Arabs & the West

CHAPTER 12

ANTI-AMERICANISM

Aguidebook about Arabs cannot ignorethe growing sentiment of anti-American- ism* (and anti-European sentiment) among Middle Eastern Arabs and Muslims today. It is an important trend, it is increasing, and we need to know why. Here are the results of re- cent polls.

The 2016 Arab Opinion Index, conducted by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (an independent research institute that examines the key issues affecting the Arab

world, governments, and communities) in Doha, Qatar, found that among foreign powers, only Israel was perceived to be a bigger threat to the Arab region than the U.S. U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East re- mained unpopular across the board, with 80 percent of respondents reporting negative views of U.S. actions in Palestine, and more than 70 percent reporting negative percep- tions of U.S. involvement in Iraq, Yemen, and Libya.1

The Index, the largest of its kind in the world, surveyed people in Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Tunisia. There were 18,310 respondents (50 percent men and 50 percent women).

A Pew poll in 2017 about America’s global image included three Arab countries. The percentage which was favorable toward

the U.S. was: Jordan, 15 percent; Tunisia, 27 percent; and Lebanon, 34 percent.2

Reasons given for these feelings include a perception that the U.S. acts unilaterally, as well as opposition to the war on terror, in- cluding drones, torture, and fears of America as a military threat—in other words, political policy.

In other questions, democracy was widely seen as the best form of government, by more than 70 percent of the Arabs. The people clearly value freedom of religion, free speech, and competitive elections. Some pri- oritize a good economy over democracy.

In July 2011, a poll was taken by the Arab American Institute in Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The reputation of the U.S. had fallen to a record low, mainly because of “U.S. in- terference in the Arab world,” which ranked as high in the respondents’ concerns as the

continuing occupation of Palestinian lands.3 It found that U.S. favorable ratings across the Arab world had plummeted, and the U.S. and Israel are still considered, by far, to be the two greatest threats to peace. But there is substantial affection for U.S. culture and “the American people” in these same countries.

Before we go further, it must be made clear that Middle East Arabs and Muslims do not “hate” America. Nor do they hate the American people. But they are very angry at America’s government, and very afraid of it (many Arabs really do believe that America wants to take over the world, or at the very least, the Middle East). It is only the extrem- ist fringe that hates America. I have never heard any ordinary Arab (unlike extremists) state that they hate America, nor have I heard such reports from others.

If the Arabs are angry, then there is hope. If we understand the reasons for their anger,

we can address those reasons and not mis- direct our efforts to bring about change. If they truly hated America and America’s val- ues, we would have a permanent breach, a real clash of civilizations, and that would be a hopeless situation, each side trying to erad- icate the other. It’s not that bad.

On both sides, anti-American and anti- Arab/Muslim sentiments are as much about perceptions as they are about reality—who and what people listen to and the conclusions they reach. Both sides generalize, and by now, each has a mostly negative, stereotypic- al image of the other. If people don’t know a region or its inhabitants, they have to depend on the media to form their beliefs.

And there is a problem with the media in America. Even more than the Vietnam War, the wars in the Middle East have been cen- sored, and Americans do not see pictures of the dead, including civilians, or of American

“atrocities.”* Unlike the rest of the world, Americans do not see daily images of suffer- ing Palestinians, Syrians, and Iraqis. It’s not that other countries have news different from America—it’s American news that is differ- ent.

Certainly, in the past many Americans truly did not understand how this all came about, although it has become clearer now to many people. In Saudi Arabia in 2017, Pres- ident Trump’s speech was reported by aide Elliott Abrams: “The speech, however, was deficient in an important respect.” Abrams observed that “there was something missing, and that was an understanding of what pro- duces extremism. [The terrorists] are coming from within the societies whose leaders he was addressing. He offered no explanation of what was producing this phenomenon.”4

Much of what we read or hear is con- fusing, especially to people who don’t know

much about the Middle East. If, for example, any of the opinions you read here are diffi- cult to understand, you can do several things:

1. Ask an Arab or a Muslim in your com- munity for clarification (virtually everyone has Arabs and Muslims in their communities).

2. Talk to someone knowledgeable who has been in the region.

3. Look it up and read about it.

Most important is that you consider state- ments from all sources and then make up your own mind as to the nature of anti-Amer- icanism.

