The War on Terror was a topic heavily covered by the American press, and by a number of other countries. Perkins (2004) states that America spends about $87 billion dollars on this war. However, the money can be used on more productive things. This started off with 9/11, an event that was highly sensationalized by media all around the world. Not many people knew anything about the Middle East before this tragedy. Under the American’s public knowledge and map, Suez, Cyprus, Algeria, Lebanon, Pakistan and Baghdad, along with other places, are all lumped together under one general label, which is known as “The Middle East” (Davison 13). There is little effort to be made as to learn the differences between these places; the language, the culture and the people are all diverse. Yet, not many seem to want to see these people past what the media portrays of them. There are common beliefs in society nowadays which are fueled by a media, which generalize terrorists to be falling under one category.
According to Dawisha (1999) any person who takes the time in studying Iraq will discover that there is a persistence of tension as well as violence which accounts for the brittleness of Iraqi national identity. This is largely because of the lack of a centralized dictatorship, since the Middle East - more specifically, Iraq – lacks a broad institutional base, and this brings them the need to be able to mobilize efforts which appeals to the Middle East’s identity as a whole. And, not the identity in which other countries constructs the Middle East to be from their ignorant view points. There is now a large need for confidence building measures for the Middle East and its identity (Ben-Dor and Dewitt null13).
This constructed identity from other spectating nations was brought about by the centralizing and personalized rule of Iraq’s contemporary history. That history which is to blame for all the negative images the media portrays now of the Middle East which grew largely because of the incident last September 11, 2001 (Dawisha). For nations who have been around for thousands and thousands of years, the identity of the Middle East is still very much under the radar. There is a struggle for fixating a positive identity for people who live in this geographical location, and it is very sad. Not only for those people who are stereotyped, but for those who do not even bother to learn anything about the Middle Eastern culture.
This is of a religious category, Muslims in particular. There are two reasons for this, the main reason is basically ignorance of the Islamic religion, and the other is media portrayal of the Middle Easet. There is an impression on a lot of people that terrorism is something to do with religion, or that terrorists are driven and approved by these Islamic laws to part take in the things they do. It is unfair to say that Islamic beliefs promote terrorism because Islam has been around for many centuries, and terrorism is only a recent phenomenon (Asthana, & Nirmal).
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information. Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe.” (qtd. Jefferson 4).
You cannot expect anything good to come out of ignorance. Free press and media should also come with the right kind of information. It is hard not to be somewhat biased, especially when your country has gone through something absolutely shocking. However, without the correct information, you cannot say that the press is totally free. Without the right information, not everyone is safe.
Many believe that the Islamic belief of tawhid, the central belief of Muslims in one god, as well as concentration of violence is part of the Islamic religion. This is highly incorrect because the vast majority of the Islamic world does not take this into practice. There are just some extremists who take these beliefs in to literal as well as political perspectives in order to justify their actions as righteous, and a calling from their god. These extremists strongly believe that tawhid means that only god has the right to sovereignty, thus making democracy, liberation, personal freedom or any of those things which fall under sovereignty, wrong. They also feel that they need to correct it. Thus, these extremists, or jihadists, believe that they must rid the world of all this freedom in order to save their Islamic traditions (Perry, & Negrin). This is of course, not the entire population of Muslims who believe tawhid to be taken this way, therefore it is not fair to generalize terrorists to be belonging to only one religion, nor is it fair to believe that all those involved in that religion are terrorists. People are so easy to generalize just because of recent occurrences in terms of the Middle Eastern relations as well as the United States.
Perkins (2004) wrote controversially about the intents of the United States when it comes to the Middle East. He believes that it is all a game to gain more power. More financial aid for Israel meant lower oil prices for America. For numerous years, the United States has tried to push its ways on the Middle East (Davison). This is mostly seen in their attempts of Westernizing the Middle East to mirror a political and jurisdiction system which is that of Europe and America. The “need” for this Westernization comes down to two theories. One is the Utilitarian theory, in which it is believed that the choice to make is the one which will generate happiness for the majority. The United States believes by westernizing the Middle East, not only will it benefit the two countries, yet the surrounding nations will also be affected in a positive way. This is something a number of Westerners believe due to the sensationalism of the media.
Works Cited
Adeed Dawisha, ""Identity" and Political Survival in Saddam's Iraq," The Middle East Journal
53.4 (1999), Questia, Web.
Gabriel Ben-Dor, and David B. Dewitt, eds., Confidence Building Measures in the Middle East
(Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1994) null3, Questia, Web.
John Perkins. “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.” San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler
Publishers, 2004. Print.
M. Perry, & , H.E Negrin. The theory and practices of Islamic terrorism: an anthology.
(New York: St. Martin's Press, 2009).
N.C. Asthana, & A. Nirmal. Urban terrorism: myths and realities. (Jaipur: Aavishkar
Publishers, 2009).
Roderic H. Davison, "2 Where Is the Middle East?," The Modern Middle East, ed. Richard H.
Nolte (New York: Atherton, 1963) 13, Questia, Web.
Thomas Jefferson “Letter to Colonel Charles Yancey,” The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 10.4
(1816).
