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Tuesday 11 September 2001 was the day of the attacks in the US.
Hijacked airplanes crashed deep into the World Trade Center towers
in New York and the Pentagon in Washington.
Hatred against the USA fed by the politics of globalisation?According to the spokesperson of the Israeli/Palestinian dialogue,
Islamic groups' hatred of the US is the result of American arrogance.
Along with many others, they argue that the US has wanted to determine
the agenda for the rest of the world. In the opinion of these critics,
the US has behaved hypocritically with its 'economic imperialism'.
The nation that portrays itself as the cradle of freedom uses values
such as democracy and human rights elsewhere in the world for opportunistic
purposes. It has assisted dictatorial regimes in gaining and retaining
power with military support out of self-interest. The North American
support for Israel was held up as an example of such behaviour. Polarisation through identifying with personal traditions?People embrace their own traditions in times of uncertainty and
powerlessness. Journalist Janny Groen sees this as well in the North
American reaction to the disaster. She points to the broad-scale
display of the national flag, performances of national anthems,
and the chanting of the nation's name during memorial services.
President George W. Bush underscored that the coming retaliation
would not be directed against Islam, but against terrorists. Nevertheless,
Dutch Moslem youngsters told Prime Minister Kok in a conversation
that they feel put off by Bush's terminology: the use of 'us and
them', 'Western civilisation versus barbarism' and 'good against
evil'. In addition, GroenLinks MP Mohamed Rabbae contends that freedom
and democracy are monopolised as Western values in this perspective.
Freedom of speech under pressure?The 'us versus them' thinking in the discussion regarding the attacks makes dissenting expressions 'suspect'. Statements are censured from fear that those uttering them will be classified in the 'wrong' camp. Video footage from the Associated Press of celebrating Palestinians is believed to have been confiscated by the Palestinian police. Not long after the attack, Afghanistan deported a CNN crew. The German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen was pilloried when he metaphorically referred to the attack as 'the largest art work of all time'. His concerts for the Hamburg Musikfest 2001 were cancelled. Anti-globalists say that they feel backed into a corner by the polarisation. American groups who participate in this movement report they are afraid of being seen as terrorist supporters. 'Us' and 'them' in the NetherlandsFreedom of speech is under pressure in the Netherlands as well.
In polls among Dutch Moslems, a considerable percentage of the respondents
said they have 'some to complete' understanding for the act of terror.
Native Dutch people have reacted furiously. Cultural anthropologist
Hans Werdmölder puts the results into perspective. 'Understanding'
does not mean 'consent'. Robbert Bodegraven, editor in chief of
the multicultural weekly Contrast,
points out that many immigrants get their information from Arabic
news broadcast stations. That explains the difference in opinions
regarding the attack. Even so, the PvdA requested Korthals, the
Minister of Justice, to investigate possibilities in the criminal
code for 'dealing with' those who make 'Moslem extremist' statements.
Diversity in danger?The respect for cultural diversity suffers heavily from 'us/them'
thinking. The USA is not the only country in which Arabs have become
the victims of aggression. A call to start a cyber war against Islamic-oriented
sites surfaced in digital news groups. Hackers cracked sites such
as the Afghan News Network. In reaction to this, the German hacker
club Chaos Computer Club (CCC)
requested its members not to attack Islamic countries' web sites.
This is reminiscent of the Infopeace Declaration of 1999 in which
different hacker groups promised not to use hacking as a tool of
war. Links
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