Because we have already mentioned that most Arabs don’t hate America but are very angry, let’s begin right there. Statements about Arabs here refer to the people, not the

elite or national leaders. Some of these state- ments go back years.

REASONS FOR ARAB ANGER

Arab/Muslim and Some Western Views*

The terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993 sent a letter to the New York Times: “We declare our responsibility for the explosion on the mentioned building. This action was done in response for the Americ- an political, economic, and military support to Israel the state of terrorism and to the rest of the dictator countries in the region.”

A Department of Defense study in 1997 concluded: “Historical data show a strong correlation between U.S. involvement in in- ternational situations and an increase in ter- rorist attacks against the United States.”

Omar Al-Mateen, from the IS, killed in the Orlando, Florida, nightclub attack: “We hate you for your crimes against the Muslims; your drones and fighter jets bomb, kill, and maim our people around the world, and your puppets in the usurped lands of the Muslims oppress, torture, and wage war against anyone who calls to the truth.”5

Osama bin Laden: “The events that affec- ted my soul in a difficult way started in 1982 when America permitted the Israelis to in- vade Lebanon and the American Sixth Fleet helped them in that. And the whole world saw and heard but did not respond . . . . And as I looked at those demolished towers in Lebanon it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressors in kind and that we destroy towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted and so that they be deterred from killing our women and chil- dren.”6

Steven Kull, political psychologist: “Large majorities in all the countries sur- veyed [in his own polls and focus groups in Muslim-majority countries, 2006–2010] said they believed it was a goal of the U.S. to maintain control of Middle Eastern oil. Many people also [said] that they believed the U.S. controlled even their own countries’ elected officials . . . . And they frequently cited American support for Israel as an illustration of the fear that the U.S. dislikes Islam and maneuvers to dominate the region.”7

Mohammad Sidique Khan, London sui- cide bomber: “I am directly responsible for protecting and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters. Until we feel security you will be our targets, and until you stop the bomb- ing, gassing, imprisonment, and torture of my people we will not stop this fight.”8

Since 1980, the United States has en- gaged in fifteen direct military operations in

the Middle East, all of them directed against Muslims.9,* There were nine interventions in the Middle East from 2002 to 2014.10 There were also non-military actions such as the imposition of punitive embargoes, threats through military build-up, policies in support of some states against others, support of se- lected opposition groups, and provision of weapons (sometimes secretly). These actions are seen by the local people as American in- terference in their region, and resentment has continued to build. It affects America’s im- age. Here are some more quotes.

Journalist Joe Lauria: “Little of this long history of Western manipulation, deceit and brutality in the Middle East is known to Americans because U.S. media almost never invokes it to explain Arab and Iranian atti- tudes towards the West.”11

Islam specialists John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed: “Not a single respondent who

condoned the 9/11 attacks used the Qur’an as a justification. Instead, they relied on politic- al rationalizations, calling the U.S. an imper- ialist power or accusing it of wanting to con- trol the world.”12

Author Sheldon Richman: “Americans do not like to hear it, but their government has behaved like an imperial power in the Middle East [for] more than fifty years.”13

What the US tends to forget, or intention- ally ignores, is that armed reactionary groups like the Islamic State are born out of the destabilization created by Western military intervention. Hostile anti-American resist- ance groups gain momentum, sympathy, and legitimacy from the actions carried out by Western forces.

This is finally becoming recognized by Western commentators, if not governments. In May 2017, the heading of a report about the terrorist bombing in Manchester, Eng-

land, had this title: “The Manchester Bomb- ing is Blowback from the West’s Disastrous Interventions and Covert Proxy Wars.”14 In June 2017, an article was titled “What Theresa May Won’t Talk about When She Talks about Terrorism” and concerned her mention of “values” and “democracy” and “evil ideology” rather than a suggestion of changing foreign policy in the Middle East.15

The Greater Middle East Proposal

Arab nervousness is not helped by know- ledge of America and Israel’s “Greater Middle East” or “New Middle East” propos- al. This planning goes back to the Iraq war and pertains to a “military roadmap,” creat- ing an arc of instability, chaos, and violen- ce extending from Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria to Iraq, the Arabian Gulf, Iran, and the borders of Afghanistan.16 It is part of the neo-

conservative belief that the U.S., Britain, and Israel should realign the whole Middle East, and during the unrest, “redraw the map of the Middle East in accordance with their geo- strategic needs and objectives.” The plan was that the “neo-liberal globalizers and neocon- servatives, and ultimately the Bush Adminis- tration, would latch on to ‘creative destruc- tion’ as a way of describing the process by which they hoped to create their new world orders.”17 It would also lead to controlling all the oil and natural gas in the Middle East.

