Dear Arooj !

 President George Bush’s declaration of War Against Terrorism has been creating a lot of confusion in people’s minds worldwide. One reason for such confusion is his choice of words. Whenever we use abstractions rather than concrete examples, we tend to create confusion.

As an existentialist, I think that rather than focusing on terrorism, the discussion would be more meaningful if we talked about terrorist people, terrorist organizations and terrorist states. Similarly, the discussions would be more productive, if, rather than talking about the abstraction of Islam, we focused on Muslims, Muslim organizations and Muslim States.

It is also important to be aware that people’s subjective identity might be very different than the identity given to them by others. One such example is the Ahmedis in Pakistan. They consider themselves Muslims while others consider them Non-Muslims. Such a social conflict became a national crisis when they were declared a religious minority by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s Government and deprived of many basic human rights and privileges. They had to face so much harassment that many of them had to leave the country and ask for refugee status in Western countries.

The political situation becomes quite critical when we focus on those organizations, who believe in armed struggle for independence. One such example was the ANC of South Africa lead by Nelson Mandela. At his Rivonia Trial he stated, “ In my youth in the Transkei I listened to the elders of my tribe telling stories of the old days. Amongst the tales they related to me were those of wars fought by our ancestors in defense of the fatherland…I hoped then that life might offer me the opportunity to serve my people and make my own humble contribution to their freedom struggle…We felt that without violence there would be no way open to the African people to succeed in their struggle against the principle of white supremacy…” (ref 1) He was considered a terrorist and kept in jail for quarter of a century before he transformed into a hero and became a freedom fighter, respected all over the world. He brought a message of freedom to blacks in South Africa and a ray of hope to the oppressed everywhere. It is crucial to note that many freedom fighters have been perceived as terrorists by their own governments.

Dear Arooj! For some people it is not easy to differentiate between genuine struggles of independence and criminal terrorist activities. It is crucial that governments not take military actions and rationalize it by saying that it was done to suppress terrorism. The process is as crucial as the final goal. Seyed Mohammad Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, stated in his address to United Nations General Assembly in November11, 2001, “ We should reach an appropriate definition for terrorism and make a distinction between blind criminal terrorism and legitimate defense against occupation, violence and suppression. Based on collective wisdom and international will, we should stand for a deep-rooted continuous struggle against the causes and manifestations of terrorism as well as its bases anywhere in the world. We should be vigilant to avoid the pitfall of fueling rather than suppressing terrorism through unilateral practices stemming from pride and rage. We should avoid expanding terrorism throughout the world in an attempt to suppress one of its bases.” Khatami was concerned that American military action in Afghanistan might jeopardize the peace of the world in the long run. He stated, “ …it is more likely that the continuation of the current military approach could incite sentiments that intensify intolerance and violence in the region and the whole world.”

It is also a reality that when political winds change, perceived identities also change. There was a time when Afghani Muslims were fighting against Communism. In those days they were well respected as freedom fighters by America. That was the time when they were known as Mujahedeens. But when the same Afghani Muslims did not follow the dictates of America they became evil terrorists and were hated by America as Talibaans. Few Americans acknowledge that America played a major role in creating Talibaan.

When I was doing my research on this subject, I was surprised to find out that there were more than 300 organizations worldwide, who had registered themselves as Freedom Fighter Organizations. Those organizations exist all the way from India to Latin America. I am confident that many of them are perceived as Terrorist Organizations by their rivals, and by many Governments, who do not agree with their struggle. It is ironic that such organizations are perceived as Freedom Fighter Organizations only when they win the struggle and attain political power.

After the September 11th tragedy, a number of journalists traveled in the Arab and Muslim worlds to document and discuss the reactions of different people and groups. Those journalists were surprised to find a wide variety of organizations with a wide range of struggles. Some of them had a peaceful philosophy while others had a militant ideology.

It is coming to the world’s attention that many countries are homes to organizations, who are armed and have the capacity for terrorist attacks in their own or other countries. Those organizations organize “suicide bombings” and other attacks that kill thousands of innocent civilians every year. To control such individuals and organizations has been a focus of discussion in the last few weeks.

Dear Arooj ! I feel very strongly that to live in a peaceful world we need to control those terrorist organizations who train, produce and export terrorists. But I believe that such an action has to be done by an international peace organization under the umbrella of the United Nations and not by America. If President Bush had asked the United Nations to organize such a movement, he would have received cooperation from governments all over the world. But when Bush declared himself and his government as the police officer of the world, he did not receive that full cooperation, especially from many heads of Muslim and Arab states. Khatami, President of Iran stated, “ Can the United Nations take the lead in devising a program to implement this fair and reasonable approach and become the locus of a global coalition for peace based on justice? I have every confidence in the wisdom and the will of the Secretary General…” . Khatami, like many other world leaders, especially from the Muslim World, is asking the United Nations to lead this movement because they do not trust America. They believe that America cannot conduct impartial, just and fair trials, or offer any rational response to the September 11^th strike. They want international courts and organizations to deal with international conflicts and terrorist activities. I feel we had an opportunity after September 11th tragedy to bring the whole world under one umbrella, onto one platform to fight against all terrorist organizations. But unfortunately President Bush lost that opportunity by dividing the world into us and them. He divided the world into two groups: people and governments in favour of, and against America. It is unfortunate that rather than adopting a posture of world statesman, he assumed the role of a priest who divided the world between good and evil, right and wrong, friends and enemies. He even had the audacity to say “ God is on our side”, as if the enemies were step-children of God. It is a sad reality that such a religious attitude divides people on the basis of religion and nationalism. It does not bring people together to create a peaceful world where people from all ethnic and religious backgrounds can live in harmony. I think America missed a golden opportunity to be respected by the whole world. It is unfortunate that America sacrificed world peace on the altar of economic gains and political power.

Muslim countries are afraid that since the fall of the USSR, America has been expanding her power and control. Muslims all over the world are living in fear, not knowing which organization will be declared the next al-qaeda and which country will become the next Afghanistan. Countries like Iraq, Iran, Palestine and Pakistan are especially vulnerable. It is ironic that there is no other power in the world that can challenge America. Muslims are worried that America will have double standards especially when it comes to the conflicts of the Middle East where hostilities are mutual and deep rooted. Over the decades much anger, resentment and hatred has been generated by extremist religious ideologies and nationalistic philosophies. I think that until we establish international organizations that address such conflicts in a just and impartial way, we will not be able to deal with terrorist people, organizations and states.

 I believe that the time has come for countries like Canada, Norway, Denmark and Sweden to play a leading role in organizing an International Peace Movement, a movement that would open a peaceful dialogue between East and West, Muslim and Non-Muslim and First World and Third World countries, a dialogue in which peace would embrace justice and find ways to end the international exploitation. Such exploitation has been playing a significant role in creating extremist and terrorist movements. President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf in his address to United Nations on November 10^th, 2001, stated, “ To fight the extremist, deprive him of his motivation. The extremist survives in an environment where millions suffer injustice and indignity. Deprive him of his support by giving the world peace, security, justice and dignity for all peoples regardless of faith, religion or creed.”

If such a movement and dialogue is not created, I am afraid that the cycle of violence, aggression and terrorism will continue throughout the world, and this century will be known as the Century of Terrorism. Affectionately, Sohail November 2001

Reference1. The Democracy Reader Edited by Diane Ravitch and Abigail Thernstrom

Harper Collins Publishers  New York 1992 USA