On September 11th

On page 18, Rageh Omar mentioned that Jason Bruke, in the introduction of his work Al Qaeda: Casting a Shadow of Terror, wrote the following:


"In the weeks immediately following the tragedy of September 11th there was a genuine interest in understanding 'why'. Why 'they' hate us, why were 'they' prepared to kill themselves, why such a thing could happen. That curiosity has dwindled and is being replaced by other questions: how did it happen, how many of 'them' are there, how many are there left to capture and kill?"

We want to promote a culture of openness and understanding, one in which otherness is not disciplined or annihilated unless it presents a real threat to life. Even in such a case, an attempt to contain its destructive force seems worth being made.

The way I see it, the shift from the "why" questions to the "how" questions is some sort of a misculculation in that for a problem to be solved we first of all need to understand the reasons behind it. When we, for the sake of vengeance, forget to deal with the real reasons and seek an inner satisfaction in the destruction of the other, then we are simply adding fuel to a culture of hate. We all know that violence breeds violence.

A person may ask the "how questions" (how many are there left to capture and kill) but a wise person would take the trouble to dwell on the first part of the questions (the why questions).

Understanding the actual reasons behing those deadly acts is the first step in the long path of peace, mutual understanding, and even an appreciation of difference.

Those who committed those deadly acts are certainly to be brought to justice but in taking revenge from so many people, thousands of souls were lost- most of them innocent; and the world is not safer than before September 11 2001.

The curiosity that dwindled, as Rageh Omar put it, should have been nurtured and the reasons why such a terrible thing happened should be considered objectively.