Reflections on the "New American" Revolution
Saturday, July 09, 2005
Why tolerance will win
nations dealing with acts of terrorism in the past have usually had to deal with known groups and known demands. There has usually been at least a political agenda with which to engage. What makes Islamic terrorism so problematic and menacing is that there are no representatives and no programme to deal with, only slogans of hate and death, exhorting violent resistance to 'Zionist-Crusader aggressors' who supposedly threaten to 'humiliate and subordinate the lands of Islam'.
Our only response, therefore, is to hold fast to the values that protect the lives and right to faith of all our citizens. Our leaders, national and local, have struck the right collective note. The Queen, after her visit to the Royal London Hospital, insisted that the right answer to the bombings was to resume our normal lives. The atrocities had reinforced 'our sense of community, our humanity, our trust in the rule of law', she said. Ken Livingstone caught the mood of most Londoners when he pledged that their desire to live and express themselves freely in a free city would triumph over the bigotry and authoritarianism of the bombers. The Prime Minister, in condemning the brutality of the perpetrators, spoke up for the mass of decent Islamic believers. Our leaders found the right words.
We should be grateful, too, for the words they did not use. None has spoken of retaliation or reprisals against other countries or sections of society. For it is crucial not to indulge in the rhetoric of a clash of civilisations, legitimising revenge attacks on Muslims and driving the many into feelings of marginalisation that will breed despair and strengthen the hand of hatemongers who find their recruits among the weak-minded.
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