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SPEAKING
FREELY
The dehumanizing
factor
By Mohammed
Hussain
Speaking Freely is an Asia
Times Online feature that allows guest writers to
have their say. Please click here
if you are interested in
contributing.
What makes a good
magician? A strange question you may think, but
then we live in strange times. Perhaps an
essential ingredient of any self-proclaimed
practitioner is the ability to pull off a good
illusion. A glamorous assistant, a few tools of
the trade, the compulsory pack of cards, and of
course, sleight of hand. We all remember the party
favorites. Pick a card, any card. Which cup is the
ball under? Now that was an interesting one. No
matter how hard you kept your eye on the cup with
the ball, it always ended up elsewhere. All credit
to the master illusionist then.
And of
master illusionists today, there appears to be no
shortage. As we watch the media coverage of world
events, listen to the statements of many an expert
and generally do our best to make sense of the
information we are being bombarded with daily, it
seems we're party to possibly the most spectacular
illusion of them all.
There can be no
doubt that the recent actions constitute an
atrocity. The tears have yet to dry on the faces
of those who lost their loved ones. Uncomfortable
questions surface underneath the worn, pale
exteriors. What did we do to harm anyone? Surely
the perceived quarrel of those responsible was
with others? Why harm innocent people going about
their daily chores? And, inevitably, along with
the questions there will be an acute sense of
frustration and anger. An anger born of witnessing
lives cruelly cut off. Dreams and hopes shattered
in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. And
frustration at not being able to comprehend the
madness and terror that suddenly became all too
real and palpable.
Now, hands up all those
who think I talk of the bomb blasts in London on
July 7? In fact, the description refers, just as
aptly, to another incident that I'll come to
later.
Since July 7's explosions we've
seen a variety of responses. Perhaps the most
telling were the reactions of political leaders in
the immediate aftermath. British Prime Minister
Tony Blair considered the attacks as being against
the very values, fabric and structure of Western
society. By implication, this is directed at
nothing other than political Islam. That may seem
like a very bold and, by some measures, a
controversial assertion to make.
However,
to understand this better requires a reading of
past statements, understanding of government
policy, analysis by think-tanks, and so on. Many
of them paint political Islam as being a new
specter, replacing the communist threat of the
past century. Even Hollywood has got in on the
act, so to speak. Remember how James Bond was
always up against some Soviet monster? Now it is
"fundamentalist" Muslims, hell-bent on wanton
destruction, featured in some capacity or the
other. Executive Decision, The
Peacemaker, Black Hawk Down, we could
go on.
The point being that only Islam is
capable of providing a different, viable and
distinct ideological model in comparison with the
concept of Western liberal democracy and
capitalist economics. For the West, preserving and
strengthening the current status quo, vis-a-vis
the hegemony over resources, super-power status
and military and economic dominance requires
neutralizing any perceived threats. Hence the Red
Menace has been replaced with the Green Menace.
So how do you curb this apparent threat?
The usual stratagems apply. If we consider our own
situation here in the United Kingdom, it includes
the almost constant demonizing of Islam - not
Islam as such, but rather political Islam. There
is no problem with religion as long as it fits
into a secular framework. Anything outside of this
is considered distinctly unpalatable.
No
wonder we find the government desperate to
construct an artificial line - those in the
community it can do business with (the "moderates"
and "reformists") and those it can't (the minority
fringe, "extremists" and "fundamentalists").
A recently leaked joint UK Home Office and
Foreign Office report entitled "Young Muslims
and Extremism" alludes to this explicitly. It
is the latter grouping that the authorities are
particularly keen to vilify. We've seen raids on
houses, dozens of arrests, media hiatus about
shadowy terrorists living in our midst,
explanations of how fertilizer can be used in the
bomb-making process, detentions in facilities such
as Belmarsh, and so on.
We've also seen
these much-publicized events fizzle out when it
transpires that there is a distinct lack of
evidence. Needless to say, the media tend not to
get so excited when this happens. It all adds up
nicely for the government. A minority group living
in a climate of fear. A public that has become
more and more suspicious of that community. And,
most importantly, the justification for errant
foreign, and for that matter internal, policies.
