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October 1, 2001

Hundreds turn out for Middle East teach-in

By Jennifer McNulty

The recent terrorist attacks on the United States constitute a crisis unlike anything the country has ever faced, a top Middle Eastern expert told about 500 people who attended the campus's first Middle East teach-in on Friday.

"We must think outside the box," exhorted Alan Richards, a professor of environmental studies with 30 years experience on Middle Eastern affairs. "This is not Vietnam. This is not the Gulf War. This is a radically, fundamentally different situation."

Richards was joined by history professor Edmund "Terry" Burke and sociology professor Paul Lubeck, who shared their expertise and fielded questions from the audience during the two-hour teach-in. Eric Schoeck, broadcast adviser for campus radio station KZSC, facilitated the discussion, which will be broadcast on KZSC on Tuesday, October 2, at 7 p.m.

The September 11 attacks, all three speakers agreed, constitute an unprecedented challenge for the United States and its citizens. Not only was the breach of security and loss of life devastating, but the hatred that underlies the attacks defies a simple remedy, they said.

"This is a challenge to the American mindset, because we believe that there's always a solution," said Richards.

The United States must "undertake a sweeping reconsideration of American foreign policy" and "stay focused on what we'd like to have come out of this," said Burke, a historian who studies social movements in the Middle East.

Deep despair is at the heart of anti-American feelings in the Middle East, where opportunities for education and employment are unable to keep up with a booming population, said Richards. Vast discontent fills the cities, where basic infrastructure like water, electricity, and transportation services are being "strained beyond capacity," he said.

As "unelected, unaccountable, and corrupt" governments fail to improve living conditions, despair is growing, and some people are turning to what Richards described as "essentially a utopian political philosophy."

"Young people have no place else to turn," said Richards, noting that 40 percent of the population is under 15 years of age. U.S. support of repressive governments in the region has "made us an understandable lightning rod for anger," he said.

"Understanding does not justify the events of September 11, but understanding is absolutely essential," said Richards.

Unqualified U.S. support for Israel and the U.S. blockade against Iraq fuel Arab hatred of the United States, said Richards.

Over the past 20 years, the rapid pace of globalization has contributed to enormous disruption in Muslim-dominated countries from Morocco to Malaysia, said Lubeck, who is leading a $240,000 research project funded by the Carnegie Foundation to study Islamic social movements.

The petroleum boom and bust of the 1970s and 1980s, followed by global deregulation in the 1990s, created such widespread social, economic, and political disorder that Muslim-based organizations have stepped in to provide critically needed social services, such as health care and education, he said.

Those efforts have generated goodwill while filling a need for "spiritual authenticity" in an era dominated by the rapid expansion of capitalism and Western values, said Lubeck.

Although they despise Western ways, the leaders of Muslim opposition movements have embraced new technology to foster their organizing goals, he said.

"Muslims, especially insurrectionists, have used the infrastructure of globalization to communicate, form associations, and build a common identity," said Lubeck.

About one in five people in the world are Muslim, and 80 percent of Muslims are Asian, not Arab, noted Burke.

"Until about 30 years ago, nationalism was a secular matter, not a religious one," said Burke. But the emergence of "political Islam" has changed the geography of conflict as Muslims have built a sense of collective identity that crosses national borders.

"Historically, we have waged war against states," said Burke. "How do you wage war on a state of mind? That's the question."

All three speakers emphasized the diversity that exists in the Islamic world and stressed that it is a small number of "fanatics" that engage in terrorism.

"It was most unfortunate that our president declared war on terrorism, which is a military tactic," said Richards. "I would much prefer that he had declared war on fanaticism. That's what killed people in New York and Washington. . . . Muslims have no monopoly on fanaticism. We have it in the United States, too."

To illustrate the extremism of the Taliban leaders who rule Afghanistan, Richards ticked off a list of laws that govern Afghani society:

Women may not work outside the home
Women may only appear in public accompanied by a male relative
Women who are seen in public with an unrelated male are publicly whipped
Women who commit adultery are stoned to death
Gays are to be executed, preferably by being crushed by a falling wall

"Make no mistake about it, we are dealing with fanatics," said Richards. "These are misogynist fanatics who stand in marked contrast to many Muslims, particularly in Iran, where 60 percent of the university students are women and where all girls are enrolled in school."

That said, however, the small number of fanatics "constitute a profound threat to us," said Richards, who fears that a massive U.S. military retaliation could draw countless recruits to extremist movements throughout the Islamic world.

