Unlike most Americans, many people in other parts of the world understand why 9/11 occurred, although they do not necessarily support the attack. They recognize that America had simply reaped what it had sown; justice had been done, what "went around, came around." This is not, of course, how most Americans view the events of 9-11, so the different perceptions are a likely cause for conflict at the state or national level, if not at the individual level.

Most U.S. Government officials were not interested in the answer to this question of why the attacks of 9-11 occurred or what motivated the hijackers. Government officials were more interested in how the country was attacked, not why. The immediate consequence of this lack of attention to questions of what motivated the 911 hijackers has left many Americans angry, confused and disoriented. The quest for understanding of the motivations behind such behavior were trivialized into issues concerning clothing apparel; more interest was shown in the scarf which covers the head of an angry Muslim woman than with the contents of her mind. We are led to believe that if such a woman were to take off her scarf, she would somehow, magically, forget the bombs (made in America) which wiped out her entire Palestinian family and she would become "free" - i.e., just like us and Paris Hilton.

It is interesting to note in this connection that many Americans feel that there is nothing wrong in the expression of their own (Christian) religion - in the form of currency, holidays, etc., but when others, not of their religion, seek equal rights of expression, they are said to seek "special privileges." Again, issues involving clothing worn by Muslim women is not a perfect religious symbol because while no non-Muslim woman would wear a Hijab, there are many Muslim women who do not wear such clothing.

The irony in the turmoil regarding headscarves is that such clothing is not mandated in Islam, and it is thus a non-issue from a theological point of view.. The Quoran clearly states that women should dress "modestly" (as should men) - but the elevation of this issue to a kind of litmus test of religiosity or political ideology is silly and symbolic of a kind of maliciousness associated with the mass media in their attitude toward Islam. I am certainly not the first to observe the Orwellian nature of current American political discourse where "right" is defined as "wrong" and "good" is defined as "evil." Most Americans have self-righteously proclaimed that "Islam is incompatible with democracy," while many Muslims would say, "and that is a good thing" (if American democracy continues to justify torture, slavery, exploitation, and tyranny - as it does in many parts of the world.)

Many Christians are well-acquainted with Biblical passages noting that believers "will be hated for thy name's sake," but they are unable to appreciate the fact that the Bible may be talking about people other than them or, at the very least, a people in addition to themselves. (Referring, perhaps, to hated people named "Muhammad".) In any case it is precisely this kind of defamation which has lead to the creation of CAIR and other Islamic organizations designed to protect Muslim believers from the slings and arrows of the dominant media. This same media has managed to convince the American public that "Jihad" is something evil, while the word itself refers primarily to the personal, inner spiritual struggle which is mandated to all believers. The word "Jihad" is derived from "Jahd" or "Judah," meaning ability, exertion or power; Jihad, properly understood, refers to the exerting of one's power in repelling harmful influences. The idea that America may be a "harmful influence" is incredible to no other people except Americans. We have become victims of our own propaganda. Thus forcing, or influencing. Muslim women to adopt the panty-less attire of Paris Hilton (or the style of dress of any other American Hollywood Starlet) would result in a call for Jihad - a call for resistance to negative outside forces, not an act of suppression of internal dissent. Muslims are thus content to leave it up to God to judge whose freedom is being curtailed.

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