Trying to Understand the Roots of Terrorism

The people in the West have allowed themselves to be guided by the rallying cries from Washington too much and have believed that terrorism can be conquered with military means. A commentary by Peter Philip

"We live in a dangerous world." That is US President George W. Bush's response to the major security alarm that rippled through London's Heathrow airport and in the US after British police officers said they had thwarted a major terrorist attack on several translatlantic flights. Had the terrorists succeeded, officials said, their plot could have cost as many lives as the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in the US.

One had to reckon with the increased threat of fresh terror attacks as the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in Manhattan draws near. After all, the "war on terror" called for and conducted by Washington has not been able to put an end to this nuisance.

President Bush may have announced that people are now safer in the US than they were five years ago, but he also concedes that this safety is not yet 100 percent.

Indeed, it is not. On the contrary: since Bush has declared war on - what he calls - the "Islamic Fascists," terrorism has encroached on countries where it had previously been unknown. The most glaring example is surely Iraq, but peace and calm have also not yet been restored in Afghanistan. And Europe has likewise had its first nasty experiences in this regard - in Madrid and London.

In this framework, the president's confidence appears like mockery when he says officials are getting terrorism under control. But it does no good to try to deal with George W. Bush's forced optimism. We - in Europe and elsewhere around the world - must increasingly deal with the problem on various levels.

"Western societies must address Muslim minorities"

One level, of course, consists of security officials who must ensure that innocent people are not harmed again. Another level is that of Western societies, which - especially in Europe and most especially in Great Britain - have problems with their Muslim minorities: they are poorly integrated, are eyed suspiciously and feel visibly neglected. It is the best breeding ground for feeble minds who feel such injustices to take revenge.

Lastly, the international political situation also plays a role, particularly now, when Israel is conducting war in Lebanon and Gaza and is apparently enjoying boundless support from the US and Britain. And, also when other Western nations demonstrate their incompetence to put a stop to the blood bath on a daily basis.

The view is crassly simplified and wrong, but nonetheless widespread in the Islamic world and among Muslims in countries such as Great Britain: namely, that this is a war against Islam. Yet this is the only explanation for the apparently respectable fellow citizens who suddenly become "jihadists" - fighters of the "Holy War."

The described problems cannot be solved in days or months now. The five years since Sept. 11 have also not been enough. But people in the West have allowed themselves to be guided by the rallying cries from Washington too much and have believed that terrorism can be conquered with military means. A crudely false estimation whose fatal consequences Israel is also now experiencing in Lebanon.

Peter Philipp

Peter Philipp is Deutsche Welle's chief correspondent and Middle East expert; he is also acting member of the Qantara.de advisory committee.

Qantara.de

Interview with Guido Steinberg
The Close and the Distant Enemy: Islamic Terrorist Networks
Guido Steinberg is the author of a wide-ranging and detailed study of Islamic terrorist organisations. Steinberg has succeeded in avoiding the emotionalising or moralising pitfalls common in writings on this subject. He talked to Youssef Hijazi

Aftermath of the Terrorist Attacks
Underlying Forces
Nabil Abdel-Fattah, scholar at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo, explores the dynamics that led to the bombings in London and the killing of an Egyptian ambassador which continue to haunt the future.

Commentary Peter Philipp
Terror Doesn't Serve Anyone
It is not a lack of affluence, but a lack of knowledge that draws many people into the spell of ideological pied pipers. But the terrorist attacks can hit everyone and they also hurt those for whom they are supposedly carried out. A commentary by Peter Philipp