Is the Cause of Terrorism Islam, or Foreign Policy? :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

Was the Cause of September 11 Islam or conflicting Policy?   George W. Bush has taken a stand on the uncoiled nature of Islam, calling it, for instance, a righteousness of peace. As strange as this is to hear from the president of the United States, Bushs declarations have given rise to a good deal of useful public interchange close to Islam. Unfortunately, this discussion has as well as often accepted the confused terms of the presidents rhetoric Is there, or is there not, roughthing wrong in the nature of Islam? Salman Rushdie (Yes, This is About Islam, New York measure 11/2/01) and Jonathan Ebel (Territory is Not Mind, Sightings 11/15/01) both(prenominal) make some useful points in the process of taking up the question, but somehow leave standing the presidents fundamental misconception that a religion has an essence.   Surely it is not fair to say that September 11 is nigh Islam. Violent hatred and intolerance can be adduced in in like manner many corners of t he religious world to imagine that it comes, barely, from the doctrines of one holy maintain or another. At the same time, it is difficult for me to blame Salman Rushdie, especially, for perceiving something within Islam nowadays that is prone to violence. His non-violent, literary attack on Islam was, after all, taken by some Muslims to justify very real threats to his life. And, he marshals some reasonable evidence that many Muslims do believe that Islam is on instrument panel with the September 11 terrorists.   Still, we ought not to declare that September 11 is about Islam, especially if this means that we ignore foreign policy, humanity, global society, and the just order of magnitude thereof-- which Ebel says are obviously what September 11 is also about. Ebels tip implies that a larger, broader causal story needs to be told, rather than simply to say that Islam gave us the horrors of September 11. I agree wholeheartedly. Believing too simplistic a causal story carri es both moral and realistic flaws. If Islam itself -- or something in its nature -- was the cause of the attacks, we could only prevent encourage attacks by preventing further Islam. In this way, such a simplistic flavor would tend to sanction persecution if not genocide against Muslims. From a practical standpoint, we go out have to understand the details of the real, long-term causal story if we concupiscence to minimize the threat of repeated terrorism in America.