Cut from the same cloth

Whenever a terrorist attack takes place, Muslims around the world are doubly apprehensive. Not only is there the usual anger that innocent lives have been senselessly taken, it is compounded by fear that those responsible for the attack are also Muslim. In Pakistan, the fear is further ratcheted up by the fact that there is a very strong possibility that the terrorists are either Pakistani citizens, of Pakistani origin or received training here. That the twin attacks in Oslo were carried out by a far-right, Islamophobic Norwegian has led to sighs of relief, and even some gloating, among Muslims. Most international news organisations were quick to speculate that al Qaeda or another Islamic militant group was responsible for the attacks. As glad as some of us might have been to see them proven wrong, the correct response would be to express sorrow, not glee.

The world has discussed ad nauseum just how much of a threat radicalised Muslims pose to the ‘West’, maybe now we can also start a debate on the opposite phenomena: Extreme right-wingers who are willing to resort to violence out of hatred for Muslims. In the years after 9/11, there has been a marked increase in hate crimes against Muslims across the West. Particularly in Europe, far-right political parties have made electoral gains campigning for a ban on immigration. Anti-Muslim rhetoric by parties like the British National Party has been extreme and it was only a matter of time before their sympathisers decided to use bombs rather than words to express their anger. Islamic militants and far-right xenophobes are cut from the same cloth. Both have a penchant for violence, are extremely insular and want to impose their beliefs on those unwilling to adopt them. So long as they restrict themselves to proselytising, a free society must accommodate them. But when they start carrying out attacks like the ones in Oslo, it is time to take action. After 9/11, US President George W Bush took a “for us or against us” stance, while the Norwegian prime minister has said that terrorists can be defeated with “more democracy” and “more freedom”. In a battle of world views, the latter approach is always preferable.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 26^th,  2011.