Causes And Consequences of 9/11: Sociological approach

Many studies written on 9/11, but articles and books to analyze the nightmare sociologically are few. M.Shahid Alam, in his book: “Challenges the New Orientalism” is one from the few, but more sociopolitical. The US-imposed straight-ticket dealing with Arab and Muslim nations has deepend the contradictions of global capitalism in the Islamic world: The consequences implied threat led to out of control policies. I believe this is true. Here we show how that assumption was true from sociological point of view in more specific terms.

In the time of the Cold War, many third world countries were competing to win US contract to defeat radical and populist movements. Some nations in East Asia taking advantage of autonomy to manage their economies developed indigenous capital and technology, some of them were favored by the US. Because they show capitalist success. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, Cold War was terminated. The US Consensus, replaced it with the establishment of WTO to formalize the new agreement, in order to make the periphery countries to give space in their economies for Core capital. The result was that the elites understood the replacement and began to compete with Multinational corporations.

Two track-policy were practiced: Muslim countries were directed to suppress social movements, and radicals. Other non-Islamic countries were encouraged to compete for the contract through the ballot box. Justification to the two track policy was that Islamic parties in many nations will only use the ballot against democracy once they have successful majority in election. These parties have two goals: Using Islam for social order; and reversing the decline and fragmentation of the Islamic societies.

As a result of these goals, the United States decision was to oppose these goals and suppress the Islamists in every way possible. This was obvious politically in the new bond between Israel and the United States to reject peace in the region. The defeat of Arab Armies in 1967, was a sign for secularist defeat in uniting Arabs or returning Palestine. And more Arab lands was lost to Israel. The way became easier for Arab regimes were ready to deal with USA and Israel. The 1973 was not a war, but was a cash reward for Arabs, especially in Egypt which made separate peace with Israel. Achieving this was the end of Arab nationalism leaving the radical Islamists to lead and unite the Arab countries.

Arab leaders with defeat they remain strong in power supported by the United States as a colonial dominant in several ways: for example, technology, intelligence and economic military and financial loans in the form of American International Assistant USAID. Such practice in fact, after the loss of Arab leaders’ legitimacy, US help them to tighten their repressive regimes. Camp David followed Oslo to normalize relations with Israel. Who usually oppose in the Arab people, the Islamists, repression increased, Islamic parties banned, in Algeria, Egypt, and Jordan for example, regulations for structuring parties were regulated and tightened more. Islamist leadership positions were replaced by government personnel in trade unions and professional associations. In many Arab countries, leading Islamists were put to prison for continuous and renewed sentences or expelled. (The Muslim Brothers movement is a very well known case in many countries--Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, for example,-- represents these practices).

As a consequence, these actions produced lack of civil institutions including political parties, professional associations, courts, media, and charities, which in return created the need for radicalism to engage in violent actions. To gain there ends as opposing the regimes, they used several methods of opposition such as guerilla warfare, terror, and assassination. Regimes were persecuting Islamists everywhere, the new window opened for Islamists was to leave their native countries to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the western countries.

It doesn’t need smart thinking to point finger to the United States. Strategies of Islamists have changed for may be three reasons: two of them concerning the regimes; which jailed a large number of them, and changed some of Shari’a laws or police brutality against peaceful protestation. The third reason was the US support to Israel all times, by the veto, or sustaining from voting in the UN which accumulated wide rage among Muslims especially radical groups. Islamists in Afghanistan were hoping to regain some dignity for the Islamic world in general, and the Arab world in particular, where Afghan Arab are the most guerilla warfare experts by the leadership of a young Saudi Arab Muslim millionaire, called Osama Bin Laden.

