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CounterPunch
September
17, 2002
Time to Answer
Why Do They
Hate Us?
by Riad Z. Abdelkarim,
MD
One of the most widely asked questions in the
weeks and months following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against
our nation has been, "Why do they hate us?"-- the
"they" in this question ostensibly referring to the
world's Arabs and Muslims. Many in our country, among them American
Muslims, initially were reluctant to answer this question. This
reluctance was born of a fear of being labeled unpatriotic,
un-American-or worse, apologists for terrorists-by some of
the ubiquitous commentators and talking heads who vociferously
attacked anyone who dared pose this question in the immediate
aftermath of the attacks.
Now, one year later, this question finally
should be addressed. And yet I stilI hesitate because of concern
that my loyalty, and that of our nation's seven million American
Muslims, yet again will be questioned.
This despite the fact that every major
American Muslim organization and leader has condemned the horrible
events of Sept. 11 and those responsible for them. We have repeatedly
and unequivocally stated that there is no possible justification
(religious or otherwise) for these acts on the basis our faith,
and that those who claim to commit such acts in the name of
Islam have heinously twisted its teachings. And yet if we dare
to explore the roots of this evil, our loyalties become immediately
suspect in the eyes of some cynical pundits searching for an
excuse to brand all Muslims-and indeed Islam itself-as civilization's
new enemy.
In trying to characterize the motives
of those suspected of perpetrating the terrorist attacks, President
George W. Bush proclaimed that "they hate our way of life."
This is at best a gross oversimplification, and at worst dangerously
naive. Such jargon may sound nice for an 11 o'clock news sound
bite, but it does not accurately answer the question, "Why
do they hate us?"
Indeed, I would argue that the question
itself is a misleading generalization, based on the erroneous
assumption that Muslims and Arabs "hate us." The vast
majority of Muslims and Arabs do not hate America, per se. Any
statement to the contrary is a myth which only serves to perpetuate
the dangerous, false "Islam-as-the-enemy" doctrine
promoted by some self-styled experts on Islam. In fact, a great
many Muslims and Arabs would cherish the opportunity to immigrate
to the United States and enjoy the political, religious, economic,
and educational freedoms that many of us take for granted. Immigrants
to the U.S. from the Arab and Muslim worlds and their descendants
have been successful, educated, productive members of our society.
We are the objects of envy among our friends and relatives overseas.
Of course, this does not mean that there
are some aspects of our society that are frowned upon by the
generally conservative communities of the Muslim world. Many
express displeasure with the excesses of our overly materialistic
culture, with a presumed emphasis on money, sex, and entertainment.
While this may be a stereotypical perception on their part,
we must bear in mind that this is the image of America exported
by Hollywood. It is these elements of American society-as represented
in movies, television soaps, and the latest music videos-to
which individuals in the Muslim world are the most directly
exposed and from which they derive their basic assumptions about
our country. Similar complaints have been heard from all corners
of the world-and indeed from within our own nation as well.
Of course, there are fringe elements
in all societies who do not see shades of gray, but rather only
the stark contrast of black and white, good and bad. These elements
are prone to rejecting everything American as being inherently
corrupt and a danger to their way of life. In a way, these
individuals are the counterparts of those extremists in our
country who today clamor that Islam itself poses a clear and
present danger to our country. Ironic, isn't it? That said,
most Muslims are sophisticated enough that they "don't
throw the baby out with the bath water." Most Muslims and
Arabs know that, like any other society or culture, America
has its strengths and faults-and they hope to emulate these
strengths in their own societies while avoiding those elements
they deem undesirable.
Muslim and Arab resentment grows exponentially
when they look toward many foreign policy stands of our country
that are perceived as anti-Muslim and anti-Arab. Chief among
these issues: the blind, unconditional support provided by
the U.S. to Israel's continued brutal military occupation of
Palestinian lands. Daily on Al-Jazeera they view images of
American Apache helicopter gunships and <U.S.-provided>
tanks, fighter jets, and missiles wreaking death and destruction
on Palestinian towns and refugee camps. And they hear the somber
pronouncements of American officials condemning "Palestinian
terrorism" while failing even to acknowledge Palestinian
suffering.
Arabs and Muslims also resent our country's
decade-long sanctions policy against Iraq, which has resulted
in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children from
starvation and disease but left the brutal Iraqi dictator Saddam
Hussein more entrenched in power than ever. Why, they ask, do
the innocent and noble Iraqi people have to suffer for the sins
of their leader-a leader they did not choose and who for so
long was supported by America?
And Muslims and Arabs resent our nation's
policy of promoting democratic reform and human rights in every
corner of the globe--except for the Middle East and Muslim lands.
As long as the fertile breeding ground of discontent and resentment
persists, more Bin Ladens will emerge in the years to come.
And, unless our nation's policymakers make an earnest attempt
to end the double standard and promote democracy and human rights
uniformly and universally in the Middle East and Muslim world,
I fear that the message of these new bin Ladens will once again
resonate with a disaffected and disenfranchised Muslim world.
For Muslims, ironically, will be continuing to ask the same
question: "Why do they hate us?"
Riad Z. Abdelkarim, MD, is Western Region communications director
for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). He also
writes the monthly "Islam in America" column for the
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs.
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