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my column with my picture runs in Arabic in the leading pan…Arab
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newspaper； the London…based Al…Sharq Al…Awsat； and because I often appear on Arab
satellite…television news programs； many people in that part of the world know what
I look like。 I have been amazed by the number of young Arabs and Muslims…men and
women…who have come up to me on the streets of Cairo or in the Arabian Gulf since
9/11； and said to me what one young man in Al…Azhar mosque did one Friday； after noon
prayer： 〃You're Friedman； aren't you？〃
I nodded yes。
〃Keep writing what you're writing；〃 he said。 And what he meant was writing about the
importance of bringing more freedom of thought； expression； and opportunity to the
Arab…Muslim world； so its young people can realize their potential。
Unfortunately； though； these progressive young people are not the ones defining the
relationship betweeen the Arab…Muslim community and the world at large today。
Increasingly； that relationship is being dominated by； and defined by； religious
militants and extremists； who give vent to the frustrations in that part of the world
by simply lashing out。 The question that I want to explore in this section is： What
produced this violent Islamist fringe； and why has it found so much passive support
in the Arab…Muslim world today…even though； I am convinced； the vast majority there
do not share the violent agenda of these groups or their apocalyptic visions？
The question is relevant to a book about the flat world for a very simple reason：
Should there be another attack on the United States of the magnitude of 9/11； or worse；
walls would go up everywhere and the flattening of the world would be set back for
a long； long time。
That； of course； is precisely what the Islamists want。
When Muslim radicals and fundamentalists look at the West； they see only the openness
that makes us； in their eyes； decadent and promiscuous。 They see only the openness
that has produced Britney Spears and Janet Jackson。 They do not see； and do not want
to see； the openness…the freedom of thought and inquiry…that has made us powerful；
the openness that has produced Bill Gates and Sally Ride。 They deliberately define
it all as decadence。 Because if openness； women's empowerment； and freedom of thought
and inquiry are the real sources of the West's
economic strength； then the Arab…Muslim world would have to change。 And the
fundamentalists and extremists do not want to change。
To beat back the threat of openness； the Muslim extremists have； quite deliberately；
chosen to attack the very thing that keeps open societies open； innovating； and
flattening； and that is trust。 When terrorists take instruments from our daily
lives…the car； the airplane； the tennis shoe； the cell phone…and turn them into
weapons of indiscriminate violence； they reduce trust。 We trust when we park our car
downtown in the morning that the car next to it is not going to blow up； we trust
when we go to Disney World that the man in the Mickey Mouse outfit is not wearing
a bomb…laden vest underneath； we trust when we get on the shuttle flight from Boston
to New York that the foreign student seated next to us isn't going to blow up his
tennis shoes。 Without trust； there is no open society； because there are not enough
police to patrol every opening in an open society。 Without trust； there can also be
no flat world； because it is trust that allows us to take down walls； remove barriers；
and eliminate friction at borders。 Trust is essential for a flat world； where you
have supply chains involving ten； a hundred； or a thousand people； most of whom have
never met face…to…face。 The more open societies are exposed to indiscriminate
terrorism； the more trust is removed； and the more open societies will erect walls
and dig moats instead。
The founders of al…Qaeda are not religious fundamentalists per se。 That is； they are
not focused simply on the relationship between themselves and God； and on the values
and cultural norms of the religious community。 They are a political phenomenon more
than a religious one。 I like to call them Islamo…Leninists。 I use the term 〃Leninists〃
to convey the utopian…totalitarian vision of al…Qaeda as well its self…image。 As
al…Qaeda's chief ideologist； Ayman al…Zawahiri； has put it； al…Qaeda is the
ideological vanguard； whose attacks on the United States and other Western targets
are designed to mobilize and energize the Muslim masses to rise up against their own
corrupt rulers； who are propped up by America。 Like all good Leninists； the
Islamo…Leninists are certain that the Muslim masses are deeply dissatisfied with
their lot and that one or two spectacular acts of jihad against the 〃pillars of
tyranny〃 in the West will spark them to overthrow the secularizing； immoral； and
unjust Arab…
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Muslim regimes that have defiled Islam。 In their place； the Islamo…Leninists； however；
do not want to establish a workers' paradise but rather a religious paradise。 They
vow to establish an Islamic state across the same territory that Islam ruled over
at its height； led by a caliph； a supreme religious…political leader； who would unite
all the Muslim peoples into a single community。
Islamo…Leninism； in many ways； emerged from the same historical context as the radical
European ideologies of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries。 Fascism and
Marxist…Leninism grew out ofthe rapid industrialization and modernization ofGermany
and Central Europe； where communities living in tightly bonded villages and extended
families suddenly got shattered and the sons and fathers went off to the urban areas
to work for big industrial companies。 In this age of transitions； young men in
particular lost a sense of identity； rootedness； and personal dignity that had been
provided by traditional social structures。 In that vacuum； along came Hitler； Lenin；
and Mussolini； who told these young men that they had an answer for their feelings
of dislocation and humiliation： You may not be in the village or small town anymore；
but you are still proud； dignified members of a larger community…the working class；
or the Aryan nation。
Bin Laden offered the same sort of ideological response for young Arabs and Muslims。
The first person to recognize the Islamo…Leninist character of these 9/11
hijackers…that they were not fundamentalists but adherents of an extreme； violent
political cult…was Adrian Karatnycky； the president of Freedom House。 In a November
5； 2001； article in the National Review； titled 〃Under Our Very Noses；〃 Karatnycky
makes the following argument： 〃The key hijackers。。。 were well…educated children of
privilege。 None of them suffered first…hand economic privation or political
oppression。〃 And none of them seem to have been raised in a particularly
fundamentalist household。 Indeed； the top 9/11 operatives and pilots； like Mohammed
Atta and Marwan al…Shehhi； who shared an apartment in Hamburg； where they both
attended the Technical University of Hamburg…Harburg； all seem to have been recruited
to al…Qaeda through cells and prayer groups…after they moved to Europ