Oct 14 2001 – The majority of governments, religious leaders and organizations, and populations in the Arab and Muslim world have decried the terrorist attacks of September 11 with their tragic loss of life and reject Osama Bin Laden’s attempt to “hijack Islam” to legitimate acts of terrorism. The US-led coalition and the bombing of Afghanistan have received cautious support from most Arab and Muslim leaders. Indeed the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents some 56 Muslim countries, in its recent meetings gave a green light to the Bush administration’s use of military force to bring Bin Laden to justice and destroy his training camps. However, as the days of bombing continue, the breadth of devastation and the mounting civilian casualties could make it more difficult for coalition member governments in the Arab and Muslim world who have to be sensitive to popular sentiment. The small numbers of demonstrations we are now seeing in Muslim countries could grow. The issue would not be Bin Laden but the welfare of innocent civilians. This concern was expressed most recently by Mary Robinson, head of the United Nations Commission for Humanitarian Relief (UNCHR). Moreover, if the United States broadens the military dimension of its war on terrorism to other Arab and Muslim countries such as Iraq, Syria or Iran or Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, the situation could become far more difficult, feeding an already existent anti-Americanism and further eroding American credibility. The OIC in its statement accepting attacks against the Taliban warned that it “rejected the targeting of any Islamic or Arab State under the pretext of fighting terrorism.” Critical to the global war on terrorism will be the realization that a military solution will not be sufficient.
The American administration has talked about a multi-pronged approach: political, economic, and diplomatic. Most important to this process will be the need to address the root causes of anti-Americanism and of terrorism.
Anti-Americanism (and anti-Europeanism) is a broad-based phenomenon that cuts across Arab and Muslim societies. It is driven not by the blind hatred or religious zealotry of extremists, but by a frustration and anger with U.S. policy among the mainstream in the Muslim world. The West’s espousal of self-determination, democratization, and human rights is often seen as a hypocritical double standard by many Muslims when compared to American policies, such as the impact of sanctions on more than a half million Iraqi children and sanctions against Pakistan but a failure to press Israel and India on their nuclear developments. The moral will so evident in Kosovo is seen as totally absent in our policy of permissive neglect in the Chechnyan and Kashmiri conflicts. Additionally, critics believe that the significant presence of U.S. military and arms in the Gulf risks a new-colonialist military influence leading to uncritical support for authoritarian regimes as well as pressures on Arab governments to comply with U.S. foreign policy objectives, especially with respect to Israel and Palestine. Such a litany of grievances sparks the anger of many mainstream Arabs and Muslims, both overseas and in America and Europe.
As we ask, “Why do they hate us?” we must realize that often they see more than we see. Unlike the past, today an international Arab and Muslim media, no longer solely dependent on Western reporters and channels, has provided daily coverage of events in the Arab world and broader Muslim world. Today, Al-Jazeera TV, with its more than 40 million viewers, provides the only coverage of the bombings in Afghanistan to the West as well as to the Muslim world. So too, Arabs and Muslims around the world have sat riveted each day watching scenes of the disproportionate firepower and number of Palestinian casualties as well as the use of American F16s and Apache helicopters provided to Israel against Palestinians, the impact of sanctions on Iraq’s children, and the wars in Chechnya and Kashmir.
The fight against global terrorism will require support not only of governments in the Muslim world, but also of the majority of their citizens. Many (in government, business, academia, and the media) admire America, have visited, lived, or studied here, and do business with us regularly. The temptation is to seek easy justifications to explain away anti-Americanism as simply irrationality, ingratitude, jealousy of our success or hatred for “our way of life.” The extremists aside, the bulk of criticism for U.S. policy comes from those who judge us by our admirable principles and values. I travel extensively throughout the Muslim world, from Africa to Southeast Asia. The vast majority of Muslims I have encountered, secular and Islamist, want much of what we stand for but sometimes do not measure up to.
As governments respond to the threat of global terrorism, it will be difficult but necessary for our leaders and politicians to lead – and not be led by a thirst for revenge. The war against global terrorism should not justify a gradual erosion of important principles and values at home or become a green light to authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world to further limit the rule of law and civil society, or repress non-violent opposition. Nor should it affect the need for America to adopt a more balanced foreign policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. American and European responses must be proportionate, from military strikes, security measures, and anti-terrorism legislation, to foreign policy.
The need to bring the terrorists who attacked our country on Sept. 11 to swift justice and to pursue a war to destroy their cells and bases of operation must be guided by remembrance of past mistakes such as the missile attack against Sudan by the Clinton administration in retaliation for the bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. It must be backed by evidence that establishes a direct connection of guilt and by strikes that are focused rather than wide-ranging and indiscriminate. A disproportionate response runs the risk of a backlash in the Middle East and the broader Muslim world-as well as among fellow American and European Muslim citizens-that will erode the good will and support of many and reinforce an image of a superpower placing itself above international law.
If the above foreign policy issues are not addressed effectively, they will continue to provide a breeding ground for hatred and radicalism, the rise of extremist movements, and recruits for the Bin Ladens of the world. Therefore, it is critical to adopt a long- as well as a short-term strategy — based upon a reexamination of U.S. foreign policy and an openness to press our allies as well as to challenge ourselves to reconsider policies, strategies, and tactics that limit and contain rather than contribute to the growth of radicalization and terrorism.
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John L. Esposito is University Professor and Professor of Religion and International Affairs at Georgetown University. Founding Director of the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding: History and International Affairs at the Walsh School of Foreign Service, his publications include The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? (Oxford University Press).