No Cause, No God, No

The Orient And Islam Have A Kind Of Extrareal, Phenomenologically Reduced Status That Puts Them Out Of Reach Of Everyone Except The Western Expert. From The Beginning Of Western Speculation About The Orient, The One Thing Th Orient Could Not Do Was To Represent Itself. Evidence Of The Orient Was Credible Only After It Had Passed Through And Been Made Firm By The Refining Fire Of The Orientalist’s Work.

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.

These Actions Were Taken With The Support And Financing Of The United States. How Can You Say This Is Part Of U.s. Adherence To International Law And U.n. Resolutions? The Result Is A Kind Of Schizophrenic Picture Of The United States.

It [destroying Twin Towers] Was A Leap Into Another Realm - The Realm Of Crazy Abstractions And Mythological Generalities, Involving People Who Have Hijacked Islam For Their Own Purposes. It's Important Not To Fall Into That Trap And To Try To Respond With A Metaphysical Retaliation Of Some Sort.

Power, After All, Is Not Just Military Strength. It Is The Social Power That Comes From Democracy, The Cultural Power That Comes From Freedom Of Expression And Research, The Personal Power That Entitles Every Arab Citizen To Feel That He Or She Is In Fact A Citizen, And Not Just A Sheep In Some Great Shepherd's Flock.