Bismillah

I once saw a poster on the wall of a high school cafeteria. It was an impressive affair sporting the translucent undulations of the American flag in all its majesty. Before the flag stood the proud figure of a United States marine, complete with a flawless blue uniform, a flashy sword, and bright gold chevrons upon his shoulders. “What Are You Doing After Graduation?” the poster seemed to say. “Join the United States Army!”

I found myself laughing inwardly. I imagined what people would say if there had been such a poster upon the wall of an Islamic school, the American flag replaced by the green Islamic banner and the dapper marine replaced by a mujahid with a Palestinian bandana wrapped over his face. “Free Palestine! Join Hizbullah!” The FBI would be crawling all over the school, and the principal would be on the ground with a steel boot between his shoulder blades.

Indeed, there is nothing amusing about war, but as I beheld the fancy marine, I was amused. That soldier was quite an impressive figure, the epitome of military discipline. He looked ready to fight, ready to kill in the name of his country and his leaders. And he could but be praised for his devotion, his patriotism. He was the essence of the American spirit.

Yet the mujahid with an AK slung over his shoulder is the opposite of this symbol of valiance. His beard, his Oriental clothing, and his dark skin give him the look of an unstable extremist who would sooner shoot you than have an intelligent conversation about current events. To the Western world, he symbolizes everything that is wrong with humanity: zealotry, backwardness, an ancient philosophy uninterested in modernity.

And so as I beheld that poster, I could well read the message. War is not bad. Killing is a noble profession. It all depends on whose name is on your lips as you press the trigger. Bloodshed is totally legitimate if you are fighting against heathens in the name of a Western power.

However, if you defend a native people from the said Western power as it encroaches upon your human rights, you are nothing more that a thoughtless, brutal, unsophisticated terrorist undeserving of Occidental grace.

Others may read a different message in the image of that disciplined marine. They may read it as a call to the young people of America to lend their strength and loyalty to the war against the Axis of Evil. But in my eyes, the poster is nothing more than the blatant glorification of war.

But this leads me to ask, “What makes fighting for America any nobler than fighting against America?” Is it the fact that America is a more powerful force? Is it because America is secular or because America is more materially sophisticated? Perhaps it is because America can convince the world to hate anyone its leaders so wish.

Are these the things that justify war? Power, politics, prosperity, and popularity? Or is it the purpose of the war that makes it noble? Is war justified when you are not the aggressor, but the defender? Is it noble when your back is up against the wall and you must strike out against the popular beast or be overcome? Is war a crime when your soldiers are not tools for material gain, but rather a hand to defy conquest? Is this what makes war noble?

Over history, we the powerful nations have proven to the rest of the world that we are Great and Democratic and Virtuous By Nature and Breeding. Thus we have convinced ourselves that it is our duty to discipline those who do not benefit us. If they are a democracy that loves their religion, they are dangerous. Yet if they are a dictatorship that lets us construct military bases on their land, they are nations worthy of our friendship.

Yet it is often exhilarating and refreshing to see and to understand the views of those who have for their whole lives been prodded by the spearhead of Western expansion. Are they truly thoughtless criminals who fight only out of hatred of our freedoms, or do they have understandable motives? Perhaps they do love freedom. Perhaps they do love the thought of family and prosperity and justice. Perhaps they merely wish to achieve this as respected, sovereign nations, without being mere satellites of Western powers.

Perhaps we need to be less hateful, for then we may be less hated. Perhaps we should offer our help instead of enforce our policies. Perhaps they are not terrorists.

Perhaps they are people.

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