* Mahboob A. Khawaja: the Terrorism Myth

2008-01-23

Richard Moore

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=%20KH20060625&articleId=2691

Terrorism Myth: The ³War on Terrorism² is a flourishing business for the 
corporate world

Muslims Look for Responsible Journalism

By Mahboob A. Khawaja

Global Research, June 25, 2006
Information Clearing House

The ³War on Terrorism² is flourishing business for the corporate world - a 21st 
century fantasy on its own, where facts live in denials and predetermined dogmas
cover all aspects of Muslims and Islam. When facts are not available, the 
mainstream media would construct dark illusions to assert the 
corporate-political agenda to encroach human rights, freedom and dignity. The 
media games are not played by any definable rules. After the 9/11 attacks in the
US, the sole victims are Muslims and Islamic civilization and nobody else. The 
recent arrests of the17 youngsters in Toronto, including five underage boys are 
a clear case in point. Immediately after their arrests, the synchronized 
statement issued by the new Canadian PM could be conveniently compared to the 
words of President Bush in thought and spirit. The media quickly eluded to the 
crimes unknown and unsubstantiated and identified them ³ Muslim Terrorists.² As 
if Muslims were born in the eye of storm and the religion of Islam was the basis
of this ephemeral judgment. If the individuals or ethnic groups other than 
Muslims were involved, the mass media would not have jumped to such hasty and 
irrelevant ethnically biased conclusions. The reasoning could be that Muslim 
communities lack political presence or affiliation with an influential political
party. Facts are the foundation of truth, and truth and justice are inseparable.
Facts are pertinent to reach fair conclusion. End cannot be assumed to play with
the facts and be based on dogmas to explain the facts of human life. In a 
systematic modern society, are there any ethical values and professional 
standards to be followed by the journalists in North America and Europe? Is 
there any accountability mechanism for those whose overwhelming motives poison 
the public perceptions and carve-up malicious propaganda against Muslims and 
Islam?

Stewart Nusbaumer (³Terror to Empire²: 07/2003), asked the same question, ³ can 
American stop this madness?² And added: ³The Bush Administration hawks are 
lumping together all kinds of reasons and excuses under the rubric of terrorism 
and exploiting the horror of 9/11 for political and corporate gain - the war 
against terrorism has become, in fact, a war for empire.² Belatedly, Canada is 
enlisted when American led adventures are under global scrutiny and appears to 
be falling apart with public calls for ³war crimes² and ³impeachment². In all 
probabilities, the arrest of 17 individuals involve important legal issues and 
the opportunities to prove innocence or guilt but in a court of law. How come 
the mass media has assumed the role of law and justice? Is that is what the 
Canadian justice is about? Not so, I believe. But what about those 17 people and
their families whose life has been destroyed by the false media created 
perceptions and biased imagery? The media appears to be spearheading the 
animosity psyche more for public consumption than the role of a fair agent of 
information and public awareness.

Gwynne Dyer (³The International Terrorist Conspiracy², 06/2006), London-based 
prominent journalist, points out: ³there is no shadowy but powerful network 
waging a terrorist war against the West: the whole thing is a fantasy.² 
Europeans are well aware, of Baader-Meinhof Gang (German), Red Brigades (Italy),
and Red Army (Japan), but no one calls them Christian or Buddhist terrorists. 
Why? Simply, because there are Christian or Buddhist, not Muslim. The ³War on 
Terrorism² is a war against Muslims and to control their natural resources under
the American Empire, and nothing else. Ethnically conscientious and politically 
infuriated, the Dutch lady Minister of Immigration (CBC TV Night News 
documentary: 8-9 June), has a quick solution for the ³hijab² - ³abaya² - black 
cover dressed ladies, do as the Romans do or 100,000-150,000 Muslims get out of 
here.² Was that an incentive to the North American politicians to think and act 
likewise?

