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Canard #1: “Why Do They Hate Us?”

Ca ‘nard’ n. 1: An extravagant or absurd report or story; a fabricated sensational report or statement; esp. one set afloat in the newspapers to hoax the public.

This is the first of a series of posts dealing with elements of the debate over the war against terrorism that miss the point and mislead the public.

A few months ago I was watching C-SPAN, which was televising a talk given by an author at a Bay area (San Francisco) bookstore. The author’s book was the war on terror and how poorly President Bush was misreading the situation, misplaying the American hand, misleading the American people, etc. When he finished his talk, he agreed to field a few questions.

Eventually a woman took the microphone and in a pleading voice explained to everyone that all we had to do to understand events such as 9/11 was to ask and then answer a simple question: “Why do they hate us?” To her, at least, the answer was obvious: they hate us because of our actions, polices, etc. Most of the people in the audience nodded in agreement, as did the author.

I’ve had the same question addressed to me by my students in the classroom. “But Professor Palmer isn’t it true that we did this and that, and that’s why they hate us?” As I explain to my students, the problem with the question is that it doesn’t actually address the issue. It is misleading.

First, ask yourself this question: “Do Muslims have a monopoly on the hatred of the West and of Westerners?” The obvious answer is no, they do not. There are plenty of east, southeast, and south Asians who hate the West. Myriad Africans hate the West. There’s no shortage of Latin Americans who hate the United States. I know that some Canadians hate Americans. And, having spent decades on American campuses, I know for a fact that there are Americans who hate the United States and would love to see it destroyed.

Second, ask yourself this set of questions: “Have I ever hated anyone in my life?” “Have I ever attempted to kill someone I hated, or members of his or her family?” There are people I’ve hated in my life, and for good reason. But I haven’t killed any of them. I haven’t burned down their homes. I haven’t even kicked a pet.

My point is this: if hatred was the cause of the terrorism directed against the United States and the West in the world today, why weren’t their Hindus, Chinese, Gambians, Mexicans, and Canadians among the nineteen 9/11 hijackers? Why were they all Muslims? Why don’t Hindus blow themselves up in the London subway? Why don’t Chileans do the same in New York? And why haven’t you killed the people that you hate in your life?

This brings us to the question that we do need to ask: “Why is it that of all the people in the world who hold grievances against the West or the United States, only (some) Muslims believe that they are justified in killing western civilians? It is this question that brings us to a critically important point: the fact that many hate us, but only (some) Muslims kill us, suggests that there is something peculiar about Islam. We need to ask: “Why do (some) Muslims believe that it is legitimate for them to kill non-Muslim civilians?

The problem for Muslims and many westerners is that such questions lead you away from western actions as a cause, and toward Islam as the legitimizing agent. There are plenty of people who do not want you to go down that road. But, like it or not, that’s the only interpretation that makes sense. If western or American policies were the cause of terrorism, where are the Chinese 9/11s? Where are the Hindu 9/11s? Where are the Mexican 9/11s?

Consider for a moment the very limited history of American intervention and interference in the Islamic world, and compare that with the history of American intervention and interference in Mexico? We fought a war with Mexico in the nineteenth century and gained the territories that make up much of the western third of the United States. We intervened repeatedly in Mexican internal affairs and once controlled their oil industry. Mexicans have a history of mistreatment and discrimination in the United States. So where are the Mexican suicide bombers?