Hero vs. Terrorist

BY SANA CHAUDHARY

Before India achieved independence from British rule, some freedom fighters of India who did not subscribe to non-violence were labelled as terrorists by the British government. Those same individuals have been lauded by fellow Indians for the same activities and hailed as ‘patriots’ and ‘heroes.’ Thus, two different labels have been given to the same people for the same set of actions. Those who believed the British has a right to rule over Indian called these people terrorists. Those who were of the view that Britain had no right to rule Indian called them heroes and freedom fighters.

A similar situation appears to be happening between the United States and the Muslim world.

We all know today is September 11^th, 2011, the tenth anniversary of that fateful day in 2001 when (so-called) Muslims flew planes into two iconic building in New York City as well as the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. I live in the UK and am currently vacationing in Pakistan, yet I knew what day it was as soon as I woke this morning. 9/11 is an inescapable day. And I may not be American, but every life lost is worth mourning, and so I mourn for those who fell that day, and for those that have fallen since, both American and otherwise.

While today will certainly, and rightly so, be a day of mourning, today will also be a day of celebration in a way – at least in America. Because of the efforts of the US and her allies, some of the top infamous characters of terrorist groups are dead. Is the world a safer place because of this? Probably not, but there is a sense of justice about it all. