A Muslim Double Standard?

A common complaint from the Middle East is there is a double standard in the West for victims of terrorism. When Israeli civilians are killed by suicide bombers there is international outcry, the argument goes, while when Muslims are killed by retaliatory strikes or errant bombs in Afghanistan, there is hardly a whisper from the West. To some degree this may be true - consider the West's reaction to the London bombings that killed 50+ people and compare that to the bombings in Egypt that killed over 80 people. Was there a double standard? Did we feel more for the Londoners than the Egyptians? Some say the Middle Eastern victims are getting what they deserve since it is their societies that have allowed terrorism to flower - their chickens are coming home to roost.

Not only do I think this point of view is xenophobic and wrong (the citizens of the Middle East have had very little influence in shaping their societies - the despotic leaders and unchecked mullahs of the region bear responsibility for that), it is incredibly dangerous and is part of the reason we have a terrorism problem today. As I have argued in past posts, the only way we are going to stop Islamist terrorism is to convince Muslims the West has a better vision to offer for the future than the hate and death the Islamist extremists preach; the Muslim world will have to make the decision that no longer will they tolerate the hateful manipulation of their religion.

We must show the Middle East that we value all life, not just Western life. We have to show them we care about and have respect for their needs and beliefs. We must show that part of the world that there is hope for them, that we consider them part of the world community and they too can share in the prosperity and freedom of the Western world. We must show them how backwards and self-destructive the ideas peddled by their extremist leaders really are.

We have made a lot of progress in the military theater (50,000 Terrorists Dead, Captured) of this war, but not so much progress in winning the war of ideas. Recently the Bush Administration 're-branded' the war on terror as a struggle against violent extremist, implicitly acknowledging this fact, although this small gesture should not be construed as actually doing anything to win the hearts and minds. While this is long overdue, it is also encouraging, in a morbid sort of way, to see the terrorists are actually helping us win the war of ideology by continuing to target innocent Muslims in their attacks, which is having a perceptible impact in eroding Middle Eastern support for Islamist terrorism. This week Muslim scholars in North America and Europe released what I believe are the first officially issued fatwas condemning terrorism targeting innocent civilians in the name of Islam, seen here and here.

Again encouraging, but we still have a long ways to go in this war of ideas.