[R-G] Teaching terror in the Land of the Free

[shniad at sfu.ca]

New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)		 May 30, 2002

Teaching terror in the Land of the Free 

     By Farish A. Noor 

Consider, if you will, the following statement: "Oh God, strengthen the will
of our leaders and lend us your power so that we will be able to crush our
enemies." And the following: "the conflict in the middle-east has nothing to
do with politics or economics, but it is all about religion. Religion is the
cause of the war between the Arabs and Jews, because it is written in the
book of God. And in the end, there will be a mighty apocalypse and God's law
will reign supreme in the world. Oh God, may there be war sooner than
later." 

Had these words been uttered by a Mullah or Imam in any part of the Muslim
world - from Morocco to Indonesia - he would have immediately been labelled
a Muslim fundamentalist extremist and fanatic. His name would probably have
been recorded, and his image would adorn the TV sets of the world. The man
would have been elevated to 'terrorist threat no.1' and a lot would have
been done to track him down and arrest (or eliminate) him as a threat to
global peace and security. 

But these were the words of a right-wing Christian fundamentalist, and they
were uttered not in some cave or grotto in Afghanistan, Sudan or Iran - but
in the heartland of the United States of America, 'home of the free'. What
is more, the blonde and blue-eyed priest in question was not speaking from
some dimly-lit basement or bunker in the American Bible belt, but live on
television and his words were heard by thousands, if not millions of others.


Lest we forget, America remains the home of the world's biggest
fundamentalist industry. In his book '9-11' the American academic and
dissident activist Noam Chomsky noted that contrary to its image as a
modern, liberal and secular society, "the US is one of the most extreme
fundamentalist cultures in the world, not the state, but certainly its
culture." This is certainly true when one is forced to sit and watch
American television these days. 

The growth of terrorist and militant networks in the West is nothing new,
and 11 September has not taught us anything different. Indeed, as far back
as the mid-1990s there has been ample evidence of the growth of extremism
and militancy in the Western world, but this was not taken too seriously as
a 'global threat' for the simple reason that most of these lunatics were
home-grown. 

After the 1995 bombing of the Alfred O. Murrah building in Oklahoma city by
the ex-Gulf War veteran Timothy McVeigh, there were numerous reports of
crackpots and lunatics operating all over middle America. McVeigh's act of
terror (which was originally blamed on Muslims, one should remember) brought
to the surface the legions of militants and fundamentalists who were already
living and working freely under the protection of the American constitution.


The list of militant organisations was a long one indeed: In Michigan there
was the Michigan Militia Corps (MMC) led by the Baptist minister Norman
Olson. The MMC claimed to have more than 12,000 members all over the state
and in other parts of the country. Their aim was to oppose the US government
which they claimed was about to hand over the United States to the UN and to
surrender the rights of US citizens. 

In Idaho the Aryan Nations White Supremacists (ANWS) movement was led
another priest, the Reverend Richard Butler, who called on all whites of
pure Aryan stock to unite against the federal government which he accused of
betraying the country by allowing the United States to be 'flooded' by
non-whites from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The group formed close
working links with other white supremacists, neo-Nazis and Christian
fundamentalist groups in Western Europe as well. 

In Indiana the American Justice Federation (AJF) was led Linda Thompson, a
lawyer by training. The AJF also wanted to declare war on the United States
government which it claimed had betrayed the interests of the public. It
threatened to stage an armed march on the capital and to execute members of
the US congress whom they regarded as traitors. 

In North Carolina the extremist leader Albert Esposito leads the Citizens
for the Reinstatement of Constitutional Government (CRCG) movement, whose
motto was the 'three Bs': Bibles, Bullets and Beans. A survivalist outfit
that prepares for the coming nuclear apocalypse and the end of the world,
the CRCG combined both racist rhetoric with a fundamentalist reading of
Christian millenarianism. 

These groups have operated in the open for decades: Using and abusing the
rights entitled to them by the American constitution they have spread their
message of religious intolerance, racism and xenophobia openly - via the
television, radio, internet, magazines and newspapers. They have also
exploited the bounties of globalisation to the full, using the latest
communications technology to forge coalitions with like-minded groups
elsewhere in the country and beyond. Some have resorted to the use of
violence and openly transgressed the laws of the country by setting up
militia camps and settlements of their own, illegally. 

Taking these factors into consideration, one wonders why the American media
is so obsessed with countries like Pakistan or Afghanistan which it thinks
are the main training grounds for terrorist networks and militant
organisations. As far as role models, teaching modules, equipment and
training are concerned, one would think that the United States is still the
best 'open university' for any terrorist or militant to enrol in. After all,
if maverick organisations like the ones named above can operate openly in
the US, why should anyone travel all the way to desolate and inhospitable
countries like Afghanistan for militia training? (One could at least stop
for a burger and coke in the American mid-west, something that is quite
difficult to do in the drier climes of Afghanistan these days.) 

The tragic events of 11 September have shown the world that extremism and
terror can and does strike anywhere and at any time. It is, however,
interesting to note that most of the alleged terrorists were themselves
middle-class and professional Arabs who were, after all, trained and
educated in the West (most notably the United States itself). Perhaps the
time has come for us to trace the linkages here, between Arab frustration
and anger and the culture of violence and extremism that has been spawned in
the West itself. If the United States is one of the world's biggest
producers of violent images (in cinema, television, popular culture) and
weapons of war, could it not simply be the case that its own
industrialisation and promotion of this culture of terror and violence has
finally turned against itself? The terrorists who hijacked the planes and
crashed them on 11 September were simply following the example that had been
set for them by the media of the United States, a nation that is quick to
point to the extremism of others while remaining seemingly oblivious to the
lurking terror within itself.