With massive social inequality sowing the seeds of discontent throughout the Third World, the United States must reevaluate its role in the world, the speakers agreed.

"The crisis we are now in will force a reconsideration of American foreign policy in a way we have never done," said Lubeck.

"We have this fantasy of the United States as a gated community, but as we saw September 11, we've got gate crashers," said Richards. "We must not pursue this unilateral foreign policy. We must strengthen the United Nations and pay our bills to the UN."

The Bush administration's refusal to participate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is profoundly offensive to the Muslim world, said Richards, adding that "it is impossible to overestimate just how dangerous that situation is."

"We must press vigorously for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement to stop this festering sore," said Richards.

Lubeck called on the United States to aggressively develop an alternative energy strategy that would reduce dependence on Persian Gulf oil, thereby freeing up policy options in the region.

"We also need to rebuild the confidence of the foreign service, which is enormously depressed, and see a revival of multilateral solutions rather than unilateral American hegemonic solutions," he said.

Richards credited Secretary of State Colin Powell for so far resisting a "knee-jerk bombing" mission in Afghanistan, which he believes would be "disastrous." Referring to fanatical leaders like Osama bin Laden, Richards said that the long-term goal of U.S. foreign policy should be to "decrease the appeal these people have in the Arab and Muslim world."

"We must embrace sensible international treaties, increase humanitarian assistance, and increase foreign aid around the world," said Richards.

Citing similar teach-ins taking place on university campuses across the country, Burke expressed hope that Americans are ready to overcome their ignorance about the Middle East.

"Americans have an extremely low tolerance for foreign news," said Burke, urging members of the audience to turn to the Internet to explore non-U.S. news sources.

And the speakers offered a few tips based on their own experience.

"The great mistake of the Vietnam generation was that we indulged ourselves in anti-Americanism," said Lubeck. "You can never gain any leverage by engaging in this."

Rather, Lubeck exhorted the audience to be vigilant about protecting American civil liberties and to resist any attempts at racial profiling.

Echoing Lubeck's comments about racial profiling, Burke said: "We have to all stand up and say we are all Arab Americans. We cannot stand for this. The fanatics are a minority. Unless we start from that premise and stand together as a society, we're not going to go very far."


