Terrorism Is Not a One-Way Street Pointing East

By Stuart Chambers

March 10, 2015

Tune into just about any news broadcast in Canada or the United States today, and one hears the constant echo of Samuel Huntington's thesis on the clash of civilizations, namely that East and West -- or more specifically Islam and the West's Judeo-Christian values -- are incompatible.

In the wake of IS beheadings and the radicalization of Westerners, the media have become saturated with the rhetoric of "stealth jihad," "Muslim extremists," and "Islamic insurgents," caricatures that have convinced some people Islam must be kept in check. It is also why Western politicians continue to ask what should be done about the "Muslim question," particularly in terms of global security.

The scope of such an inquiry, however, is often limited, mainly because Western leaders avoid any discussion concerning the destabilizing effects of their own policies on Muslim nations. Take, for instance, the 2003 Iraq War, a debacle led by former U.S. president George W. Bush, supported by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and championed by Stephen Harper, then Conservative Opposition leader. What is undeniable is trumped-up evidence of weapons of mass destruction, a scheme concocted by American neo-conservatives, set in motion an illegal war that led to the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.

Try as they might, neo-conservatives cannot dismiss the illegal invasion as a mistake in judgment. Instead, the Iraq War must be seen for what it truly personified -- a deliberate act of terrorism. The reasons are self-evident: It was an act dangerous to human life, one that violated international laws and that was intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population. The U.S. government intended to undermine Iraq's political, social and economic institutions, knowing full well that to achieve these ends the slaughter of innocent lives was inevitable.

Ironically, when Western nations -- led by the United States -- commit such atrocities, the terrorism label somehow does not apply. From listening to mainstream media reports, one gets the impression the West is a mere spectator on the sidelines in Mideast conflicts, that our policies play no role in the political turmoil there. From a Western perspective, violence is something intrinsic to the Muslim world.

Perhaps what we should be deliberating is the "Western question." In other words, why does the West solely attribute "terrorism" to Muslim organizations and nations when Western (and nominally Christian) states have engaged in -- and continue to engage in -- terrorist practises against Muslims? Certainly, the list of grievances against the United States is long. The overthrow of democratically elected governments (such as Iran in 1953), support for Arab dictators like Hosni Mubarak in Egypt, drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan that kill innocent civilians, nightly raids and assassinations by counter-terrorism units in Afghanistan, and the sanctioning of torture at both Abu Ghraib prison and Guantanamo Bay.

The West's response has been to consistently deny any cause-and-effect relationship between its foreign policy initiatives and increased violence and bloodshed in the Middle East. Instead, Western powers have responded in polemical terms: "They (Arabs/Muslims) hate us for who we are, not what we do."

The evidence, however, suggests otherwise. When reliable data on Arab attitudes is compiled from sources such as the Pew Global Attitudes Survey or Zogby International, the results are conclusive. It's not Western or American values that are despised in the Middle East. It is American foreign policy, particularly political decisions that make the plight of Palestinians worse. The Israel-Palestine conflict continues to be the main source of friction between East and West, not some inevitable culture clash forwarded by Huntington's disciples.

How will addressing the Western question lead to a more nuanced dialogue? First, it will initiate a conversation concerning the detrimental impact of Western foreign policy decisions on East-West tensions. Second, it will prevent either side -- East or West -- from relativising their own violence.

As Noam Chomsky reminds us, if we are going to talk honestly about terrorism, we have to admit to the history of our own first. Perhaps then we can stop fixating on the Muslim question exclusively and begin understanding why this apparent disconnect persists in the Western mindset over what constitutes terrorism.

Stuart Chambers is a professor in the faculties of arts and social sciences at the University of Ottawa, where he teaches a course in media ethics.

Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/terrorism-is-not-a-one-way-street-pointing-east-295714751.html

URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-terrorism-jihad/terrorism-one-way-street-pointing/d/101917