Tuesday October 16, 2001

Peter Likins, UA President

Editor's note: In an attempt to keep the Perspectives section an open forum for those with campus-related concerns, the Arizona Daily Wildcat welcomes guest commentaries.

On Sept. 11, people all over America stared in stunned disbelief at the images on their TV screens. Incredulity gave way to reality as we began to face the consequences of terrorist atrocities in America. We responded with an unprecedented outpouring of grief, mourning those who lost their lives, and grieving too for the death of innocence in America. We will never again feel that these terrible crimes cannot happen in our beloved land.

Many Americans found solace in religious faith, and we gathered people of all religions in common prayer, with Muslims hand-in-hand with Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians of all denominations. Candlelight vigils illuminated the nation; the American flag flew from homes, businesses and the antennas of cars and trucks. Our shared grief in these crimes against humanity brought us together across the many differences that sometimes divide Americans.

But just as surely as Americans went through stages of denial and grief, so too are we now grappling with a natural third stage - anger.

In the aftermath of the tragic events of Sept. 11, Americans initially had difficulty focusing their anger. The actual perpetrators of the terrorist attacks were dead by their own hands, and initially, the architects of terror were shadowy figures. With no clear target for our anger, we were frustrated, and some among us were inclined to lash out at anyone whose aspect aroused suspicion.

As Osama bin Laden emerged from the shadows as the master planner of terrorism and the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan defiantly stood beside him, Americans began to focus their anger and their weapons on these specific targets. We know that the global terrorist network is not confined to Afghanistan, but we need names for our enemies in order to focus our anger.

We call the people who committed these atrocities terrorists because terror is their goal. They are not strong enough to defeat us militarily. They can defeat us only if by sowing terror they ravage our spirit and rob us of the fundamental values that we cherish. If we turn against each other in America, and punish Americans of Middle-Eastern background and seven million American Muslims for the actions of people they abhor, the terrorists win. If we respond to these attacks with patriotic determination, we win. But if patriotic fervor degenerates into xenophobia, we lose. Knowing the enemy is difficult in these times, but we will lose this epochal battle if we allow ourselves to generalize unwisely, including in our sense of enemy all Muslims.

The enemies are terrorism and the people who practice or sustain terrorist crimes against humanity. These forces must be sought out and destroyed so they cannot continue their atrocities. Let's not fail to focus on the right enemy as we seek justice and ultimately strive for peace in this world.

To ensure justice, we must wipe out ignorance. We must learn the difference between Islam (a religious faith) and the Taliban (a relatively new movement with its own severe interpretation of Islam), Afghanistan (a nation) and the al-Qaida (a global network of terrorists). We need to understand the complexities of ethnicity in the Middle East and Western Asia, recognizing both similarities and differences among the Arab nations Turkey, Iran, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the array of small countries to the north of Afghanistan derived from the break-up of the Soviet Union. Relationships among Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians and Jews in these regions are complicated by the existence of extremist groups of various faiths who depart from the mainstream of their religions. To retaliate against the wrong group in ignorance will involve the whole world in this conflagration.

Take the opportunity to attend forums and seminars being offered at the University of Arizona, but also in centers of religion across the city, in libraries and in civic organizations. Listen to our nation's leaders discuss the decisions they must make. Read not just the daily accounts of what happens, but books on the history and culture of the Middle East, Western Asia and Islam in all its diversity. Ignorance in this global crisis is potentially fatal. Without knowledge, we fear the wrong things and are oblivious to the real threat.

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was speaking to his countrymen under siege in World War II when he said, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." His words apply now to Americans.

We cannot allow our homes, our communities and our country to be places where terror thrives and justice succumbs to blind retaliation. Be quick to help and slow to anger. Be inclusive in your thinking and relentless in your determination to protect freedom. And in your actions, be guided by the wisdom of the words we teach our children, "One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."