for most of my life,
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og efter at have været
offer for mobning så længe,
offer for mobning så længe,
04:40
this was a subject in which
I felt particularly passionate.
I felt particularly passionate.
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var dette et emne, jeg var
særligt passioneret omkring.
særligt passioneret omkring.
04:44
The members of our group came
from many different walks of life.
from many different walks of life.
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Mine gruppemedlemmer havde
mange forskellige livserfaringer.
mange forskellige livserfaringer.
En af dagene, mod
slutningen af konventionen,
slutningen af konventionen,
04:48
One day toward the end of the convention,
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04:50
I found out that one of the kids I had befriended
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fandt jeg ud af, at en af
børnene, jeg var blevet ven med,
børnene, jeg var blevet ven med,
04:53
was Jewish.
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var jødisk.
04:55
Now, it had taken several days
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Det havde taget dagevis,
04:57
for this detail to come to light,
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før denne detalje var kommet frem,
04:58
and I realized that there was no natural animosity
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og jeg indså, at der ikke var
nogensomhelst naturlig fjendtlighed
nogensomhelst naturlig fjendtlighed
05:02
between the two of us.
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mellem os.
05:04
I had never had a Jewish friend before,
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Jeg havde aldrig haft en jødisk ven før,
05:07
and frankly I felt a sense of pride
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og ærligt talt følte jeg mig stolt over
05:10
in having been able to overcome a barrier
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at have kunnet overkomme en barriere,
jeg stort set altid,
var blevet ledt til at tro,
var blevet ledt til at tro,
05:12
that for most of my life I had been led to believe
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var uovervindelig.
05:14
was insurmountable.
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05:17
Another major turning point came when
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Et andet vigtigt vendepunkt kom,
da jeg fik et sommerjob hos Busch Gardens,
05:19
I found a summer job at Busch Gardens,
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05:21
an amusement park.
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en forlystelsespark.
Der så jeg folk fra alle
mulige trosretninger og kulturer,
mulige trosretninger og kulturer,
05:24
There, I was exposed to people
from all sorts of faiths and cultures,
from all sorts of faiths and cultures,
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05:27
and that experience proved to be fundamental
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og den oplevelse viste
sig, at være fundamental
sig, at være fundamental
05:29
to the development of my character.
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for udviklingen af min karakter.
Jeg har fået af vide,
05:33
Most of my life, I'd been taught
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05:34
that homosexuality was a sin, and by extension,
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at homoseksualitet var en synd, og derved,
05:38
that all gay people were a negative influence.
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at alle homoseksuelle var
en negativ indflydelse.
en negativ indflydelse.
05:41
As chance would have it, I had the opportunity
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Ved tilfældet havde jeg muligheden for
05:44
to work with some of the gay performers
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at arbejde med homoseksuelle
performere ved et show der
performere ved et show der
05:45
at a show there,
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05:47
and soon found that many were the kindest,
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og fandt hurtigt ud af, at mange af dem
var de venligste, mindst dømmende folk
var de venligste, mindst dømmende folk
05:49
least judgmental people I had ever met.
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jeg nogensinde har mødt.
05:53
Being bullied as a kid
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At blive mobbet som et barn
05:55
created a sense of empathy in me
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skabte en sans for indlevelse
05:58
toward the suffering of others,
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i de lidelser andre har,
05:59
and it comes very unnaturally to me
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og det falder mig meget unaturligt
06:01
to treat people who are kind
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at behandle personer, der er venlige,
06:03
in any other way than how
I would want to be treated.
I would want to be treated.
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på nogen som helst anden måde
end hvordan jeg vil behandles.
end hvordan jeg vil behandles.
06:07
Because of that feeling, I was able
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På grund af den følelse,
var jeg i stand
var jeg i stand
06:09
to contrast the stereotypes I'd been taught as a child
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til at skelne mellem stereotyperne,
jeg var blevet lært som barn,
jeg var blevet lært som barn,
06:14
with real life experience and interaction.
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og mine reelle livs-
erfaringer og interaktion.
erfaringer og interaktion.
06:17
I don't know what it's like to be gay,
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Jeg ved ikke, hvordan det er
at være homoseksuel,
at være homoseksuel,
06:19
but I'm well acquainted with being judged
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men jeg er vant til at blive dømt
06:21
for something that's beyond my control.
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for noget, jeg ikke har kontrol over.
06:25
Then there was "The Daily Show."
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Så var der "The Daily Show".
06:29
On a nightly basis, Jon Stewart forced me
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På en natlig basis tvang Jon Stewart mig
06:31
to be intellectually honest with
myself about my own bigotry
myself about my own bigotry
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til at være intellektuelt ærlig
med mig selv om mit snæversyn
med mig selv om mit snæversyn
06:35
and helped me to realize that a person's race,
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og hjalp mig til at indse,
at en persons race,
at en persons race,
06:37
religion or sexual orientation
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religion eller seksuelle præference
06:40
had nothing to do with the quality of one's character.
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ikke havde noget at gøre med
kvaliteten af deres karakter.
kvaliteten af deres karakter.
06:45
He was in many ways a father figure to me
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Han var på mange måder
en fadefigur for mig,
en fadefigur for mig,
06:48
when I was in desperate need of one.
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når jeg desperat have brug for en.
