Dr. Ellis Goldberg
Director, Middle East Center, University of Washington
Part Two:
Islam, Afghanistan and the Issue of Terrorism
Jihad, Terror, War and Justice: Four Words for the 21st Century
On October 23, Dr. Ellis Goldberg addressed a PNNL audience on the
connections between radical Islam and political extremism. Goldberg is a
professor of the Jackson School of International Studies, and Director
of the University of Washington's Middle East Center. His lecture was
the second of a four-part series, sponsored by the Pacific Northwest
Center for Global Security, examining the circumstances leading to the
September 11th attacks on the United States.
"Al Qaeda is more of a cult than anything else," stated
Goldberg. He began his presentation with an overview of the evolution of
war from being conflict between rulers of states to gain wealth, to,
increasingly, "violence to obtain political quiescence." In
this context of ideological struggle, Goldberg compared Al Qaeda to
radical political groups of the United States in the 1960s such as the
Red Army Faction and Weatherman, stating that "violence has become
a feature of life in the 19th and 20th century."
Goldberg attributed the emergence of Al Qaeda and the spread of the
organization's popularity to social and economic conditions of the
Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. He described the regions
as being fairly poor and having high illiteracy rates. Governments are
undemocratic and strictly control information. The result is that there
is a high degree of discontent, limited information on the outside
world, and it is easy to foster hostility against foreigners.
Citing numerous military conflicts that have taken place in the
regions, Goldberg suggested that the degree of bloodshed that has taken
place in these regions has caused a numbness to war, created normalcy in
private rebellion against state entities, and has made it easy to
rejoice over the destruction wreaked on the United States by the
September 11th attacks. The military struggles cited included the
Arab-Israeli Wars, Tunisian War of Independence, Iran-Iraq War, and the
civil wars of Lebanon, Sudan and Algeria.
Goldberg characterized the September 11th attacks as acts of war
perpetrated by a group of private individuals against a state, and
defined terrorism as "war deliberately fought against society
through random acts of violence." He also cast doubt upon Al Qaeda
members' interpretation of "jihad."
The more prevalent interpretation of "jihad" is the struggle
of the individual to attain self-discipline. However, the interpretation
espoused by Al Qaeda members is similar to that used during the early
days of Islam, now the fastest growing religion in the world, when
Muslims had to struggle to protect their way of life. However, even
under such an interpretation, there are strict laws of war. These rules,
from the Koran, include the requirement than an explicit warning be
given before launching an attack on one's enemy. Noncombatants must be
protected. And, certain methods of war, such as the poisoning of
drinking water and the use of fire, are prohibited. Thus, orthodox
Muslim clerics do not condone the violent actions of Al Qaeda, or the
organization's interpretation of Islam.
While rejecting Al Qaeda's motivations for war, and supporting the
United State's right to militarily engage the group, Dr. Goldberg warned
that the United States should be careful to avoid causing instability in
Afghanistan and the surrounding region. He also suggested that the
United States should "choose its enemies as carefully and it
chooses its friends," and seek to be fairer in the region in
respect to human rights. Ending his presentation by alluding to issues
like globalization, world trade and the international nature of daily
life today, Goldberg said, "The September 11th assaults (sometimes)
make us forget that much is at stake for others too."
