PARIS, 15 August 2004 — On Sept. 11, 2001 your land, protected by military might, geographical distance and two oceans, was the scene of a horrific act of terrorism. Three thousand American and non-American innocent lives were lost on that dark day. A symbol of your economic power suddenly and quickly vanished from the earth.
The shock was great. It filled your hearts with anger, grief and pain and gave you a strong desire for quick revenge. Your reaction was normal and expected. Your country is a superpower. Your revenge was immediate and forceful. It led to two consecutive wars and to ferocious battles, which are claiming tens of lives every day.
When America sneezed in the twentieth century, Europe caught cold. When America was attacked early in the new millennium, the international community shared your fury and your pain, your grief and your anger shook the earth, and life in our world changed forever. The false sense of security and stability that many of us had long enjoyed suddenly disappeared.
Anger is a source of energy. Uncontrolled anger blurs the vision, promotes hatred and creates conflicts and wars. Controlled anger opens the eyes to unpleasant realities and creates in the heart a determination to find effective solutions to major problems, such as racism, hatred, famine, injustice, poverty and ignorance. It raises questions that are difficult to answer, yet helpful to ask.
Why does the death of one single non-Arab or non-Muslim in the raging battles in the Middle East make the news, while the destruction of thousand Arab and Muslim lives, livelihood and homes are “nothing to write home about”?
The death toll in Iraq, Gaza and the West Bank has reached unacceptable levels and the number of homeless, bereaved, injured, widowed and orphaned has dramatically increased. Is your anger partially responsible for the apparent indifference to the misery, the tragedies and the ongoing carnage in the Middle East?
Ruthless autocrats and heartless dictators are using the war on terror as an excuse to spread the mantle of terrorism over their opponents. The distinctions between criminals who kill, destroy and terrify and freedom fighters, which sacrifice their lives for legitimate, internationally recognized causes is no longer clear in our minds. Surely the confusion is a by-product of the attack on America three years ago.
Your country is a rich knowledge base. It provides the world with definitions of difficult terms and complicated concepts. Our world needs accurate definitions for the frequently used and misused terms “ terrorism”, “terrorists” “Islamists” and “jihadist”, so we can all enlist in the ongoing war on terror.
We are told that few countries in the Third World are trying to develop nuclear programs. Could fear of pre-emptive strikes have whetted their appetite for weapons of mass destruction?
Nineteen young Muslim Arabs attacked your country three years ago. Since then, you are psychologically ready to generalize and believe that every Arab is your enemy and every Muslim a potential terrorist and a threat to your national security.
Racists are exploiting the prevailing unhealthy social and political climate to discriminate against innocent Arabs and Muslims in offices, restaurants, shops airports and stations in the West. Has your anger indirectly destroyed the happiness, the comfort and the livelihood of innocent people, who have nothing to do with the Sept. 11 attacks?
America was admired, loved, honored and respected throughout the second half of the last century. Are America’s frown, iron fists and heavy hands responsible for the previously unknown “American-phobia” in the world? Are they undermining your efforts to recapture the billions of hearts and minds, which you lost in recent years?
America is a land of immigrants. Your greatness and your power are the natural results of your cultural diversity and your religious tolerance.
Islam is a major world religion, embraced by seven million Americans and 1.4 billion people around the world. American Arabs are part of the fabric of your rich society.
Lack of respect for Islam, attacks on the Qu’ran, criticism of religious teachings, discrimination against Arabs and Muslims, destruction of holy shrines, ridicule of religious beliefs, criticism of the Arab way of life breed resentment, promote hatred, feed fanaticism, empower terrorists and threaten world security.
The majority of Arabs and Muslims are moderates. They are your friends and friends to the West. A number of racist “intellectuals” are inciting hatred and paving the way for the clash of civilizations, which we should all do our best to avert.
If you visit the Middle East sections in libraries and bookshops in your city or surf the web, you will be shocked at the extent of abuse leveled at Islam. By way of example, I refer you to the following site: www.prophetofdoom.net
Isalmophobia is indeed on the rise.
Attacks on mosques and desecration of Muslim cemeteries in the West are on the increase. Vandals have scrawled anti-Muslim graffiti and painted swastikas on a number of Muslim graves in a few towns and cities.
Respectful Arabs and moderate Muslims have been arrested, humiliated, interrogated and released.
On an American flight in the States, the looks and behavior of a group of young Arab passengers raised suspicions and scared an American couple. The young men were carefully watched by the couple, closely monitored by the crew, interrogated upon arrival, and released after the officials were satisfied they were a harmless Syrian music band.
Dear friends,
A fire is raging in the world,
Your genuine cooperation to extinguish it will bring us closer to peace. Your serious efforts to promote justice and stability in the Middle East will deal terrorists a serious blow and win you the hearts and minds of every Arab, every Muslim and every peace-loving Israeli.
Next month we will remember and mourn the victims of the attacks on your country. May the occasion remind us that we are mortals who live in an interdependent world and share one fate. May we realize that we need each other, regardless of our belief, color, race or nationality!
— Ibtissam Al-Bassam is a former dean of King Fahd Academy in London and a present staff member of UNESCO. The views expressed are hers alone.
