Understanding the global and local dimensions of terrorism

S.P. Seth, Sydney

Much has now been written about the London bombings and the terrorist threat. And much of what has been said is so predictable. At the political level, for instance, the response of the leaders has been to reiterate that "they" (the terrorists) will not prevail and we will overcome them. There is also the usual categorization of the terrorists as "evil", making it a moral crusade between good and evil. In this moral crusade, all right-thinking people must side with the "good" as against "evil". If not, they are wittingly or unwittingly with the terrorists. It is as simple as that.

But the reality is much more complex. What has happened in London, and before that in Madrid, Bali and New York, deserves all the condemnation and the resultant action to deal with its perpetrators. At the same time, while the forces of law and order are dealing with the London bombings, there is a need to pause and look at terrorism in a larger framework.

While the ideological roots of terrorism are global, it also has a local dimension. At the global level, many Muslims feel that the West is waging a crusade against Islam. The Palestine and Iraq are seen as daily reminders of Muslim humiliation. Strange as it might seem, alongside this sense of humiliation there is also a new sense of empowerment that the Muslims do not have to take it lying down; and that they can fight back because they have justice on their side and God helps those who fight injustice.

This sense of empowerment came from the virtual defeat of the Soviet military adventure in Afghanistan in the eighties. It was a holy war against the Godless communists, supported and equipped by the United States and its local allies like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The al-Qaeda and its terrorist adventures grew out of the failed Soviet military experiment in Afghanistan. And so did the Taliban which turned Afghanistan into an al-Qaeda base, and a religious and social laboratory for archaic Islam.

Another source of empowerment is a conviction that if only the Islamic world were to use its immense oil resources to its advantage, it could change the balance of power. At the moment, according to this line of reasoning, this wealth is controlled by the West (principally the United States) through the regional Middle Eastern Kingdoms and oligarchies installed by them and beholden to them. Therefore, an important part of global extremism and/or terrorism is directed against Muslim rulers in the Middle East to capture political power or to create chaos. Either way, this will disrupt and damage Western economies and help the al-Qaeda cause.

But the "glory" time for al-Qaeda terrorists was the Sept. 11 plane hijackings and the killing of about 3000 innocent people. Macabre as it might seem, this tragedy further empowered them into believing that the United States (the epitome of the Western system) was after all not invulnerable. It is true that the war in Afghanistan and the relentless pursuit of terrorists in the wake of Sept. 11 has significantly damaged the al-Qaeda apparatus.

But the Iraq war has created a new breeding ground for Muslim extremists of all sorts. And Osama bin Laden has become the high priest of international terrorism, with virtually any and every Muslim terrorist group claiming al-Qaeda credentials. In the process, it has spawned so many little al-Qaeda cells and groups. It is now a brand name with an international franchise, lending respectability of sorts to any known or unknown terrorist group.

Which brings us to the local dimension, as seen in the London bombings. London bombers were home grown terrorists of Muslim background. Why do such young people, born and bred, in a Western country get lured into a forlorn cause costing them their lives? They are obviously not the poor and uneducated Muslim youth, with not much hope going for them.

There are two reasons for this.

First: They feel marginalized with high unemployment rates (compared to the majority community). Even though they are not poor and hungry, they feel frustrated and despondent. And they feel discriminated. According to Bashir Ahmed, an uncle of one of the London bombers quoted in the press, "These suicide bombers are desperate people. They are not getting their rights...so they take extreme action..."

These are second and third generation youth living in the West, who do not feel that they have to live like their parents eking out a hard living and being on the defensive. And they don't feel the need to prove their credentials as loyal citizens. But in their day-today lives, they and their families experience these irksome and humiliating practices and behavior. Many internalize their frustration, but some don't and become an easy prey to religious and political brain-washing from internal and external sources.

If it were just their personal frustration, it wouldn't be so catastrophic. But being part of a group as they coalesce with like-minded people, and fed a diet of how the West is waging a crusade against Islam, their personal frustration is sublimated into a larger and noble cause of fighting for the global Islamic community. And it makes them feel empowered. The very idea of taking on a powerful enemy, even if it means dying for the cause, tends to ennoble these youth. From being treated as nobody, they are suddenly going to shake the world. That, in a way, is their revenge on an uncaring society they were part of.

Second, because of the lack of integration into the mainstream (for all sorts of reasons, including official neglect or indifference), the communal identity of the Muslims tends to be reinforced all the time in their ghetto existence. That only magnifies their perceived marginalization and isolation, making its youth prone to easy manipulation in the midst all those images of Palestinian and Iraqi deaths.

Terrorism is, therefore, a complex phenomenon. To portray is as a struggle between evil and good might simplify the issue, but it will not solve it.

The author is a freelance writer. He can be reached at SushilPSeth@aol.com.