Terrorism in economic, social terms

Terrorism in economic, social terms

S.P. Seth, Sydney

Until very recently if anyone sought to understand and explain terrorism in economic and social terms, he/she was likely to be branded as a terrorism sympathizer by the U.S. and Australian establishments. Lately, though, economic and social deprivation in Indonesia and elsewhere in predominantly Islamic societies is starting to be acknowledged as a contributing factor to terrorism. Which is good as far as it goes. But it is still in the realm of rhetoric.

However, economic deprivation in many Muslim countries is part of a historical process with their religion considered as a major factor in their backwardness. There is, therefore, this emphasis on the moderate and extremist divide in Muslim societies. The United States and other like-minded countries want to encourage the moderates among the Muslims. Many Muslims regard this with suspicion as an attempt to divide their communities to further weaken Muslim societies.

It might be called paranoia. But it has to be understood in its context. For instance, Middle East is the heartland of Islamic faith. This region was probably the most tolerant of its Jewish minorities before the creation of Israel. Indeed, it was in Europe that the Jews underwent all sorts of programs and periodic ethnic cleansing, culminating in the Nazi holocaust of the World War II.

And when they went looking for protection and refuge Europe and America turned their back on them. They were encouraged to colonize the largely Arab Palestine as their long lost holy land, even though its predominantly Arab people had nothing to do with their exodus at the time.

But the new state of Israel, in any case, was foisted on them in 1948. The ramshackle armies of their Arab neighbors failed to evict Israel, which used the occasion to drive out a large number of Palestinians from their homeland and thus enlarge their new state. This is how the Palestinian refugee problem was created in the first place, and these people and their children are still living in camps and shanty towns in Palestine and elsewhere.

The failure to thwart the creation of Israel was a terrible humiliation for the Arab people. And they, in large part, blamed it on their rulers. This created the nationalist Arab upsurge which, among other things, led Col. Gamal Abdul Nasser to overthrow the monarchy in Egypt. President Nasser of Egypt came to symbolize Arab nationalism.

And his stocks rose when he successfully withstood joint British/French and Israeli invasion of his country after he nationalized the Suez Canal in 1956.

President Nasser became an Arab hero. He sought to foster pan- Arab sentiments across the region to unify the Arab lands. Israel came to fear an Arab invasion led by Egypt, leading it to launch a pre-emptive attack in 1967 which finished off Egypt's air force neatly lined up on its airfields. Israel advanced deep into the remnants of the old Palestine.

The 1967 six days Israeli-Arab war was also the end of President Nasser and his pan-Arabism. His successor, President Sadat, made another attempt in 1973 to avenge his country's military defeat but failed. He finally made bilateral peace with Israel in 1978, but paid the price with his life when he was assassinated not long after.

The Palestinian tragedy has become a symbol of humiliation for the Arab world. And they blame it on Israel, the United States which has supported Israel, and their corrupt rulers who they see as U.S. puppets. The humiliation of the Arab world, in turn, has become the humiliation of the larger Muslim world. Mecca (in Saudi Arabia), the birthplace of Prophet Muhammad, is the spiritual home of the entire Islamic community.

It is this religion which spread to large parts of Asia, with Indonesia now having the largest Muslim population in the world. And the Muslims around the world, including Indonesia, feel the humiliation of the Palestinians and the Arab people in general. Islam enshrines a strong sense of communal brotherhood, reflected in a shared sense of injustice for the Palestinians. It is not just the poor among the Muslims, but many middle class and rich Muslims who feel outraged.

The Soeharto system, largely supported by the West, first, because of the Cold War considerations and, second, because he seemed to favor the capitalist system, came crashing at the first whiff of Asian economic crisis in 1997-1998.

The democracy that has followed since 1998 doesn't seem to be making much difference to the lives of the people in existential terms. In the post-colonial period, the rich and powerful countries still control and dictate the way the poor should live. As a result, there is this pervasive sense of helplessness about the state of the world.

It is this sense of helplessness (political, economic and social) which makes people retreat into the simple world of religion with its faith and certitude. Therefore, a retreat into Islam is emerging as an alternative system to deal with and solve all sorts of insoluble problems. It is this lack of hope since independence in Indonesia (and replicated elsewhere), which is at the root of militancy and terrorism.

The persistence and perpetuation of an unjust global system, with its consequent frustrations and utter helplessness, tends to create a convergence of sorts between the poor and dispossessed of the world across religious and political divide. But they are not all terrorists. They simply hanker for a better world.

The author is a free-lance writer based in Sydney and can be reached at SushilPSeth@aol.com