Why the West's `war on terror' is failing

The war on terrorism has become counter-productive because it has degenerated into a war on Muslims, on Muslim religious institutions and on Muslims' freedom of speech.

It has created the perception among Muslims worldwide – "and most non-Westerners, for that matter" – that "prejudice and intolerance, ignorance and arrogance" have been driving American foreign policy.

The war on terrorism, which has created more terrorism, has caused so much damage that it would "take the world years to recover."

These are the views of Anwar Ibrahim, former deputy prime minister and now leading opposition figure in Malaysia.

A democratic reformer, he has condemned Islamic extremism at home and abroad, including majority Muslim Malay chauvinism against the minority Chinese community here.

Jailed in 1999 by then-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad for posing a threat to his hold on power, Ibrahim was released in 2004 but barred from politics until April 2007. He has just returned home from teaching stints at Oxford, England and Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C. He is director of the International Crisis Group, the Brussels-based non-profit think-tank that works to prevent and resolve conflicts.

Referring to a recent ICG report on Afghanistan, he said he has "red-marked" portions of it that recycle anonymous accusations that Pakistan is supporting Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

He plans to question it at an ICG meeting next week in Vancouver. Such uncorroborated narratives, combined with an "oversimplified view" of Muslims and Islam, are so "lacking in credibility that people don't trust you anymore."

The U.S. and its allies have caused havoc and destruction in Muslim lands and are treating Muslims so shabbily that "people everywhere are angry and agitated.

"Look at the American reaction to the recent attempt by the Saudis to settle the Hamas-Fatah dispute. People were killing each other and here was an attempt to stop the killing and Muslims all over the world welcomed the initiative but the Americans wouldn't go along.

"Look at the way they have handled Iraq. It's getting to be insane. Look at the way they have been hectoring Iran."

Ibrahim recently wrote that America's "prejudiced and Islamophobic mindset prevents it from discerning between mainstream political Islam and its most extreme peripheries."

It considers all madrassas and other religious institutions as breeding grounds for fundamentalists and terrorists. And it dismisses all Muslim resistance to oppression as terrorism.

"This new theology of terrorism" fails to distinguish between "problems that are essentially homegrown" and those of Al Qaeda. Among the former: the Arab-Israeli issue and, in this region, the Muslim resistance in southern Thailand and southern Philippines.

In Thailand, Muslims are fighting government oppression and violations of human rights, such as the right to their language and culture.

"Similarly, the Moro uprising in the Philippines stemmed from political and socio-economic marginalization, which have no bearing with the current acts of terror ...

"We must deal effectively with the causes" of such conflicts, he said, rather than responding with "firepower and an overall patronizing attitude toward Muslim communities.

"Such a policy cannot be sustained."

Making matters worse, Ibrahim told me, are authoritarian rulers who cater to American demands by posing as "moderates." They pass draconian laws, increase repression and stifle democratic reform.

They and the American administration, especially Vice-President Dick Cheney, overreact when some Muslims espouse an Islamic caliphate – not unlike some Christians who dream of the kingdom of God on earth.

"It shows how arrogant and ignorant he is, and how undemocratic. What's wrong with someone saying whatever he wants to say?

"You take action only when he perpetrates a crime or commits violence. Here in Malaysia, some people espouse an Islamic state. Okay. You can't condemn and demonize them for saying that.

"In Indonesia, Abu Bakar Bashir (of the militant Jemaah Islamiyah) said that he wanted to set up a caliphate in Southeast Asia.

"Do I agree with him? No. But do I agree that he should be jailed for it? No. We can't send people to jail for saying that."

Ibrahim lambasted the American and Australian criticism of the Indonesian supreme court's decision last year to overturn Bashir's conviction for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombing.

"One can and should question the legal process but not the decision, which has to be based on facts and incontrovertible evidence. The court could not have jailed him just for his statement about the caliphate.

"My appeal to governments is: Do not harass Muslim and opposition groups. Give them latitude and the democratic space to espouse their views, especially against oppression ...

"The vast majority of Muslims are not fanatical, and that's one thing the West fails to realize. The largest Muslim country in the world, Indonesia, is a democracy, with some fringe aberrations and pockets of violence.

"In India, the second-largest Muslim population in the world, Muslims accept the democratic processes. Turkey is a vibrant democracy.

"So why is the voice of the majority ignored?"

- Haroon Siddiqui, Toronto Star


Part one : Setback Fail to Deter Malaysian Reformer