The Suicide Plumber

It is amazing what is going on in the world.  Mohamed Sid-Ahmed writes in the current issue of  al-Ahram, a weekly magazine headquartered in Cairo:

A few days ago, scores of people received a "breaking news" SMS on their mobiles reporting that Al-Qaeda had claimed responsibility for the New Orleans flooding disaster and that the alleged culprit was "a suicide plumber". Though clearly sent by a prankster, it took its recipients moments to realise that it was a sick joke with no basis in fact. The incident is significant in that it shows how people have been conditioned in recent years to believe in the omnipotence of terrorism and the long reach of terrorists. Indeed, the topography of the region, which lies below sea level and is protected only by a man-made levee, made this a plausible scenario.

In fact, the topography of the region, and minimal thought, would suggest a suicide plumber, even with a particularly large bomb belt, would be unlikely in the extreme to be able to blow up a levee in New Orleans, yet apparently, there are many people in the world who are willing to believe that this could be a "plausible scenario."

The writer presents a seemingly moderate argument about terror and the aggrandizement of terror (which he does not acknowledge is aided and abetted by the media) which includes such familiar and discredited notions that terrorism is caused by poverty and can only be addressed by a comprehensive approach to poverty and then adds that only a political solution can overcome terrorism:

The issue of terrorism cannot be addressed exclusively by police measures. Responding to violence in kind can only create a vicious circle of violence and counter-violence. The argument that terrorism can be eliminated through the elimination of terrorists is a dangerous fiction. Some way down the road, a political deal will have to be struck and the sooner the better. This would not be the first time diplomacy is brought into play to resolve a standoff with those bent on using violent means to make a political point. The latest successful example is what happened with the IRA.

And, finally, what discussion of terrorism would be complete in the Middle East without linking it to he Palestinian-Israeli conflict:

A parallel could be drawn with the Palestinian problem. The Palestinian Authority is not a terrorist organisation. Only Israeli fascists would dare to claim otherwise. This does not apply to all Palestinian factions, but is recognised as such by the overwhelming majority of the peoples of the world and all members of the Security Council, including the US.

Now, everybody recognises that to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict, a political deal between the conflicting parties is unavoidable. A Palestinian state with at least part of Jerusalem as its capital will have to be established side-by-side with Israel. This is a political act that all parties will have to adhere to. Conditions that both parties find difficult to accept will have to be worked out. Only the ability to overcome such difficulties can ensure that terrorism can be defeated and that peace can be reached. So far, there is no evidence that such an aim is attainable.

From time to time I like to take a look at the Arab English press to see what signs of hope I can glean.  The signs are there, but it there is little reason tot think anything will change anytime soon.  Conspicuously missing from Mohamed Sid-Ahmed's analysis is the role of Islamic religious fervor in terrorism.  Also conspicuously missing is that his prescription for peace requires that both sides have some minimal agreement as to the basic framework of a workable outcome. 

In yesterday's Jerusalem Post is a dispiriting article, Letter to Palestinians, by Yossi Klein Halevi, (Hat Tip:  Rick Richman, who describes Klein Halevi as a former “Jewish extremist,” later an advocate of Jewish-Muslim reconciliation, most recently a supporter of disengagement).  Klein Halevi traveled as a religious Jew through Palestine prior tot the Intifada:

Once, before the Terror War, a time that seems now to belong not just technically but substantively to another millennium, I undertook a one-man pilgrimage into your mosques and churches, seeking to know you in your intimate spiritual moments.

While many talked of peace and accommodation with Israel, the truth was sadly, of a different caliber altogether:

But I learned too, during numerous candid conversations with Palestinians at all levels of society, that, in practice, few within your nation are willing to concede that I have a legitimate claim to any part of this land. I will cite one telling example.

During my journey into Islam in Gaza, I met General Nasser Youssef (who at the time of our meeting was head of one of the Palestinian security forces and is now the PA Interior Minister). At one point during our conversation, I asked the general to describe his vision of the relations between a Jewish state and a Palestinian state after we signed a peace agreement.

Let's assume, I said, that Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, uproots the settlements and redivides Jerusalem: What then? He replied that, once the refugees begin returning to the area, so many would gravitate to those areas in Israel where their families once lived, that eventually we would realize there was no need for an artificial border between Israel and Palestine.

The next step, continued the general, was that the two states would merge. "And then we'll invite Jordan to join our federation. And Iraq and Syria. Why not? We'll show the whole world what a beautiful country Jews and Arabs can create together."

But, I asked the general, aren't we negotiating today over a two-state solution? Yes, he replied, as an interim step. And then he added, "You aren't separate from us; you are part of us. Just as there are Muslim Arabs and Christian Arabs, you are Jewish Arabs."

This story is particularly relevant because General Youssef is widely known as a moderate, deeply opposed to terror as counter-productive to the Palestinian cause. And so what I learned in my journeys into your society is that moderation means one thing on the Israeli side and quite another on the Palestinian side.

To hear "moderates" express such thoughts and feelings is to become dispirited.

The concept of dhimmitude is well established in Islam.  Essentially if any people of the book (Jews and Christians) accept second place status under the auspices of Islam and pay a special tax, they will be protected, though with very limited rights.  It is a profound disgrace that the Western nations and their media have ignored the decimation of first, Jewish communities of the Arab world, and more recently Christian communities.  Jews and Christians have lived in Arab lands for a thousand years, but they are increasingly stressed and disappearing from almost every place where Islam has taken hold. 

I continue to maintain that it is not too late to avoid a clash of civilizations, but the omens are not good.  One sad side effect of the success the media have had in orchestrating their attacks against Bush and his foreign policy is to make the ultimate clash more likely.