Everything will be different from now on. A loss of innocence ,
but also, the gains of things more valuable : a sense of national unity,
and even wisdom. From heroic acts of rescue to extensive volunteer efforts,
people are displaying a civic and patriotic sprit that many social analysts had
thought was lost. For instance, In the wake of this week's events, several
students declared they would study to become an F.B.I, or N.S.A agent.
Old Glory was coming to life. Orders for American flags have
soared tenfold. Some of these flags will end up on front porches around the
country. On September 11th , Americans seem to have been searching
for reason to believe in the virtue of public life. As for the Founding
Fathers, they had returned to the popular consciousness in recent years. It was
as if Americans, were looking to discover First Principals. As President Bush
said : « we are fighting for the very survival of
our civlization ». Americans are turning to the Constitution the
Founders wrote and to the Bible they read. Polls show that attendance at
religious services rose after September 11th . It is an evidence
that public life has changed in America since the Towers fell.
The U.S.A are a unique country that stands for something special.
Of all the nations in the World, the U.S.A were built on nobody's image. The
idea represented by the flag can never be taken from the U.S.A. The terrorists
attacked the heart of the nation. They murdered more civilians in one day than
ever in hour history. But they failed utterly in their goal of destroying the
spirit of this country. As the French journalist Alexis de Tocqueville noticed
when he visited the young republic 170 years ago, American patriotism is more
rational, more based on interests, and less emotional than older varieties of
patriotism. Tocqueville observed that though « less
ardent » and less visible than that of other nations, theirs was a
more durable faith. The substance of that faith is freedom. Nowaday a selfless
commitment might mean going about our normal routines, including air travel.
Caution is always in order, but fear is an unpatriotic emotion.
The country is angry. Although scapegoated,
Muslims, Sikhs, and Arabs are patriotic, integrated and growing as American as
the the « real » American.
The Sikhs looked Muslims, but are not. But to
some, the turban and beard that most Sikhs wear look like Bin Laden's. If you
are a Muslim or an Arab, or look like one, you must fear the insults, blows and
bullets of your countrymen.
The council on American-Islamic relations counts more than
600 « incidents » since September 11th
victimizing people thought to be Arab or Muslim. Thousands were intimidated
into not going to work, their mosques, their schools. Muslims are being
accused of something that the community has not done.
For most American Muslims, the backlash reveals what they
coinsider to be tragic misconception by many Americans about the nature of
Islam itself.
There is no support in the Koran or mainstream Islamic tradition
for unprovoked violence against innocent civilians. And most of the world's 1.2
billion Muslims do not support the Holy war Bin Laden is said to be waging
against the U.S.A. Because the koran was revealed in the context of an all-out
war, several passages deal with the conduct of armed struggle : Muslims
are ordered by God to « slay enemies wherever you find
them » (4 :89).
Extremists like Bin Laden like to quote such verses , taking
passages out of their historical context to provide religious cover for those
who would murder innocent people. In 1998, he ignited anti-American passions by
issuing a fatwa, in which he declared « the individual
duty of every Muslim to kill the Americans and their allies in any
country is possible ». Bin Laden's radical and violent ideology
is diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Koran and traditional Islamic
doctrine. The « fatwa » is prohibited by Islamic law. In
fact, Bin Laden does not include in his koranic injunctions the exhortations to
peace,which in almost every case follow these more ferocious passages :
« Thus, if they let you be, and do not make war on you, and offer
you peace, God does not allow you to harm them »
(4 :90).
In the koran the only permissible war is one of self-defense.
Muslims may not begin hostilities (2 :90).
So why the suicide bombing, the hijacking and the massacre of
innocent civilians ? Far from being endorsed by the koran, this killing
violates some of its most sacred precepts.
It would be wrong to see Bin Laden as an authentic representative
of Islam.
American-Muslims fear that to some Americans , such distictions
mean little. Islamic leaders cautioned their fellows to lie low. This act of
terrorism affect all Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
