First, before the über patriots criticize me, let me question Al Qaeda.
What do you hope to gain? You are like flies or mosquitos in a house. You annoy many people, but many of you will get swatted without gaining anything meaningful. Sure you may bite a few people, but the people go on about their business. You think you speak for all Islam, but you speak for all Islam as much as the Ku Klux Klan or the Crusaders speak for all Christianity.
If you are so sure that you have Allah on your side, why do you say "Inshallah" ("God willing")? If you have doubt that Allah wants you to succeed, how can you be sure you are doing Allah's will in the first place? And if hundreds and thousands of imams and ayatollahs write volumes of commentary, often disputing each other, how can you be so certain?
If you're so interested in protecting Islam and Muslims, why do you kill those who disagree with you and why do you instigate others to blindly strike back at Muslim countries? You gain nothing but chaos, but doesn't your Allah want order and harmony?
Second, many of those who are justifiably disturbed by the attacks of 9/11 have reacted like somebody who is paranoid about flies in the house; they are willing to knock over furniture and break windows to kill a single fly. These people have reacted so wildly that they are ready to invade countries that have no connection with Al Qaeda or think that invading the base of "The Base" will eliminate it. Ten years later they have not succeeded in eliminating the threat; quite the contrary, they have increased the number of terrorist wannabes to levels where the costs are budget-breaking.
In invading other countries, these fly-swatters didn't learn from history. They sent into foreign countries armies that were not wanted, who didn't speak the language, and who didn't understand the culture. Have they forgotten their own history? Our predecessors disliked being governed by a country thousands of miles away, and that country shared our language and culture. Of course, that country made matters worse by sending mercenaries who didn't speak our language. Have they forgotten the French Resistance? At least many of the Germans spoke French. But as soon as the Germans killed or captured a leader of the Resistance, somebody took his or her place.
The intolerant among us are playing right into Al Qaeda's hands. By treating all Muslims as Al Qaeda they are indirectly recruiting more Al Qaeda sympathizers. Fortunately, like most Christians are not interested in going on a Crusade, most Muslims are not interested in going on an Al Qaeda-style jihad.
Many opportunities have been lost in neutralizing or marginalizing the likes of Al Qaeda. What if the State Department had one-tenth the military budget to train people in languages, cultures, and negotiation? Wouldn't this undercut support for Al Qaeda more than military action that "proves" Al Qaeda "right" in its criticism and rhetoric?
Mourn the Christians, Jews, Muslims, and non-believers who were in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2011, but also give serious thought to how we can bring about a world where nobody resorts to violence to bring about their wishes.
