190. Epiloguedemns all aggressive warfare and teaches that the only just
war is a war of self-defense. But Osama bin Laden and his dis-
ciples claimed that Muslims were under attack. He pointed to
the presence of American troops on the sacred soil of Arabia;
to the continued bombing of Iraq by American and British
fighter planes; to the American-led sanctions against Iraq, as a
result of which thousands of civilians and children had died;
to the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians at the hands of Is-
rael, America's chief ally in the Middle East; and to the sup-
port that the United States gives to governments that bin
Laden regards as corrupt and oppressive, such as the royal
family of Saudi Arabia. However we view American foreign
policy, none of this can justify such a murderous attack, which
has no sanction in either the Quran or the Shariah. Islamic
law forbids Muslims to declare war against a country in which
Muslims are allowed to practice their religion freely, and it
strongly prohibits the killing of innocent civilians. The fear
and rage that lie at the heart of all fundamentalist vision
nearly always tend to distort the tradition that fundamental-
ists are trying to defend, and this has never been more evident
than on September 11. There has seldom been a more fla-
grant and wicked abuse of religion.
Immediately after the attack, there was a backlash against
Muslims in Western countries. Muslims were attacked in the
streets, and people of oriental appearance were forbidden to
board aircraft; women felt afraid to leave their homes wearing
the hijab and graffiti appeared on public buildings urging
"sand niggers" to go home. It was widely assumed that there
was something in the religion of Islam that impelled Muslims
to cruelty and violence, and the media all too frequently en-
couraged this assumption. Recognizing the danger of such an
approach, President George W Bush quickly proclaimed that
Islam was a great and peaceful religion, and that bin Laden
and the hijackers should not be regarded as typical represen-