13 - 19 September 2001
Issue No.551
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 13 - 19 September 2001 Issue No.551 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Innocence lost
The world denounced Tuesday's horrifying terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in virtual unanimity. Those responsible for the death and destruction cannot expect to arouse sympathy or understanding, no matter what cause they are fighting for.Killing innocent civilians is never justified, however legitimate one's rationale. Some extremist groups -- including right-wing American organisations, as demonstrated by the 19956 Oklahoma bombing -- believe that inflicting heavy human losses is the only way to tell the US government it must change its policy. This has never worked, even in terms of the perpetrators' immediate ends; indeed, it can only backfire. Brutality leads only to more hatred. Even if the crime is committed to draw attention to a just cause, that cause loses its meaning any chance of support when terrorism is involved.
The victims of the Tuesday catastrophe died for no reason at all, save the insanity of those who carried out the attacks. The tragedy, however, should not be used as a pretext to accuse Arabs and Muslims everywhere of involvement. Worrying reports are already emerging from the United States and Europe, where Muslims communities are fearful of reprisals by extremist right-wing groups. Israel, of course, was quick to turn the awful attacks to its advantage, with battalions of experts and politicians claiming that Palestinian "terror groups" were responsible.
The US administration has acted responsibly by refusing to accuse a specific party or group. Nearly 60 per cent of Americans polled in the past two days felt that US armed forces should not strike at suspected terrorist hideouts before making sure who carried out the attacks. The last thing a nation traumatised by terrorism should do is resort to acts of terror itself, bombing or killing innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the crimes.
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