This is, of course, controversial. Here is a negative description, assuming that it has be- gun:

“America’s ‘Greater Middle East’ strategy, which involves violently re- drawing the political map of a vast re- gion, has destroyed the states of Syria, Libya, Iraq, and Yemen, and has led to an unprecedented surge in terrorism, a

tremendous loss of human life, and a large influx of refugees to Europe.”18

“The ‘war on terror’ is part of efforts to violently break apart states that reject U.S.- Israeli hegemony in the region.”19 It is ideas like this, which may or may not be adopted, that frighten the Arabs and lead to their dis- trust of America.

THE ARAB MEDIA

For all practical purposes, the Arab media is inaccessible to most Westerners—few can follow developments in the media. The Arab media both reflects and reinforces anti- American sentiment. Most Arabs do not be- lieve that the U.S. sincerely promotes demo- cracy; rather, it uses this as a pretext to in- vade and occupy for its own interests. Here are comments from Arab media:

“America wants the current unipolar world to remain as it is . . . and is cun- ningly maneuvering to establish a new regional security system in the Middle East to ensure that its interests in the re- gion are protected. It is purely nonsense for the U.S. to say that its objective is to make the region enjoy democracy and human rights. These are nothing but mere slogans in a political campaign that seeks to hide its true intentions.” Rageb Al-Banna, October.20

“If we consider the Cold War to be the third world war, the war on terror is the fourth. It is tied to economic globaliza- tion, a North vs. South war aimed at pro- tecting and popularizing American pub- lic life, which is purely founded on con- sumerism . . . [It] dominates American culture, for everything can be sold and bought, including ethics and principles.” Said Al-Lawandi, The Greater Middle

East: An American Conspiracy Against Arabs.21

“This [invasion of Iraq] is the stupidest and most recklessly undertaken war in modern times. It is all about imperial ar- rogance unschooled in worldliness, un- fettered either by competence or experi- ence, undeterred by history or human complexity, unrepentant in brutal violen- ce and cruel electronic gadgetry . . . . But what is truly puzzling is that the regnant American ideology is still undergirded by the view that U.S. power is funda- mentally benign and altruistic. E. W. Said, Al Hayat.22

One of the dangers for Americans in de- ciding about the Islamist threat is continuing to believe—at the urging of senior U.S. lead- ers—that Muslims hate and attack us for what we are and what we think, rather than what we do. Most Americans have had little

interest in foreign policy in the past (com- pared with Europeans, for example). But this has to change. The United States’ foreign policies now can have a direct effect on the American people’s lives.

“But there is one thing we have not done that is crucial to our future; we still have not engaged in a true national dialogue about what our foreign policy should be and what constitutes our national interests and values. It is an issue of national security no less vital than protecting our ports or airlines. Throughout our history there has always been a kind of unspoken presumption that foreign policy was outside the purview of the people, that it needed to be in the hands of specialists and policy mandarins and that or- dinary Americans were just not equipped to make decisions about such highfalutin mat- ters. That is a mistake we can no longer af- ford. American citizens pay taxes to support

our policies overseas and send their sons and daughters to fight for the nation, which means they should be damn well able to pass judgment on what our foreign policy ought to be.”23

SOME AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN VIEWS

They Hate Our Freedom, Values, Way of Life

Former U.S. president George W. Bush: “How do I respond when I see that in some Islamic countries there is vitriolic hatred for America?” asked George W. “I’ll tell you how I respond: I’m amazed. I’m amazed that there’s such misunderstanding of what our country is about that people would hate us. I am—like most Americans, I just can’t be- lieve it because I know how good we are.”24

George W. Bush: “They hate what they see right here in this chamber: a democrat- ically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms:* our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and dis- agree with each other.”26

Conservative political commentator Glenn Beck: “We were attacked by the en- emies of freedom. We are a good and decent people and we are free.”27

