It has not been a great start to 2010. The failed terrorist attempt by a Nigerian passenger to blow up an American airliner bound for Detroit on Christmas Day has brought the war against terror back to the forefront. President Barack Obama has pointed the finger to Al-Qaeda in Yemen and ordered a series of measures to be taken to tighten security at American airports and restrict granting visas to nationals from countries who the US associate, directly or indirectly, with terrorists. Most of the countries on the new list are Arab and Muslim.
And then last week an armed Somali youth was arrested as he was about to break into the home of a Danish cartoonist, who angered millions of Muslims two years ago by publishing offending drawings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in a Copenhagen newspaper. The young Muslim was charged with attempted murder.
Europe soon followed America’s example; security measures were immediately stiffened at European airports. It is only the first step. A new wave of restrictions and regulations will be unleashed in the coming days and weeks and all will revolve on making it more difficult for Muslim nationals to travel, file for immigration, seek work and residency permits in Western countries.
Muslims are once again being stigmatized and penalized because they are being associated with terror and terrorism. If the Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a blue-eyed renegade belonging to a fringe Bible-belt sect, Western reaction would have been different.
But he was not. He was one of hundreds of misled young Muslims who Al-Qaeda and other extremist organizations managed to recruit as a proselyte, believing in their bloody and nihilistic ideology. At 24 years of age, Abdulmutallab fits the characteristics of the majority of young Muslim men, and women, who have become a prime target for the likes of Al-Qaeda.
But there is nothing new in all this. We have always known about the tactics that terrorist organizations use to snare disillusioned Muslim youth. We had paid a heavy price in the war on terror; millions of innocent Muslims have lost their lives, were injured, chased out of their countries, or falsely persecuted because of who they are and what they believe in.
The West’s prompt response to latest terrorist attempts does not address the core problem. It only provides more nourishment to the forces that seek to stereotype Islam and are busy promoting ways to punish Muslims en masse.
More Muslim and Arab countries will probably join the shameless American list if the next culprit hails from say Egypt, Turkey or Malaysia. To punish an entire nation for the folly of one citizen will only serve the goals of the terrorists, and right-wing forces that are gaining grounds in the West.
There is a common platform that brings those opposing forces together. When America and Europe react by closing borders, tightening restrictions and resorting to racist methods by profiling Middle Easterners, Muslims, dark-skinned men with difficult names to pronounce, the West is caving in to isolationism, insecurity, xenophobia and bigotry.
But isn’t this what Al-Qaeda and others want? Aren’t they seeking to reach the grassroots in the Muslim world, something they had consistently failed to do for years? There will be thousands of innocent Muslims who will suffer as result of this system of profiling and discrimination. Many will lose their jobs, students will be denied visas to study in Western universities and fully qualified immigrants will be rejected because of their names, backgrounds and other silly stuff. Isn’t this a victory for those who preach polarization, hatred and doubt?
Terror is a byproduct of failed and tortuous policies. A Muslim terrorist is no different from a Chinese one; he’s primarily a victim of circumstances and extremist ideologies. Those who end up paying the price are not terrorists or extremists, but moderate people who abhor both. The West’s reaction institutionalizes the drive for entrenchment, for building walls and closing doors, for looking at others with suspicion, for intolerance and hate.
The victims of such policies are not only Muslims. Everyone suffers and as a result a blame game begins, one that enhances stereotypical perceptions and augments segregation and isolationism.
After President Barack Obama’s election and the euphoria and hope which accompanied that historic event, the world believed a new chapter in cultural relations was about to be written. Obama’s first global message was to Muslims everywhere, which he delivered from Cairo University. He promised openness, tolerance, cultural exchange, justice and fairness. He vowed to open a new page in America’s relations with the Muslim world. He made many promises that tantalized our emotions and gave us hope. It was the best response to extremists and bigots; hate-mongers and fundamentalists who were so happy to see cultures torn apart.
Today Obama’s acts are a breach of these promises. Yes Al-Qaeda is still there, a menace not only to the West but to the Muslim world and to our children. But is this is the way to combat it? One billion Muslims around the globe deny Al-Qaeda and what it stands for. Is this is the way to build bridges with them?
There are risks involved and misled young Muslims will attempt to commit mass murder believing that they serve a noble cause. But fighting terrorism will not be achieved by penalizing millions and stigmatizing Muslims. The West must come to its senses by addressing the real issues and facing up to its responsibilities; it cannot do so if it allows a citadel mentality to dominate. It cannot expect to win if it closes the doors and encourages discrimination, collective punishment and intolerance!
— Osama Al Sharif is a veteran journalist and political commentator based in Jordan.
