Terrorism and the Decline of Contemporary Islam

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The Decline of Contemporary Islam

The Islamic civilization that produced such tolerance, knowledge, and beauty throughout history is now only able to produce terrorists. Extreme acts of violence, such as the September 11 terrorist attacks, test the mettle and moral depth of societies-the society that is targeted by the violence and the society that generated it. For instance, the Japanese stealth attack on Pearl Harbor tested both the aggressor and the victim. Pearl Harbor challenged the moral integrity of Japanese normative values, but also tested us-the victim. On our part, we responded to an extreme act of aggression with another extreme act-we interned our Japanese citizens in concentration camps, all of which resulted in great damage to our constitutional and civil rights.

We do not have a very good record when responding to aggression-as a society we tend to vent our anger and hurt at our own citizens and then spend decades expressing regret and talking about lessons learned. Considering the scale of what has been called the second Pearl Harbor, unfortunately, I fear that there is already an explosion of hate crimes against Muslim and Arab-Americans, both by common citizens and police enforcement agencies. Islamophobic experts started splattering the airwaves with endless talk about the Islamic threat and "I told you so's." Anticipating the backlash, Muslim and Arab organizations have rushed to issue condemnations against terrorism and hate-motivated violence, and have gone to great pains to explain that terrorists who happen to be Muslim, do not represent Muslims at large, or Islam. But, ultimately, this did not matter, and several Arab-looking or Muslim-looking people have been killed or beaten in several places...

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...ric. Our foreign policy towards Muslim nations remains guided by considerations of real politic and pure self-interest. In this vein, we supported and continue to support very repressive and corrupt governments with abysmal human rights records. While touting the cause of freedom and democracy, we consistently refer to these repressive governments as our friends and allies. Even more, we arrogantly claim to be the leader of the free world-whatever that means-but have not proven to be a very benevolent or principled leader.

The claim of leadership comes with a heavy responsibility. It should be understood that the leader becomes the symbolic scapegoat for the frustrations and failures of its purported followers. Significantly, when the leader relies on the logic of unprincipled and pragmatic interest, the lesson taught to others is not a particularly moral one.

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