Former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani: “Their maniacal, violent, and per- verted interpretation of their religion, in which they train their young people to be sui- cide bombers, and they train them to hate you and despise you, and they train them to hate your religion and to not allow you to have a religion of your own or anyone else. They hate us for the reasons that are best about us, because we have freedom of reli-

gion . . . freedom for women . . . elections . . . a free economy. Well, we’re not giving that up, and you’re not going to come and take it from us.”28

“Terrorists hate us and not because of anything bad we have done; it has nothing to do with Israel and Palestine. They hate us for the freedoms we have and the freedoms we want to share with the world.”29

Paul Goodman, member of Parliament: “Foreign policy is not the main driver of Islamist terror. They don’t kill us because of what we do. They kill us because of who we are.”30

Warren Rudman, U.S. senator, on suicide bombers: “Oh, I think they are essentially borderline insane. To do what they did? I think if we changed our foreign policy in many ways in the Middle East, it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference. These people

hate our culture, they hate our religion, they hate our democracy. They hate us.”31

They Don’t Know Enough about Us

After 9/11, the American government under- took a new initiative— strengthening pro- grams that present information about the country and its values (public diplomacy). This was predicated on the assumption that anti-Americanism can be lessened by presenting more accurate or detailed inform- ation. The Bush White House had a stated policy that “spreading the universal principle of human liberty” was the key to changing conditions that spawn terrorism.

The American government set up a radio station, Radio Sawa, which attracts young viewers to the music (which they have al- ways liked), but which they switch away from when it comes to the news; and a tele-

vision station, Al-Hurra, which has a very low watching public, 1 to 2 percent. There was also a glossy magazine called Hi, which was expensive and did not sell. The public diplomacy effort described Muslims’ lives in America, but Muslims in the Middle East all have friends or relatives in America, so they don’t need this information. In addition, it described American families and communit- ies, but the Arabs already know that Americ- ans are nice people. Other efforts focused on explaining the workings of democracy and elections in the U.S.; equality of opportunity; rewards based on merit; and sports, enter- tainment, and education. Nothing about policy.

Al-Hurra had many ups and downs, in- cluding being criticized when it interviewed and allowed critics of U.S. policy to speak, in an effort to be more free and credible. It tries for a diverse range of voices, but it is hard

to please everyone, and some said it should talk less about politics and more about demo- cracy.

Here are some comments:

“Despite the ten billion dollars spent to advance U.S. strategic interests since 9/11, foreign public opinion data shows that negative views towards the United States persist.”32

“Efforts . . . to boost America’s image among Arabs have been hampered be- cause many Arabs strenuously object to U.S. foreign policies, particularly over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Iraq war . . . . The State Department, which sponsors the $4.5 million annual publication and distribution of the Arabic-language magazine Hi, said it stopped the presses because it was un- clear how widely it was read.”33

“Hurting more than helping is Al-Hurra, the official Arabic-language broadcasting outlet sponsored by the U.S. government . . . . There was broad agreement that Al- Hurra has been a very costly mistake.”34 Its news is not trusted. Its campaign after 9/11, called ‘Shared Values,’ received little attention; practical issues of policy overshadow values. But its newer daily ‘news magazine’ Al-Youm is more popu- lar because it is seen as straightforward news without a slant.”

Anti-Americanism is An Excuse

Author Tiffany Gabbay: “When the people’s discontent boils over, rather than assume re- sponsibility, political and religious leaders across the Middle East attempt to deflect blame, thereby pointing a finger at the West, to claim that America is the genesis for all of their country’s societal ills.”35

Author Armstrong Williams: “Often, the leaders of the Arab world capitalize on these feelings of anger and inferiority to distract citizens from their own failed rule. Economic stagnation is blamed on a nexus of crippling political decisions handed down by America. Citizens are told their way of life is under as- sault. The youth display their loyalty to the state by strapping bombs to their chest and blowing themselves up. So long as the cit- izens are kept riled up, they have little time to reflect on the mismanagement and oppres- sion of their own leaders. Nor do they push for things like equality, democracy, market privatization or any number of policies that are badly needed.”36

Author Barry Rubin: “The basic reason for the prevalence of Arab anti-American- ism, then, is that it has been such a useful tool for radical rulers, revolutionary move- ments, and even moderate regimes to build

domestic support and pursue regional goals with no significant costs.”37

We Share a Long History of Hatred

This simplistic reason has been given re- peatedly—if there is blind hatred, then the at- tacks make sense. Except that when one ac- tually talks to ordinary Arabs, they do not ex- press hatred or use outdated terminology like “infidels.”