06:51
Inspiration can often come
from an unexpected place,
from an unexpected place,
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Inspiration kan ofte komme
fra et uventet sted,
fra et uventet sted,
06:55
and the fact that a Jewish comedian had done more
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og faktummet at en jødisk
komiker havde gjort mere
komiker havde gjort mere
06:58
to positively influence my worldview
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for at influere mit verdenssyn positivt
07:00
than my own extremist father
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end min egen ekstremistiske far,
07:02
is not lost on me.
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er ikke gået tabt for mig.
07:05
One day, I had a conversation with my mother
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En dag havde jeg en samtale med min mor om
hvordan mit verdenssyn
var begyndt at ændre sig,
var begyndt at ændre sig,
07:07
about how my worldview was starting to change,
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07:10
and she said something to me
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og hun fortalte mig noget,
07:12
that I will hold dear to my heart
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jeg vil holde tæt på hjertet
07:14
for as long as I live.
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så længe jeg lever.
07:17
She looked at me with the weary eyes
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Hun kiggede udmattet på mig,
07:19
of someone who had experienced
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som én, der havde oplevet
07:20
enough dogmatism to last a lifetime, and said,
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dogmatisme nok til resten
af livet, og sagde:
af livet, og sagde:
07:24
"I'm tired of hating people."
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"Jeg er træt af at hade folk."
07:28
In that instant, I realized how much negative energy
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I det øjeblik indså jeg
hvor meget negativ energi
hvor meget negativ energi
07:31
it takes to hold that hatred inside of you.
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det kræver, for at
holde det had inde i sig.
holde det had inde i sig.
07:36
Zak Ebrahim is not my real name.
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Mit rigtige navn er ikke Zak Ebrahim.
07:39
I changed it when my family decided
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Jeg ændrede det, da min familie valgte
07:41
to end our connection with my father
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at kappe vores bånd med min far
07:42
and start a new life.
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og starte et nyt liv.
07:45
So why would I out myself
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Så hvorfor vil jeg afsløre mig selv
07:47
and potentially put myself in danger?
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og potentielt sætte mig selv i fare?
07:50
Well, that's simple.
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Det er simpelt, virkeligt.
07:52
I do it in the hopes that perhaps someone someday
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Jeg gør det i håbet om, at måske,
en eller anden dag, vil nogen,
en eller anden dag, vil nogen,
07:56
who is compelled to use violence
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der føler sig nødsaget til at bruge vold
07:58
may hear my story and realize
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høre min historie og indse,
08:00
that there is a better way,
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at der er en bedre vej,
08:03
that although I had been subjected
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at selvom jeg har været udsat
08:04
to this violent, intolerant ideology,
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for den her voldelige, intolerante ideologi,
08:07
that I did not become fanaticized.
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er jeg ikke blevet fanatiker.
08:10
Instead, I choose to use my experience
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I stedet har jeg valgt
at bruge min erfaring
at bruge min erfaring
08:12
to fight back against terrorism,
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til at kæmpe mod terrorisme,
08:15
against the bigotry.
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mod snæversyn.
08:19
I do it for the victims of terrorism
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Jeg gør det for ofrene for terrorisme
08:22
and their loved ones,
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og deres kære,
08:24
for the terrible pain and loss
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for den forfærdelige smerte og tab
som terrorisme har påtvunget dem.
08:26
that terrorism has forced upon their lives.
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08:29
For the victims of terrorism, I will speak out
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Jeg vil råbe op for terrorofrene
08:31
against these senseless acts
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mod disse meningsløse handlinger
08:34
and condemn my father's actions.
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og fordømme min fars handlinger.
08:38
And with that simple fact, I stand here as proof
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Og med det enkle faktum står
jeg her i dag som bevis på,
jeg her i dag som bevis på,
08:41
that violence isn't inherent in one's religion or race,
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at vold ikke er uløseligt forbundet
med ens religion eller race,
med ens religion eller race,
08:45
and the son does not have to follow
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og at sønnen ikke behøver at følge
08:48
the ways of his father.
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sin fars veje.
08:51
I am not my father.
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Jeg er ikke min far.
08:54
Thank you. (Applause)
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Tak.
08:57
Thank you, everybody. (Applause)
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Tak, alle sammen.
09:01
Thank you all. (Applause)
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Tak til jer alle.
09:03
Thanks a lot. (Applause)
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Mange tak.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Zak Ebrahim - Peace activistGroomed for terror, Zak Ebrahim chose a different life. The author of The Terrorist's Son, he hopes his story will inspire others to reject a path of violence.
Why you should listen
When Zak Ebrahim was seven, his family went on the run. His father, El Sayyid Nosair, had hoped Zak would follow in his footsteps -- and become a jihadist. Instead, Zak was at the beginning of a long journey to comprehend his past.
Zak Ebrahim kept his family history a secret as they moved through a long succession of towns. In 2010, he realized his experience as a terrorist’s son not only gave him a unique perspective, but also a unique chance to show that if he could escape a violent heritage, anyone could. As he told Truthdig.com, “We must embrace tolerance and nonviolence. Who knows this better than the son of a terrorist?”
In 2014 Ebrahim published the TED Book The Terrorist's Son, a memoir written with Jeff Giles about the path he took to turn away from hate. In early 2015 the book won an American Library Association Alex award.
Zak Ebrahim | Speaker | TED.com