The assault on Gaza, which is not a war since only one side has the means to destroy a whole population, will cement what some in Washington wanted all along, more lies and more war. Now, speaking out for Palestine is conflated with supporting terrorism.
Another lie that spread like COVID-19 was that progressives and those on the left opposing war are empowering terrorists. Actually, terrorism thrives in war. Like a virus, it grows away from light and oxygen. Those who oppose war give the human family hope for curing a cancerous disease.
On 9/11, I was on my way to the White House to meet with President George W. Bush, and en route, I learned about the targeting of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. Our meeting was canceled along with years of work for civic engagement, for getting moderate Muslim voices seen and heard, for resolving crises in the Middle East without war, for peacemaking among followers of the Abrahamic faiths, and for a future of America that included Islam.
Immediately after 9/11, the American people demonstrated their greatness by reaching out to Muslims and learning about Islam as a religion that created a great civilization, much like Western civilization. The Quran became a best-seller at bookstores. Muslims at every local level learned the art of public speaking and became spokespeople for the faith. They aspired to marginalize Osama bin Laden rather than be marginalized. But then the war drums began beating louder and louder, first Afghanistan and then Iraq, both strategic errors by the United States. We never learn from our mistakes.
We now prepare for another war, this time with Israel against Hamas, just like we went to war against the Taliban and Saddam Hussein. This time, however, the prospects for a regional war or even World War III are greater. Does the average American understand the mistakes of the previous wars? Most do not even know that an estimated 500,000 Iraqi children were killed between the two Gulf Wars.
Gaza's Ministry of Health reported more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed since the recent Israeli bombing campaign began, with children making up 40 percent of the total casualties. Another 15,000 have been injured, and many remain buried in the rubble.
Most Americans are not aware of the human cost of war in the Middle East. U.S. veterans from those wars are dying by suicide every day; the current toll is over 30,000 deaths and counting.
Anger and vengeance misguided U.S. behavior. Disinformation influenced public opinion, canards spread, such as Iraq being involved in 9/11 and possessing weapons of mass destruction. Dismissing anti-American sentiment from the region and deceiving the American public that Iraqis would throw flowers at invading U.S. forces became the norm. Instead, in one moment that epitomized the blunder, an Iraqi reporter threw a shoe at President Bush.
To this day, most Americans do not understand the consequences of war in the Middle East.
What was worse was sidelining voices of American Muslims about the devastation caused by the United States from the bombings and killings. ISIS was formed from those ashes. God knows what will come next from the ashes of Gaza.
American Muslims became a suspect community, required to prove innocence rather than carrying its presumption like other Americans. Speaking out against war became tantamount to sympathizing with terrorism. We were sidelined.
Meanwhile, white supremacists grew and became a national security threat, but somehow, they are not an existential threat. Instead, national security policies remain fixated on fighting Muslim militants while giving a pass to other militants like Hindutva, Jewish settlement movements, and neo-Nazis.
As John Lewis, the great civil rights leader, once said, "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America." So if good trouble is raising our voices against war, then we must embrace it as a burden we carry to correct the course of our country, a collision course that will cause more suffering from all sides if nothing changes.
We still have time to recover.
Salam Al-Marayati is president of Muslim Public Affairs Council.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
If you, or a veteran you know, are having thoughts of suicide, help is available 24 hours a day. Call 1-800-273-8255, text 838255, or visit https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help/chat to connect with a Veteran Crisis Line Responder.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