Here are comments: Historian Bernard Lewis: “This is no less

than a clash of civilizations—the perhaps ir- rational but surely historic reactions of an an- cient rival against our Judeo-Christian herit- age . . . . The struggle between these rival systems has now lasted some fourteen cen- turies. What is truly evil and unacceptable is the domination of infidels over true believ- ers.”38,*

Bernard Lewis: “The motive, clearly, is hatred . . . the hatred has been growing stead- ily for many years . . . . It is difficult if not impossible to be strong and successful and to be loved by those who are neither the one or the other . . . . This feeling, with far deeper roots and greater intensity, affects attitudes in the Muslim world toward the Western world or, as they would put it, the infidel coun- tries.”39,†

Unfortunately, it is not clear who is being described. This is the view of hardcore Islamists, but it reads as if it refers to every- one caught up in “the roots of Muslim rage.”

U.S. political scientist Samuel Hunting- ton: “Conflict along the fault line between Western and Islamic civilizations has been going on for 1,300 years . . . . On both sides, the interaction between Islam and the West is seen as a clash of civilizations.”40 “A com- plex of factors has increased the conflict

between Islam and the West in the late twen- tieth century . . . . Muslim population growth . . . the Islamic Resurgence . . . the West’s simultaneous efforts to universalize its val- ues and institutions, to maintain its military and economic superiority . . . and to inter- vene in conflicts in the Muslim world . . . the collapse of communism . . . increasing con- tact between . . . Muslims and Westerners.”41

ARAB/MUSLIM VIEWS ON AMERICAN CULTURE

Author Zeinab Salbi: “Most Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa admire and as- pire to the essence of Western life: freedom of opportunity, freedom of expression and creativity, and the diversity of options avail- able in life. Hollywood plays a major role in promoting this life, in which people have de- cent homes and jobs, cars, and nice clothes.

On a daily basis, these aspirations are reflec- ted not only in people’s love of Western pop- ular movies and TV series, but also through the latest fashion . . . music, too, is a key cul- tural influence.”42

Author C. J. Werleman: “When a Jord- anian goes into a Starbucks in Amman, or a Saudi visits a Pizza Hut in Riyadh, it’s not necessarily because the coffee or pizza are better than the local fare—often they are not. Arabs frequent these franchises because they think they are buying a piece of Amer- ica and are part of a worldwide fascination with the way of life conveyed through these products.”43

Author Khaled Dawood: “Although there is widespread animosity toward America across the Arab world—especially over U.S. policy toward Israel and the Palestini- ans—many Arabs embrace aspects of Amer- ican life and American culture . . . . Americ-

an music is popular. American food is pop- ular. American clothes are popular. People still wear jeans with American flags on them. They wear baseball hats and they don’t see any contradiction in that.”44

VIEWS ON WESTERN-STYLE DEMOCRACY

Lately, with freedom-and-democracy demonstrations in the news, most Westerners have come to realize that the Arabs love the concepts of freedom and democracy after all. Democracy has an overwhelmingly positive image throughout the world. This is con- stantly emphasized in the Arab world, in speech and in writing.

Report, 2015 Arab Opinion Index: “While some in the West have argued that Islam or Middle Eastern culture are incom- patible with democracy, responses to the

2015 Arab Opinion Index reflect a different reality. 72 percent of the respondents favor democracy. 79 percent believe that demo- cracy is the most appropriate system of gov- ernment for their home countries. 55 percent would accept an electoral victory and rise to power of a political party which they dis- agreed with. 62 percent would accept an Islamist group if it had an electoral man- date.”45

Author, Rami Khouri: “We desperately want change, reform, democracy, prosperity, and modernity, but few of us believe that this will come through the barrels of Western guns.”46

Author, Bessma Momani: “Citing polls, 92 percent of Arab youth want democracy, and studies leave no doubt that they mean liberal democracy . . . . There is already a so- cial and cultural revolution in the very think- ing of the youth. [They] favor entrepreneur-

ialism, political freedom, and cosmopolitan- ism . . . . They do not view opposing the state as being disloyal.”47