Osama Bin Laden did not come from a vacuum, his reciprocal support with Taliban, and the active assistance from the United States, and the results were proclaimed victory over the Soviet Union created the feeling of victory over infidels. The time comes to know the original enemy, the United States which has arm forces in many Arab countries (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait, for example). The Cold War ended, NATO was close to retirement for lack of security aspirations of the EU. 9/11 was not an attack on Christianity or the west as Samuel Huntington and Bernard Lewis thought in what they called “Clash of Civilization”. It was an attack on the United States alone which is less than one third of the Christian West made by one sixth of Muslims if we consider all Arab countries, which is not true. A small group of radical Arab Muslims did the attack.

In Islam, the number of guerilla fighters is not important, the case of the Prophet Muhammad, in the early years, were similar to Osama Bin Laden case, when he says: we will prevail, because God is in our side, or “God is with us”, as the tradition says. In my understanding of Bin Laden mentality as a Muslim, he was establishing with Taliban a treaty to energize rebellious Islamist groups in the Arab and Muslim countries to take over governments by revolution. But poverty, social apathy and government personnel corruption with intelligence powers were obstacles of such revolution. Which is imagined to be true. But regimes where supported by the United States, the IMF, the WTO, and the world bank have bought regimes to attack Islamists, and the US was the main manipulator of the regimes deficit game through intelligence cooperation, training, and technology supplies. Some Islamist groups succeeded in creating militant Jihadi culture through religious institutions in Palestine, Pakistan, Algeria, Indonesia, Philippines, and Afghanistan.

The way for Osama Bin Laden was clear and full of ambition to regain Islamic state as it was 1500 years ago by his announcement of Jihad against infidels in the late twenty century. Which is rejected by a large number of Arabs and Muslims in the 21st century. But the results were not expected. Nothing happen of regimes collapse in the Muslim countries, nor he planned with Taliban to play the game of the international community well. Filled with victory imagination led Bin Laden mind as a person, to imagine himself as the expected al-Mahdi, as well known in Islamic history, that every 100 year, there will be a leader rises from among Muslims to revive religion. What made the situation worse for Islamist regime of Taliban and Bin Laden was the explosives blown a cultural Indian monument which make almost all Muslim and non-Muslim secularists inside and outside the Muslim world consider the regime’s intention to destroy any secular progress is not civilized. Such an act brought anger worldwide. The media in the Arab- Muslim and western spheres, and the governmental and non-governmental organizations alike used such monumental destruction as a savage action against modernization and world civilization.

9/11 was the top achievement for al-Qai’da to hurt the USA, the slogans of democracy, military might, economic supremacy and intelligence power centers. (The Twin Tower building and the Pentagon). The most perceived security in the American history. Bin Laden knew that he can’t defeat the United States, but the price for such criminal action was satisfying millions of oppressed people around the world, as a result of the USA foreign policies toward poor nations in general and as a leader through IMF, WTO and World Bank, and toward US-Israel in particular. The result was breaking the American halo-effect “Haybah” in Arabic” worldwide, and for the first time in history, the 9/11 attack have created the sense of fear inside the United States which led to many other events and rapid country’s invasion in Afghanistan and Iraq, to regain such halo -effect again, where both have nothing to do with 9/11 attacks.

The main reasons to invade the two countries in what called “War on Terror” are circulated by many analysts that the regime in Afghanistan was perceived as sign to unite Muslims around the globe, if succeeded to establish stronghold as a role model for Muslim countries, the other reason was Iraq, where Saddam Hussein was perceived as the power may unite Arab countries to attack Israel. And both signs were not accepted for global domination led by the United States through its role in NATO. The threat remains against the United States as far as US foreign policy supporting Israel continues, which is believed strongly to be an illegal oppressive democratic state found in the region to holt Arab and Muslim unity.

Hasan Yahya is a professor of sociology, a columnist at wfol.tv, Malaysia, and TINA International News Agency, Chicago, USA. Hasan Yahya Webpage

About The Author-- Hasan Yahya is an Arab American scholar, he published 20 plus books and 150 plus articles on sociology, psychology, politics, poetry, IQ Test Measurment and short stories in both Arabic and English. Dr. Yahya resides in Michigan, USA.

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