Black, White and Grey
By Janice Schuetzenhoefer

The last week has been spent reading as many newspapers as possible, watching the television and listening to the radio. Now the tone is set, but there is no simple black and white issue other than that terrorism is bad. Between the lines is a vastness of grey - who is really responsible, where are the responsible agents, is there an underlying religion, or philosophy which is to blame?

There are crys for revenge, there are crys for caution, crys for religious tolerance and simply the crying of those mourning the deaths of loved ones and a way of life. We are told that this a complex world now and that enemies are not easy to identify. But as the military prepares for action it is important to identify who is not the enemy. That would be a good start in the search for clarity.

Some want to believe that Islam is the enemy - but which Islam? In general Islam is an honorable and ancient religion whose dictums do not vary all that much from Christianity. There exists an Islam which follows the rules for human rights for all developed civilizations, but there is also an Islam which totally disregards these basic human rights. The Taliban are a good example of the latter. More than 50% of the citizens in Afganistan - namely the women and children - have no rights. Even if Osama bin Laden leaves the country, the Taliban do not deserve any international recognition and certainly no assistance.

Assistance and diplomatic relations should be resumed only when women of Afghanistan are allowed a voice in the outcome in their country. It is impossible to believe that any woman would want to live in this country of their own free will. Just look to the mass exidus of refugees from Afghanistan as proof.

So the international laws for human rights would be a good start for defining who the enemy is or isnīt. Until these rights are defined and accepted by the majority of nations and religious groups, the uncertainty and strife will prevail.

Another important task for the international community is to define who a terrorist is and what a terrorist activity is. If a terrorist is a person who preaches hate with the intent of mobilizing others to act in some form to "remove" or "punish" the offending group, then there are an awful lot of terrorist organizations in the world. These groups include the Ku Klux Klan, radical Palestinians, radical Israelis, and even the 700 Club (an American television evangelist program - the moderators are Jerry Fallwell and Pat Buchanen) who wants us to believe that homosexuals and feminists, etc. are responsible for the tragedy in New York.

Yes, there are terrorists in everybodies backyards these days, so the ranting about good versus evil must stop immediately - we are all vulnerable. These groups should be under survellience with clear penalties for any breach in the laws. Like it or not, there must be clear international cooperation against all forms of terrorism- the world is just too interconnected to act independently.

[See also: "Racism in Austria - 2001"]
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