In The Islamic World, The

I Have Been Unable To Live An Uncommitted Or Suspended Life. I Have Not Hesitated To Declare My Affiliation With An Extremely Unpopular Cause.

The People Who Perpetrated The Terror Of The World Trade Center And Pentagon Bombings Are Something Different Because These People Were Obviously Not Desperate And Poor Refugee Dwellers. They Were Middle Class, Educated Enough To Speak English, To Be Able To Go To Flight School, To Come To America, To Live In Florida.

In The Islamic World, The U.s. Is Seen In Two Quite Different Ways. One View Recognizes What An Extraordinary Country The U.s. Is.the Other View Is Of The Official United States, The United States Of Armies And Interventions. The United States That In 1953 Overthrew The Nationalist Government Of Mossadegh In Iran And Brought Back The Shah. The United States That Has Been Involved First In The Gulf War And Then In The Tremendously Damaging Sanctions Against Iraqi Civilians. The United States That Is The Supporter Of Israel Against The Palestinians.

In 1985, A Group Of Mujahedeen Came To Washington And Was Greeted By President Reagan, Who Called Them "freedom Fighters." These People, By The Way, Don't Represent Islam In Any Formal Sense. They're Not Imams Or Sheiks. They Are Self-appointed Warriors For Islam.

Speaking As A New Yorker, I Found It (9/11 Event] A Shocking And Terrifying Event, Particularly The Scale Of It. At Bottom, It Was An Implacable Desire To Do Harm To Innocent People.