Some Americans have stated their hope that if the Arabs can gain freedom, they will leave behind anti-American political griev- ances, and they will recognize that America just wants what is best for them. Asked how Middle East democracy would turn out for the United States, 65 percent of the Amer- icans said it would be mostly positive. And in the “long run,” 76 percent said that demo- cratization would be mostly positive for the U.S.48

We read that Arabs will recognize that America is not after their oil—America just wants their freedom:

Political commentator Charles Krau- thammer: “When millions of Iraqis risk their lives [to vote] and then dance with joy at having been initiated into the rituals of

democracy, a fact has been created. And the old clichés that America went to Iraq for oil or hegemony begin to look hollow.”49

We read that demonstrations for freedom have taken place because the U.S. led the way:

University Professor Fouad Ajami: “What we are witnessing in the Arab world is similar to the spring of the European peoples in 1848.”50 “Now the Arabs, grasping for a new world, and the Americans who have helped usher in this unprecedented moment, together ride this storm wave of freedom.”51

But there are fears. It’s not simple. At- taining a democracy is not easy, and it can still entail serious risks. We hear some hyper- bole and wishful thinking:

Charles Krauthammer: “We are at the dawn of an Arab Spring—the first bloom of democracy in Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt,

Palestine, and throughout the greater Middle East.”52

Americans are thinking about demo- cracy, and many Americans are analyzing our own democracy, what it is, what it means. For any democracy to work, it re- quires an informed citizenry (a reasonable level of literacy); a trust in the opposition (they will give up power if voted out); and a national identity that transcends allegiance based on kin, tribe, religion, or ethnic origin.

National identity is difficult in some parts of the Middle East because many national borders were drawn arbitrarily and incor- rectly by England and France after they seized control of the region following World War I, making nations out of people who would not have willingly been united, and cutting off others who belong. Middle Easterners found themselves defined for the first time by geography. Even now, we can-

not consider the borders of the Middle East as fixed. When the current chaos settles, very likely borders will be adjusted.*

The Arabs want democracy as an ideal. It can work in some countries, but the con- ditions have not been met in others. Reforms such as pluralism, rule of law, and account- ability will come at the expense of the en- trenched elites in every country. The situ- ation is too complicated to predict with as- surance.

The call for democracy “has already been happening for many years through the work of indigenous reformers and democrats and activists. It is not the American policy of pro- moting freedom that is starting to show di- vidends . . . . What has happened is that the Americans are finally supporting the demo- crats rather than supporting the tyrants, as they did for the last fifty years.”54

ISLAM

Islam in particular elicits vitriolic attacks and impassioned defenses. These are a very few of the comments; for a bigger picture, you can easily find more on the subject. This is, of course, selective.

Anti-Islam Comments

You can be sure that comments of this type are widely disseminated in the Middle East.

Political scientist Samuel Huntington: “Some Westerners have argued that the West does not have problems with Islam but only with violent Islamic extremists . . . . Fourteen hundred years of history demonstrate oth- erwise . . . . The underlying problem for the West is not Islamic fundamentalism. It is Islam.”55

Evangelist Franklin Graham: “I believe [Islam is] a very evil and wicked religion.”56 “In most Islamic countries, it is a crime to build a Christian church . . . . Christians are not free to worship Jesus in most Muslim countries . . . .* The brutal, dehumanizing treatment of women by the Taliban has been well documented . . . the abusive treatment of women in most Islamic countries is nearly as draconian.”57

Televangelist Pat Robertson: “These people are crazed fanatics, and I want to say it now: I believe it’s motivated by a demonic power, it is satanic and it’s time we recognize what we’re dealing with.”58

Politician, author, and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali: “We thought that after 1945, the end of the Second World War, that there was this enormous insight in the West; no more anti-Semitism. Never again . . . . But in

Europe anti-Semitism is back, and it’s back because of Islam.”59

Bill O’Reilly: “Teaching our enemy’s re- ligion is like teaching Mein Kampf.”60

Defense-of-Islam Comments

“We consider the September 11 . . . criminal act as foreign to our honored culture, our peaceful and tolerant faith, and our hospit- able way of life. Terrorism cannot be eradic- ated until the underlying causes are justly ad- dressed.”61

