Ever since the 9/11 events in the heart of New York city,the world has plunged into an unprecedented upheaval.The watchword guiding the policy of the United States has changed from communism to terrorism.The former was the relentless foe of the USA and the « free world » from 1949 until the abrupt demise of the USSR in 1989.The animosity between the two superpowers was termed « the cold war » because they never engaged in direct and open hostilities.Their antagonism and opposition showed in many parts of the world mainly Afghanistan, Korea ,Cuba inter alia.Shortly after the disintegration of the communist superpower, and the launching of the « new world order » vision, an invisible enemy loomed large to to the world and it took distinctive labels like « Islamic terrorism » « Islamic Fundamentalism » or just the term « terrorism ».It first emerged with the bloody attacks on the American embassies in Nairobi and Dar Essalam and it culminated in the plane-attack and utter destruction of world trade center and which left more than 2000 people dead and thousands injured.The perpetrators were identified as a group of “terrorists” called “Al Qaeda” masterminded and sponsored by Osama Ben Laden a Saudi millionaire and ex-resistant “or mujahid “ to Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.The American president promised to crack down on terrorist networks worldwide and he advanced the strategy of pre-emptive strikes as a means to protect America from further terrorist acts.Eversince , we have witnessed two wars , both led to the occupation by theAmericans of Afghanistan (and the removal of Taliban regime ) and Iraq ( and the capture of Saddam Hussein).UBL is still at large.The Americans prevailed in both military conflicts but this hasn’t killed off « terrorism ».On the contrary, more dreadful attacks were perpetrated in the four corners of the world mainly in Bali, Morocco,Saudi Arabia ,Spain Tunisia, Britain …..
The question that arises now relates to the identity, the objectives and the motives of the people who conducted or masterminded those “terrorist” acts.First of all, leaders of “al Qaeda” claim that the motive power of “al Qaeda”is Islam and pure Islamic principles.They argue that the attacks on America and their conspirators are religiously-binding and constitute a sort of “Jihad” against the oppressor and the miscreant.They also justified those acts by the occupation of palestine and the biased attitude of America to Israel.There is another rationale which is dear to Ben Laden and that is the American military presence in his homecountry Saudi Arabia.For the head of “Alqaeda”, miscreants mustn’t set foot on the holy land and he vowed that he will continue to fight the Americans until they withdraw.The support of the American administration to oppressive regimes in the Arab world is a component in their system of beliefs.The far-flung objectives of “Alqaeda” are myriad and manifold.Chief among them is to fulfill the commnadments of “the Koran” and implementing “aljihad” in order to disseminate Islam throughout the globe.Their second main objective is to set up an islamic rule in all the islamic countries.They put forward the basic idea that the present leaders don’t rule by the Koran and the prohet’s sayings and deeds.Presently, we have to touch upon the identity of the people who embrace these principles.Generally,they are highly educated, well versed and possessing high IQ,some of them are wealthy .Osama Ben Laden is a millionaire and he belongs to a notable family in Saudi Arabia,his right hand Aymen Azzawahiri is an eminent physician;as for the central figure in the NY attacks Mohamed Atta,he was a was a brilliant student in a German university in Hambnurg.
You must have noticed that I have been using the word”terrorism” and its derivations between quotation marks,and I think you must have guessed right the reason for that.The word “terrorism” along with its implications hasn’t been defined clearly and its limits are far from being delineated.There is no general concensus on the aspects and the features which distinguish “terrorist” acts from other acts.As a result many countries have seized the opportunity to deal a blow to its opponents.For example,Israel considers Hamas a terrorist organisation;the same for Great Britain visa a’ vis IRA and Spain in relation to the Basque separatists ETA .This political and ideological exploitation of the phenomenon has blurred the minds of many people ,it has stigmatized lots of people and organizations.
As far as I am concerned I feel indignation and repulsion at the policy of double standards regarding the palestinian cause.All the United Nations’ resolutions have to be implemented except those related to Israel.This is sheer bias and inscrutable backstage machinations against the rights of the Palestinian people to set up an independent state.The Arab world feel betrayed and impotent to react in addition to the rift which now seperates Arab leaders and the popular masses.People feel their leaders( and the UN) are just puppets controlled by an American hand.What adds salt to injury is that most of these regimes are oppressive devoid of democracy,equality and basic freedoms but awash with corruption,embezzlement,nepotism …ectAll these grave defects are exacerbated by the desolate economic and social circumstances.Too many blotches on the canvas of the Arab world have made it hideous and fertile for the advent of extremsits’ ideas and principles to the forefront.I deem that the aforementioned thorny problems are the root cause for the uprise of “terrorism”.
I strongly condemn terrorist acts targeted at innocents with no apparent cause to defend,but just for political ends.
Nevertheless, I sympathize with movements of resistance chiefly in Palestine and Lebanon.Hamas and Hezbollah are not terrorist organizations because their projects are legitimate.Another point of prime importance is that Islam is a tolerant religion preaching respect,love and brotherhood.I feel that my nerves constrict whenever I hear opprobrious terms linking terrorist acts to Islam especially in America and Europe where Islam and Arabs are systematically stigmatized .Hence,every terrorist act-be it in Antarctica-is ascribed to an Arab or Muslim.We should be cautious when adopting sweeping generalizations without proper knowledge of Islam and its main precepts.Every moslem ,specially “ulemas” or theologians,must share in the effort of presenting the real image of our religion .
Terrorism can’t be eradicated overnight and the phenomenon is far from being over as long as the problems highlighted before persist.Palestine must have an independent state and Alqods as capital.Equally,Afghanistan and Iraq have to regain their freedom Arab countries have to encourage genuine democracy , ensure justice ,equality of chances ,uproot corruption and provide basic freedoms.The United Nations has to reconsider its role so that it would be more positive, and more neutral.I think that hope lies in our future generations providing that we vaccinate our youngsters against extremist ideas through a decent education at home and at school as well as filling up their free time with beneficial activities,otherwise we will engage in a vicious circle,terrorists will mushroom and the situation will degenerate beyond repair .Tolerance and love should be our watchwords from now on.
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