Extremists and the Media Put World on a Hair Trigger
"Al-Qaeda is as representative of Islam as the obscure
pastor Terry Jones represents Christianity. … In the words of the classical
German thinker Goethe, 'Sin writes histories, goodness is silent.' ... In a globalized world, a tiny incident can take on global dimensions. Whether it involves caricatures of the Prophet in a Danish newspaper in 2006 or one individual's intent to burn a religious book, a crisis can be triggered."
Feisal Abdul Rauf, executive director of the Cordoba Initiative, has traveled the world to talk to moderate Muslims on behalf of the U.S. State Department. He now finds himself ensconsed in a fierce battle to prevent his initiative from being completed.
The
threat to burn the Quran by an unknown clergyman in the United States showed
how strained political-religious relations are between the West and Islam. And
the friction occurred on a symbolic day: September 11, nine years after the
deadly attacks in New York and Washington. The terrorist acts were perpetrated
by a tiny group that claimed to act on behalf of Islam.
Osama
bin Laden, in the name of al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attacks,
proclaiming: “Behold the United States, struck by Allah in its most vulnerable
spot, and thank God, its most prestigious work has been destroyed.” For many
Americans, the wrong image was sealed of the Muslim world - as an enemy that includes
1.3 billion people. The gauntlet was picked up by President George W. Bush, who
proclaimed: “Now that we've declared war, we'll lead the world to victory.” Soon
later, U.S. troops occupied Afghanistan and in 2003 invaded Iraq.
Al-Qaeda
is as representative of Islam as the obscure pastor Terry Jones, who shot to ephemeral
fame with his threat to burn several editions of the Quran, represents
Christianity. But in an atmosphere of suspicion and animosity, some people are crazy
enough to try and provoke major incidents. It's worth remembering how the First
World War began. It was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in
Sarajevo in June 1914, executed by a Serbian nationalist, which precipitated a
domino effect on the old continent and a four-year war.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Islamophobia
in certain areas of the United States has risen to such levels that President
Barack Obama was obliged to point out that the country isn't at war against
Islam, but with certain terrorist organizations. This, by the way, also touches
on the debate about the building of an Islamic center a few blocks from where
the now-destroyed Twin Towers once stood. Some people object to the presence of
a center of Islamic worship in such proximity to the place of the attack. But
American Muslims - and there are about five million - whose roots go back to the
slaves torn from Africa, have nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with
9-11-2001. To repudiate the presence of Islam is to punish believers that unquestionably
condemn the attacks on their city. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who leads the planned
Islamic center, warned that blocking the project could lead to violent responses
from Muslim countries. In his words, “the extremists on both sides, the
radicalized in the United States and the Islamic world, fuel one another. And,
to some extent, the attention they have gotten in the press has even
exacerbated the problem.”
The
disagreements between cultures are exploited by those interested in deepening
the gulf between religions. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme religious [and
political] leader, accused the U.S. government of orchestrating the burning of
the Quran. He ruled out that it is the responsibility of extreme right-wing
Christian groups because they are puppets of the government. The same
conviction stirred thousands of believers who took to the streets of
Afghanistan, where a demonstrator was killed, in Pakistan and other Islamic
countries.
In
the words of the classical German thinker Goethe, “Sin writes histories, goodness is silent.” Everyone
knows that violence and threats get more attention than acts of solidarity. Few
heard that the Anti-Defamation
League, a Jewish organization for defending civil rights, announced the
formation of an interfaith coalition for mosques, designed to combat
anti-Muslim incidents in the United States. For his part, Cardinal Theodore
Edgar McCarrick condemned attacks against the Islamists and warned that
“intolerance will be felt by others as a message from Americans.”
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In
the case of the unexecuted Quran burning, General David Petraeus, commander of
the troops fighting in Afghanistan, may have made a mistake when he warned that the
act would cause harm to his forces. The moment such a high-level authority
refers to the subject, it can be taken for granted that the press will cover it
extensively. In a globalized world, a tiny incident can take on global dimensions.
Whether it involves caricatures of the Prophet in a Danish newspaper in 2006 or
one individual's intent to burn a religious book, a crisis can be triggered. This
demonstrates the volatility of the situation.