“If Islam were really the caricature that it is often reduced to, then how would it be so appealing as to become the world’s fastest- growing religion? . . . Because it also has ad- mirable qualities that anyone who has lived in the Muslim world observes: profound egalitarianism and lack of hierarchy that con- fer dignity and self-respect among believers,

greater hospitality than in other societies, an institutionalized system of charity to provide for the poor. Many West Africans, for ex- ample, see Christianity as hierarchical and flock to Islam, which they view as democrat- ic and inclusive.”62

It is interesting that after the terrible gen- ocide, Rwandans converted to Islam in large numbers. Muslims now make up 14 percent of the 8.2 million people in Africa’s most Catholic nation. “We have our own jihad, and that is our war against ignorance . . . it is our struggle to heal,” said the head mufti of Rwanda.63 Fundamentalists from outside tried to organize and were rejected. During the genocide, Muslims were among the few Rwandans who protected both neighbors and strangers; the churches were not safe.

CONCLUSION

The subject of anti-Americanism clearly eli- cits wide-ranging and conflicting opinions, both in explaining its causes and advocating its remedies. The issue is growing increas- ingly politicized. Because much of the media blends entertainment with news, in many in- stances there is little incentive to present thoughtful analyses of events backed up by thorough fact-checking. The stakes are high; they couldn’t be higher. Every American needs to be knowledgeable on this subject and develop his or her own convictions.

______________ * “America” refers to the United States in this book because this term is used in the media and also in the Middle East. * For further information, see, for example, “U.S. Atrocities and War-Crimes Cover-Ups in Afgh- anistan,” by Stephen Lendman, in Global Re- search, 14 November 2013. Or “United States Must Answer for War Crimes in the Middle East,” by Alexander Kuznetsov, in Online Journal, Stra- tegic Culture Foundation, 15 October 2016. There is much on this subject. * This can include non-Arab Middle Easterners and non-Muslim Arabs. * This can be viewed at the Information Clearing House website, “U.S. Intervention in the Middle East.” Military aid to Muslim Bosnia, Kosovo, and Somalia does not counterbalance the “anti- Muslim” activities in the Middle East, and those people are not Arabs. The U.S. has carried out lethal drone attacks in many places in the Middle

East, leading to widespread destruction and many civilian deaths. Drones have been used in seven countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. (Ben Norton, “U.S. Dropped 26,171 Bombs on Seven Muslim-Ma- jority Countries in 2016,” AlterNet, 10 January 2017.) * Bin Laden responded to this in 2006, asking why, if this were true, had he not attacked freedom-loving Sweden?25

* Millions of Middle Eastern Muslims migrate to Europe and America precisely because they want to live under a Western government. † Many authors, as well as reporters in the media, wrongly depict the thinking of people in the mod- ern Middle East. I select the writings of Bernard Lewis as an example because he is widely read and quoted. In all his writings, Dr. Lewis speaks in generalities, not distinguishing historical or ex- tremist views from those of ordinary Arabs and Muslims of the twenty-first century. Repeating and emphasizing insulting remarks about Westerners will resonate with readers and become

associated in their minds with Arabs and Muslims, even if they are outdated by a thousand years. Dr. Lewis continually uses phrases like “the enemies of God,” “the infidels of the West,” and “the House of Islam and the House of Unbelief,” which have nothing to do with how modern, edu- cated people think (perhaps it helps to sell books). He writes that “America has become the archenemy, the incarnation of evil, the diabolic opponent of all that is good,” which must be lim- ited to extremists unless ordinary Arabs think that the Western way of life and government are evil too (they don’t). I cannot imagine why he would assure us that “studying under infidel teachers was inconceiv- able,” when it is not explained and thousands of Muslims study in the West. He cannot be describ- ing ordinary people, but the damage is done. Arabs and Muslims do not think this way. Lan- guage like this does not reflect what I have been hearing in the Arab world for many years. Most Western readers simply want to understand 9/11, the Iraqi insurgency, the Syrian civil war, the

uprisings, and the current political climate in the Middle East. They don’t know what is historical, current, or extremist. Such careless writing does not clarify current issues for Western readers; on the contrary, it does incalculable damage. * In the words of former president Obama, “What we’re seeing in the Middle East and parts of North Africa is an order that dates back to World War I starting to buckle.”53

* Christianity is openly practiced in all Muslim countries except Saudi Arabia. There are thou- sands of churches in Muslim countries.