Towe is a UCLA alumnus.
By Joseph Towe
As a UCLA alumnus, I receive the UCLA magazine each
quarter. I strongly disagree with one of the articles in the
Winter 2001 addition, and since I couldn’t find a provision
for letters in the magazine, I want to explain my grievance to The
Bruin.
The article to which I refer, titled “Between peace and
terror,” by Khalid Abou El Fadi, discusses the Sept. 11
tragedy and attempts to place blame on the United States and Europe
as well as on terrorist organizations.Â
Initially I was willing to entertain the possibility that U.S.
policy could have contributed to a climate which motivated terror;
but after reading Fadi’s article I have concluded that his
arguments are without merit.
First, Fadi refers to “horrendous acts motivated by
Islamophobics;” he does not however discuss specific
realizations of these misguided attitudes or actions.
Second, Fadi discusses the magnanimous nature of Islamic law,
claiming that terrorism is condemned by such law. However, he
conveniently omits the provision that such condemnation is set
aside as soon as an appropriate authority figure decides that
“jihad” should be launched.
Thirdly, Fadi insists that the Islamic civilization was
“wiped out” by an “aggressive and racist”
European civilization and that the Arab states have since been
victimized by the West.
In this case he attempts to cite some realizations, but in so
doing involves blatant historical inaccuracies. He refers to
the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the onslaught of
colonialism. He seems oblivious to the fact that the Ottoman
Empire represented colonialism at its worst.
He also refers to the “expulsion of Palestinians from
their lands.” This claim involves an outright
lie. Palestinians voluntarily left their homeland on the eve
of the initial racially-motivated war, which was launched against
the state of Israel by several Arab states.
The Palestinians left because they assumed the Arabs would be
victorious and would “push Israel into the sea,” as had
been arrogantly predicted. After the Arab states lost the war,
they began demanding that the Palestinians be allowed to return to
their lands, but at this point readmission was impossible. The
Israelis would have opened the door for the Trojan horse.
Finally, Fadi addresses what he calls the “arrogance of
the United States,” and the aspects of U.S. policy which he
says motivate terrorism. He claims that while the U.S.
“throws around moral imperatives,” the real motivations
are self-interest and “realpolitik.” Admittedly
self-interest has some influence upon U.S. foreign policy.
But is every nation on Earth not “guilty” of
self-interest?Â
Fadi follows this meaningless accusation by insisting that the
U.S. supports “very repressive and corrupt governments with
abysmal human rights records.”
Is Fadi referring here to those Arab states which permit
participation in the trading of African slaves?Â
Is he referring to the murder of approximately one million
Africans in the Sudan by Muslims who were motivated by religious
intolerance?Â
Are these Muslims also of the puritan persuasion to which he
attributes all Muslim atrocities?Â
Does the shameful treatment of women in many Arab states partly
constitute the human rights violations to which Fadi refers?
When he refers to corruption and repression and the violation of
human rights, Fadi is aptly describing Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and
several other Arab nations, but somehow one does not get the
impression he is referring to these.
He says that the U.S. regards the “repressive
governments” he mentions, as “friends and
allies.” If he is referring to Israel, then he should have
the moral courage to be specific.
I suspect that Fadi does classify Israel as repressive because
the Israeli government has responded to terrorist attacks and has
defended its right to exist against racially motivated Arab states
who have vowed to destroy it since its inception.
I recently heard a statement from Osama bin Laden which blamed
terrorism upon the “arrogance” of the United States.
According to him, the act of the U.S. which most blatantly
expressed this arrogance was U.S. recognition of Israel in 1948
““ in the process he demonstrates the same arrogance he
accuses the U.S. of, against Israel. So much for the idea that the
U.S. is the only arrogant party.