Some media outlets have readily available phony Islamic experts or officially 
subsidized gatekeepers of approved truth to allege that Islam teaches radicalism
and the issue of ³youth extremism.² Nobody knows where such an intellectual 
nuisance comes from? Islam is a religion of peace and it shares all its values 
and belief, as do the other branches of the Abrahamic monotheistic faiths such 
as the Christianity and Judaism. Islamic religious teaching-learning do not 
include nor envision hatred against other fellow human beings. Indeed, Islam 
professes deep respect and dignity for the People of the Book. Muslims are an 
integral part of the Canadian multicultural mosaic. If the societal relationship
is weak, it does not mean it is harmful. It should not be misinterpreted in a 
naïve context to generate alarming images when an individual commits crime; it 
is not the ethnicity of the individual involved, group or the religion to be 
blamed.

The timing of the major accusations against the 17 people arrested could be put 
in a proper context. In one statement, the accused was going to ²behead the PM.²
Another, someone was going to ³attack the Parliament² and so on. These are 
highly charged allegations with serious long and short terms consequences. 
Often, media strategists manufacture such accusations to maximize the propaganda
stunt and create public fear and confusion. Mr. Batasar or other defense lawyers
can only offer its true explanation. In reality, such claims are outcome of big 
political thinking and seem more relevant to the on-going war horrors in Iraq, 
than the minds of the accused youngsters. Many civilian massacres are daily 
being reported in Iraq and the blames rests on the American and British military
forces. Was the arrest of the 17 youngsters an attempt to distract the public 
attention from the real-world issues?

Since 9/11, there has been no major terrorist attack in the West. What happened 
in London in July 2005, is reportedly a homegrown individual extremism, not 
linked to any global network. Gwynne Dyer offers commonsense insight: ³Most 
people in the West believe the official narrative rather than the evidence of 
their own eyes. There must be a major terrorist threat; otherwise, the 
government is wrong or lying, the intelligence are wrong or self-serving, the 
media are fools or cowards, and the invasion of Iraq had nothing to do with 
fighting terrorism.²

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), vehemently claimed by the US Administration, 
were one of the major reasons for warmongering in Iraq. It backfired at the 
political deception and stupidity forged by the American and British decision 
makers. Hal Crowther called it ³Weapons of Mass Stupidity², (06/2003), and 
elaborated: when Mark Twain and H.L. Mencken were alive, they never imagined Fox
News and Bill O¹Reilly to serve as ³crash dummies.² He goes on to illustrate, 
how O¹Reilly cursed a boy whose father had died in the 9/11 but he refused to 
support the Iraq war. He cites Fox TV anchorman Neil Cavuto, who celebrated the 
fall of Baghdad by informing all of us who opposed the war in March; ³you were 
sickening then, you are sickening now.² Crowther pinpoints the rationale: ³these
troubled men are neither bad journalists nor even bad actors portraying 
journalists- they Œre mentally unbalanced individuals whose partisan 
belligerence is pressing them to the brink of psychosis.²

At this juncture, cautious and responsible journalism is missing to support the 
dictates of law, justice and social harmony. There is no excuse for the mass 
media to make the end assumptions and sponsor the guilty portrayal of Muslims 
and Islam when no such evidence exists. If the motives and activities of the 
suspected 17 terrorists were of criminal nature, let the judge decide about it, 
not the news media. There is an urgent need for the authorities, the mass media 
and Muslims to be courageous and active participants to bridge the gaps, 
cross-over the varied cultural time zones and enter people¹s real life to 
enhance understanding and social harmony. The terrorism myth is a political 
gimmick and a fraudulent policy objective to exploit feelings and mislead the 
softhearted North American and European pubic against Muslims - a people ­ a 
community - a civilization, intimately respectable as are the Christian, Jewish 
and others.

Mahboob A. Khawaja is an academic who specializes in strategic studies with an 
interest in comparative civilizations. He is the author of Muslims and the West:
Quest for Change and Conflict Resolution. He can be reached at: 
•••@••.•••

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© Copyright Mahboob A. Khawaja, Information Clearing House, 2006

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