Skip to main content

Ebrahim Moosa: A Dangerous Juncture

Religion professor discusses Arab-U.S. relations with the News and Observer

THE N&O: Why do Muslims reject President Bush's claim that this is a war on terrorism, not on Islam?

EBRAHIM MOOSA: The government fails to understand that while most Muslims would disagree with the terror tactics of al-Qaeda, there is a great deal of support for the underlying message of al-Qaeda: opposing U.S. imperial designs in Muslim countries and U.S. support for Israel and undemocratic regimes such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, once upon time Saddam Hussein, the Shah of Iran, and the oil-rich gulf states, among others. The perception on the ground is that these governments are more intent on pleasing the global powers than meeting their citizens' needs in terms of poverty elimination, jobs, security and other civil and political rights.

When Bush trumpets the rhetoric of "This is not a war against Islam," it is somewhat disingenuous. Of course Islam cannot be hit, for it is abstract. The reality is that the lash of the United States will fall on the bodies of Muslims and destroy their lives as in Afghanistan, Somalia and as it is anticipated to in a war with Iraq, without forgetting American taxpayers' money for bombs, tanks and bullets that kill Palestinians daily. People see through that.

The U.S. government can make many allies in the Muslim world with people who do not wish to perpetuate violence, death and mayhem in the name of religion, and who do not condone terrorist attacks, be it in the New York, Bali or Nairobi. Everybody's horrified by that. But that change in attitudes can only happen if the U.S. decides to become a humanitarian power and abandons its posture as an imperial power. As long as the U.S. remains completely oblivious of the interests of people around the globe or thinks it knows what is best for others, this makes for grim forecasts.

The United States is not giving support for any kind of democratic movements in the countries it considers allies. Oh yes, it raised and highlighted human rights violations in expedient ways -- for instance, with Dr. Saddedin Ibrahim, the Cairo sociologist who was imprisoned for exposing the flawed election process in Egypt. The United States used his imprisonment as leverage to embarrass the Mubarak government. But this only happens occasionally; meanwhile Egypt's prisons are filled with political prisoners. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have scandalous human rights records. Yet we support them and then get upset when 12 of the 19 hijackers are Saudis. Meanwhile, the U.S. provides Egypt billions of dollars in annual aid in order to become complicit in the oppression of Egyptians.

THE N&O: What should we do about it?

MOOSA: If the United States adopts a principled approach to democracy and human rights, it will find the Muslim masses on its side against tyrannies and one-party states. The war against terrorism and al-Qaeda is not more bombs and war but more democracies, more human rights and more equitable distribution of the wealth of the world.

Furthermore, the United States will have to be less obsessed with oil and show greater concern for human beings as ends in themselves rather than using them as cannon fodder and as a means to an end. If the United States shows that it cares for other human beings, Arabs, Latinos and Africans, in the same way that it cares for American citizens, then I think it will not have to spend another dollar in winning the hearts and minds of people globally.

Everybody can see there are amazing double standards especially in treatment of Muslims. If you see human beings caged in Guantanamo Bay with no habeus corpus, no human rights and no civil rights, what kind of respect does the United States buy with that kind of publicity? That kind of dehumanizing treatment only makes people who oppose the United States more determined to use even more severe and brutal forms of violence in retaliation against Americans. The treatment meted out to innocent Americans like the beheading of U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is part of this mutual dehumanization. When the powerful show disrespect for international law, nay when it undermines the law for its own narrow interests, the powerless see that as a model to follow.

THE N&O: What can everyday people do?

MOOSA: In the face of the U.S. threatening everyone with its overwhelming military might, at least in the Muslim world all moderate forces are rendered powerless and find themselves between a rock and a hard thing: to choose between American imperialism or al-Qaeda. The result is that people who are potentially agents of change in the long term -- that is, the educated classes -- are being made redundant. Anybody who talks about moderation in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran would be seen as not interested in defending the interest of their nations against U.S. encroachment of their right to self-determination. This is a very, very dangerous juncture. One sees on a daily basis that even Muslim middle classes are capitulating to forces of radicalism.

The American people should take back their government from the power-mongering corporations that have bankrupted ordinary people with their greed. The profit motive that rules government, the military arms industry and the oil industry. How long are you going to tolerate this before you speak up in your democratic voice?

When I visit the Muslim world, I inquire about those who are resisting the forces of tyranny and paying with their lives. In Iran, thousands of students are on the streets protesting against reactionary religious forces there. Every ordinary American and justice-loving Tunisian, Saudi, Egyptian and Iraqi can join hands to rise against oppression and injustice. We need to stop seeing every type of political uprising as Islamic fundamentalism. In some places religious discourse becomes a language of liberation, and if it is abused, religious people will rise to correct such perversions.