"Switch on CNN," read the message from my sister. Curious and confused, I dashed to the TV room and did just that. It took a moment or two to register the image on screen. The north tower of the World Trade Center had a huge hole in it and was on fire. "What a dreadful accident," I thought. Then, within a few minutes, another plane crashed into the south tower and exploded, altering my "accident" theory immediately. I witnessed the entire incident from President Bush's declaration of an "apparent terrorist attack" to the Pentagon bombing to the collapse of the two towers.
People in the United Arab Emirates were stunned, appalled and sympathetic. At school, we were surrounded by a certain aura of disbelief and concern. Some assigned blame to Osama Bin Laden, others to the Jews and yet others called it an American conspiracy. For days, no one spoke of anything but the attack. Several people expressed their opinions by writing to the local newspaper. Yet there were some differences between the local response and that of an average American
The first was the widespread opinion that this attack occurred due to accumulated anger against American policies. In no way did this imply that Arabs thought Americans deserved to be attacked in that manner. It only served to explain why they were. People here made a clear and necessary distinction between the American people and the American government: although they were and still are sympathetic to the people, they almost always disagree with the foreign policies of the government.
In that regard, there was much concern that the American government might target innocent parties in revenge. People called for proper investigation of the matter before blame was assigned to any group. An editorial in the Sept. 12, 2001, edition of Gulf News, United Arab Emirate's leading English daily newspaper, stated, "The fear is that the American forces will be authorized to lash out and seek some form of retaliation before any clear responsibility for the attacks has been assigned. ... Bush's intention to 'punish' should not disintegrate into plain revenge, but should incorporate justice as well."
Finally, a grave worry was that Americans, and perhaps most of the world, would come to believe that such atrocious acts are encouraged by Islam and applauded by Muslims. Much of the content in Friday sermons in mosques was devoted to clarification regarding the Islamic stance on such matters. "Terrorism has no place in Islam and Islamic society, and history of Muslims is replete with bright examples of forgiveness, even at times of war," a scholar said.
Then came the war on Afghanistan, which only confirmed people's fears. In an effort to punish the Taliban and al-Qaeda, hundreds of innocent people had their lives and homes destroyed. Although no one here questioned that justice should be served, many condemned the continued killing of blameless citizens. "Loss of American life is as grievous as a loss of any life. We cannot have double standards on this truism," wrote one of the Gulf News readers.
Three years later, not much has changed, except that the war on Iraq, atrocities carried out in Abu Gharib, the Russian hostage crisis and other current affairs have now taken the forefront position in discussions. People here denounce any kind of injustice that targets innocents, regardless of the source. They readily support a war against international terrorism, but they do not condone further terrorism in the name of that war.
One thing is clear though: Sept. 11, 2001, remains a date that still does and probably always will evoke intense emotions, prompt heated discussions and teach valuable lessons. Perhaps the most important lesson for all is that terrorism cannot and should not be fought with terrorism, because most victims caught in this vicious circle of revenge are free of any blame.
