The American Taliban and 9/11

By Steve Hynd

Mosharraf Zaidi has penned an absolute beauty of a piece for Foreign Policy magazine for the ninth anniversary of 9/11. Read all of "The Talibanization of America", not just the first couple of paragraphs. You'll be glad you did.

There's bad news:

In Pakistan, "Talibanization" is a label used to describe regressive and parochial conservatism, not just the political ascendancy of Mullah Omar and his extremist disciples. When we use the label "mullah," it is not the same thing as honoring someone by calling him "Father" or "Reverend".  Instead, we're most likely referring to a person's narrow-mindedness, bigotry, and possible racism. So when we try to explain to fellow Pakistanis how the United States is much grander than the pettiness of Quran-burning circuses or mosque-defying extremists, we don't use the same labels that Americans would. Describing the ideological kith and kin of opponents of the Park51 project -- including the fringe element of folks like Terry Jones and his flock at the Dove World Outreach Center -- with terms like the moral majority, far-right evangelicals, or even neocons is useless.

Instead, when we try to explain what is happening in America, we simply say that a great country is going through a kind of Talibanization -- lead by mullahs like Newt Gingrich, Pamela Geller, and the occasional Terry Jones.

...Simply put, if the Islamophobia of an American fringe is in fact not on the fringes, but in the mainstream, then the United States has an Islamophobia problem.

And there's good news:

Terry Jones's own home state of Florida has offered a poignant reminder of America's multifaith tradition. Larry Reimer, a minister at the United Church of Gainesville, has decided, "If they can burn it, then we can read it." On Sept. 12, his congregation will include, as part of its Sunday worship, a reading from the Quran.

Perhaps the most brilliant ray of light in this darkness comes from a Facebook group to which I was invited this week. A number of young Pakistanis set up "BLESS the Bible Day on September 11." As I'm writing this, the group already has 150 members -- more than three times the number that Pastor Terry Jones cons into listening to him every Sunday.

There is much to be worried about on this ninth anniversary of 9/11. It is hard, however, to worry too much in the face of the mercy and love of people of all faiths reaching out to each other to fight the hatred and bitterness. Had that spirit prevailed across the mainstream media in the United States, perhaps we'd have a lot less to talk about this 9/11 -- focusing instead on the tremendous strength of the innocent families that lost loved ones on that day.

And in between there's some spot-on analysis and commentary. Go read it now.