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Beyond the Tragedy
By Azzam Tamimi
27/09/2001
These are difficult times for Muslims worldwide. But, in particular, for those that live in America and Europe. The coming days may be as difficult for the Palestinians, whose cries of pain - out of necessity - need not be heard if the Americans are to get the job of vengeance done.
As for Muslims in the West, although it would seem as if we have been through this several times already (during the Gulf War, in the aftermaths of the first World Trade Center bombing, and the bombing in Oklahoma, etc.), this is a crisis of unprecedented proportions.
The symbols of Western capitalism and U.S. military might have been attacked, several thousands have been killed and the renowned U.S. systems of intelligence and reconnaissance have been humiliated and discredited. Worse still, the chief suspect is a shadowy elusive figure that takes shelter in a country suffocated by sanctions and ravished by war and tribal strife.
While most Muslims around the world condemn and regret the recent attack on innocent civilians in the United States, media coverage of the unfolding events since September 11th has, wittingly or otherwise, agitated Western public opinion against Islam and Muslims.
Muslim mosques and schools have come under attack, prompting some schools to send pupils home and close their doors until further notice. Muslims in America have been advised to lock themselves in, lest they are attacked as they walk the streets. The situation is less serious in Europe, though several incidents of abuse and attack have been reported in the U.K.
Muslim women in particular, conspicuous by their headdresses, have been easy targets. One is tempted to think that what George Bush Jr. and Tony Blair like to call the "civilized world" is not so civilized after all.
Without evidence of his involvement and without much talk about his background or likely motivation, Osama bin Laden was presented to the world as the symbol of
"Islamic terrorism" or to put it more mildly "Islamic extremism". To bridge the gap between terrorism (or extremism) and Islam, the most frequently used term to describe the bin Laden phenomenon, not only by people in the media but also by prominent politicians and decision-makers, has been Islamic fundamentalism.
Academics know quite well the danger of applying this term to Islam because to the majority of liberal or mainstream Christian "fundamentalism" is pejorative or derogatory. The term has currently taken on the definition that any communal manifestation or personal observance of religious practice or symbols can easily be labeled as "fundamentalism".
No doubt, such treatment is exclusive to Islam and its followers. No other religion is labeled in the same manner when some or any of its followers are suspected of embroilment in acts of terrorism. You do not hear the terms "Jewish terrorism" or "Christian terrorism" or "Hindu terrorism" or "Sikh terrorism".
One important factor compounds the problem in the case of Islam. The United States and some of its allies in Europe are disliked in many parts of the Muslim world due to their foreign policies and what is seen as an imperialist attitude. The U.S. in particular is the most despised country in the Muslim world thanks to its unconditional and uncritical support for Israel, its role in perpetuating the suffering of the Iraqi people and the presence of its troops on Islam's holiest soil in Arabia.
It is undeniable that the calamity that struck the United States on September 11 may have been a source of joy for some Muslims whose hatred for America prevents them from recognizing the savagery and inhumanity of the attack.
U.S. policymakers may not be oblivious to this fact. They probably know, only too well, that if Muslims were actually responsible for the catastrophe, it is U.S. foreign policy that breeds and provokes such elements willing to go as far as killing themselves and taking so many out with them, in order to inflict pain and humiliation on the United States.
The leader of world democracy and protector of international law and human rights is seen by many Muslims in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa as supporting dictatorships and military juntas that resist political reform and are up to their ears in corruption. The real tragedy is that very few Americans know how their country is perceived and what their policymakers are doing to the rest of the world. Rather than asking questions about the failure of America in protecting its citizens from the menace of terrorism and seeking to call to account senior U.S. officials, all the way from the President downwards, many Americans are rallying behind their government to launch war against "Islamic terrorism".
In light of this feverish and indiscriminate mobilization, the Muslim world is emerging as the enemy Samuel Huntington once depicted. Unless sensible people in the U.S. and Western Europe start speaking against such mobilization, what Huntington prophesized may just come true. We should all do our best so that a war against terrorism does not turn into a "clash of civilizations". A sensible war against terrorism may be won, but a war against Islam can never be won.
As for the Palestinians, something similar to what happened to the first Intifada may be cooking in order to bring to an end the current one.
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