On the fateful morning of September 11, 2001, few of us knew that the history of America, let alone our individual lives, was dramatically and permanently changing. As the day progressed, Americans, one by one, were dumbfounded at the events that had occurred. This is by no means the first terrorist attack in the history of the world. Nor will it be the last. Many cultures over time have been greatly wounded and even overcome by these fiendish terrorist attacks. Thankfully, the United States’ history has not been heavily tarnished by these assaults – until now.
Since the days of the attack, many national and world leaders have come together to declare war on terrorism. A valiant effort has been made in order to defeat these evils. An immediate counter-response has been called for, and necessarily so. On September 20, 2001, in a joint session of Congress, President George W. Bush spoke of a new war when he said, “Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida [the terrorist group founded in Afghanistan by Usama Bin Ladin in the late 1980s], but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped, and defeated” (Bush Announces Start of a “War on Terror”). He expounded further, explaining that “…the only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows” (Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People). Our way of life would most assuredly be preserved, were it only possible to realize these noble ideals of eliminating terrorism.
In the war against terrorism, it is, unfortunately, nearly impossible to beco…
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…oes the occurrence of retaliatory behaviors. The war against terrorism is a needed effort, however it is a war whose end is not yet in sight.
Works Cited:
Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People. September 20, 2001. White House: President George W. Bush. 25 September 2001
Bush Announces Start of a “War on Terror”. 20 September 2001. U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Information Programs. 24 September 2001
Punishment and aggression. Selva, Michel. 27 February 1998. NESBAT. 02 October 2001
Sidman, Murray. “Coercion and Its Fallout.” Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. 24 September 2001. http://www.behavior.org/>.
September 11 and the Ethics of Jihad
September 11 and the Ethics of Jihad
The Western world has long been aware of the anti-Jewish, anti-Christian, and anti-American rhetoric taught by extremist Muslim groups. The concept of jihad existed as a vague notion: one of those Islamic things; something to do with the disputes in the Middle East. On September 11, 2001, the topic suddenly gained paramount importance in the mind of the common man.
“I will shed my blood for you, Oh Palestine, take back the land that is ours.”
“I am not afraid of suicide, God will receive me for I will be a martyr.”
“Jihad is my destiny, my life.”
Chants taught in Palestinian elementary schools.1
Jihad came under additional scrutiny as word spread of the fax that Osama bin Laden allegedly sent to the al-Jazeera television station in Qatar later in September.2
Bin Laden’s fax was a call to Pakistani Muslims to participate in jihad against the United States. “We incite our Muslim brothers in Pakistan to deter with all their capabilities the American crusaders from invading Pakistan and Afganistan… I assure you, dear brothers, that we are firm on the road of jihad… to destroy the new Jewish Crusade.”3 The fax forced Muslims and non-Muslims worldwide to consider, even if only for an instant, the validity of the claim. Was this a legitimate application of jihad? Were all Muslims compelled to fight alongside the Taliban? Even as the war in Afghanistan draws to an apparent close, the question is still worthy of consideration, for if bin Laden is correct, then non-Muslim nations are literally powerless to defend themselves against Muslim nations without creating a monstrous backlash from all Muslims of the world who heed the holy call. …
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… (Baltimore, 1955).
Ostling, Richard N. “Islam’s Idea of Holy War.” Time, 11 February 1991, 51.
Peters, Rudolph. Islam and Colonialism: The Doctrine of Jihad in Modern History (The Hague, Netherlands: 1979).
The Qur’an: The Eternal Revelation vouchsafed to Muhammad, The Seal of the Prophets. Trans. Muhammad Zafrulla Khan. (New York, 1997).
Ryan, Patrick J. “The Roots of Muslim Anger: The Religious and Political Background of Worldwide Islamic Militancy Today.” America, 26 November 2001, 8.
Sivan, Emmanuel. “The Holy War Tradition in Islam.” Orbis 42, no. 2 (1998): 171.
Streusand, Douglas E. “What Does Jihad Mean?” September 1997. (5 December, 2001).
“Text of Alleged Bin Laden Fax.” CBS News, 24 September 2001. (31 October 2001).
Watt, W. Montgomery. Companion to the Qur’an: Based on the Arberry Translation (London, 1967).