Thus, what could be better than to ensure blame
for events such as July 7's are placed squarely at
the doors of the unfortunate "extremists" from the
very beginning.
Let's examine some more
reactions, again bearing in mind that these were
before the revelations in the past few days.
President George W Bush stated that the attacks
justified the "war on terror". Dominique de
Villepain, French defense minister, considered
them an attack on all democracies. All of this is
very interesting given that at the same time
British Home Secretary Charles Clarke was making
the point that there was no indication of the
identity of those behind the attacks.
What
if it was another disturbed character, like
Oklahoma bomber Timothy McVeigh, for example? Was
his attack also considered an assault on democracy
and Western values? Clearly not.
Yet,
without any evidence (bar a somewhat suspicious
and dubious posting on the Internet) the focus
turned quickly towards an organized "Islamic
terrorist cell". Is this what many (from on high)
wanted us to believe regardless? More telling,
perhaps, are the irrational and persistent
attempts to persuade the public that there was no
link between the attacks and British foreign
policy in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
Even London Mayor Ken Livingstone,
normally a brassy character, was at pains to make
this point. He also opposed the Iraq war. Yet, in
his mind, the terrorists were inhumane, intent on
causing maximum destruction and didn't need a
reason. It was a case of pure evil.
Really? Given that investigations are
still in progress, let's assume for the time being
that the named suspects from Yorkshire were
definitely responsible for the atrocities. Are we
to believe they plotted these attacks in an effort
to wipe out Western society and values or impose
some form of Islamic government in Britain? What
exactly is going on here? To attempt to link
self-serving policies with July 7's events defies
the most basic logic. What is more, one
commentator mused that the terrorists were so
debased that they dehumanized their victims.
Unfortunately, I think there's only one
leader in the dehumanizing business. We've had
wall-to-wall coverage of the bombings, we've had
political and religious leaders from all
denominations standing together in condemnation,
we've witnessed a concerted rescue operation and
now an investigation to catch the perpetrators,
we've seen radio phone-ins where people have
shared their grief and sense of shock, we've had
one and two-minute silences allowing us to
remember and reflect.
In contrast, I give
one example, that of the incident I made reference
to earlier in this article. The Saturday before
last saw the bombardment of Chechal village in
eastern Afghanistan by US forces. At least 17
people were killed in the air strike, including
women and children. According to initial reports,
the US Air Force indiscriminately bombed the
village in retaliation for the US loss of a
Special Forces unit. While some villagers went to
help recover bodies and aid the wounded, the air
force launched a second raid, killing in the
process many of those who had gone to help. Later,
ground troops were sent to find out who the
victims were and determine if any of them had
actually been "terrorists". A few days later, the
US issued a short statement acknowledging that
civilians had in fact been killed. No wall-to-wall
coverage for the fathers, mothers, sons and
daughters killed then. No strong, united protests
of condemnation or impartial inquiries either. But
it did make a few lines in the daily news.
Dehumanize, eh?
Perhaps we are all guilty
of falling for the illusion that is the concoction
of propaganda and concealment. Telling where the
truth is and what the facts really are,
admittedly, is an uphill struggle.
But
surely, if we have been asleep before, now is the
time to awaken from the slumber. It is not a time
for more spin, lies and the clever redefinition
and application of terminology.
Terror is
terror, regardless of the means chosen to deliver
it. As we have found out to our detriment,
sometimes it is meted out with bombs on a train.
And other times it adopts the guise of destructive
weapons. We must have the honesty and integrity to
call a spade a spade.
Let us bring
sincerity to a much-needed discussion. Let us
debate openly the causes of terror and put under
the microscope the policies of government. Nay,
let us even ponder the values that Blair believes
to be under attack and consider their real meaning
and impact. It may be that under this critical
analysis we begin to question their very
suitability as a panacea to the problems of
humankind. It is a beginning at least. And one
would hope, by rising to this challenge, we may
even confound the magician by turning the tables
when it matters. Surely, that is a thought worth
holding on to.
Mohammed Hussain
is an independent political analyst based in the
UK.
(Copyright 2005 Mohammed Hussain)
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times
Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say. Please click here
if you are interested in
contributing. |
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