Back to: Terrorist Crisis directory	October 1, 2001 Hundreds turn out for Middle East teach-in By Jennifer McNulty The recent terrorist attacks on the United States constitute a crisis unlike anything the country has ever faced, a top Middle Eastern expert told about 500 people who attended the campus's first Middle East teach-in on Friday. "We must think outside the box," exhorted Alan Richards, a professor of environmental studies with 30 years experience on Middle Eastern affairs. "This is not Vietnam. This is not the Gulf War. This is a radically, fundamentally different situation." Richards was joined by history professor Edmund "Terry" Burke and sociology professor Paul Lubeck, who shared their expertise and fielded questions from the audience during the two-hour teach-in. Eric Schoeck, broadcast adviser for campus radio station KZSC, facilitated the discussion, which will be broadcast on KZSC on Tuesday, October 2, at 7 p.m. The September 11 attacks, all three speakers agreed, constitute an unprecedented challenge for the United States and its citizens. Not only was the breach of security and loss of life devastating, but the hatred that underlies the attacks defies a simple remedy, they said. "This is a challenge to the American mindset, because we believe that there's always a solution," said Richards. The United States must "undertake a sweeping reconsideration of American foreign policy" and "stay focused on what we'd like to have come out of this," said Burke, a historian who studies social movements in the Middle East. Deep despair is at the heart of anti-American feelings in the Middle East, where opportunities for education and employment are unable to keep up with a booming population, said Richards. Vast discontent fills the cities, where basic infrastructure like water, electricity, and transportation services are being "strained beyond capacity," he said. As "unelected, unaccountable, and corrupt" governments fail to improve living conditions, despair is growing, and some people are turning to what Richards described as "essentially a utopian political philosophy." "Young people have no place else to turn," said Richards, noting that 40 percent of the population is under 15 years of age. U.S. support of repressive governments in the region has "made us an understandable lightning rod for anger," he said. "Understanding does not justify the events of September 11, but understanding is absolutely essential," said Richards. Unqualified U.S. support for Israel and the U.S. blockade against Iraq fuel Arab hatred of the United States, said Richards. Over the past 20 years, the rapid pace of globalization has contributed to enormous disruption in Muslim-dominated countries from Morocco to Malaysia, said Lubeck, who is leading a $240,000 research project funded by the Carnegie Foundation to study Islamic social movements. The petroleum boom and bust of the 1970s and 1980s, followed by global deregulation in the 1990s, created such widespread social, economic, and political disorder that Muslim-based organizations have stepped in to provide critically needed social services, such as health care and education, he said. Those efforts have generated goodwill while filling a need for "spiritual authenticity" in an era dominated by the rapid expansion of capitalism and Western values, said Lubeck. Although they despise Western ways, the leaders of Muslim opposition movements have embraced new technology to foster their organizing goals, he said. "Muslims, especially insurrectionists, have used the infrastructure of globalization to communicate, form associations, and build a common identity," said Lubeck. About one in five people in the world are Muslim, and 80 percent of Muslims are Asian, not Arab, noted Burke. "Until about 30 years ago, nationalism was a secular matter, not a religious one," said Burke. But the emergence of "political Islam" has changed the geography of conflict as Muslims have built a sense of collective identity that crosses national borders. "Historically, we have waged war against states," said Burke. "How do you wage war on a state of mind? That's the question." All three speakers emphasized the diversity that exists in the Islamic world and stressed that it is a small number of "fanatics" that engage in terrorism. "It was most unfortunate that our president declared war on terrorism, which is a military tactic," said Richards. "I would much prefer that he had declared war on fanaticism. That's what killed people in New York and Washington. . . . Muslims have no monopoly on fanaticism. We have it in the United States, too." To illustrate the extremism of the Taliban leaders who rule Afghanistan, Richards ticked off a list of laws that govern Afghani society: Women may not work outside the home Women may only appear in public accompanied by a male relative Women who are seen in public with an unrelated male are publicly whipped Women who commit adultery are stoned to death Gays are to be executed, preferably by being crushed by a falling wall "Make no mistake about it, we are dealing with fanatics," said Richards. "These are misogynist fanatics who stand in marked contrast to many Muslims, particularly in Iran, where 60 percent of the university students are women and where all girls are enrolled in school." That said, however, the small number of fanatics "constitute a profound threat to us," said Richards, who fears that a massive U.S. military retaliation could draw countless recruits to extremist movements throughout the Islamic world. With massive social inequality sowing the seeds of discontent throughout the Third World, the United States must reevaluate its role in the world, the speakers agreed. "The crisis we are now in will force a reconsideration of American foreign policy in a way we have never done," said Lubeck. "We have this fantasy of the United States as a gated community, but as we saw September 11, we've got gate crashers," said Richards. "We must not pursue this unilateral foreign policy. We must strengthen the United Nations and pay our bills to the UN." The Bush administration's refusal to participate in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is profoundly offensive to the Muslim world, said Richards, adding that "it is impossible to overestimate just how dangerous that situation is." "We must press vigorously for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement to stop this festering sore," said Richards. Lubeck called on the United States to aggressively develop an alternative energy strategy that would reduce dependence on Persian Gulf oil, thereby freeing up policy options in the region. "We also need to rebuild the confidence of the foreign service, which is enormously depressed, and see a revival of multilateral solutions rather than unilateral American hegemonic solutions," he said. Richards credited Secretary of State Colin Powell for so far resisting a "knee-jerk bombing" mission in Afghanistan, which he believes would be "disastrous." Referring to fanatical leaders like Osama bin Laden, Richards said that the long-term goal of U.S. foreign policy should be to "decrease the appeal these people have in the Arab and Muslim world." "We must embrace sensible international treaties, increase humanitarian assistance, and increase foreign aid around the world," said Richards. Citing similar teach-ins taking place on university campuses across the country, Burke expressed hope that Americans are ready to overcome their ignorance about the Middle East. "Americans have an extremely low tolerance for foreign news," said Burke, urging members of the audience to turn to the Internet to explore non-U.S. news sources. And the speakers offered a few tips based on their own experience. "The great mistake of the Vietnam generation was that we indulged ourselves in anti-Americanism," said Lubeck. "You can never gain any leverage by engaging in this." Rather, Lubeck exhorted the audience to be vigilant about protecting American civil liberties and to resist any attempts at racial profiling. Echoing Lubeck's comments about racial profiling, Burke said: "We have to all stand up and say we are all Arab Americans. We cannot stand for this. The fanatics are a minority. Unless we start from that premise and stand together as a society, we're not going to go very far."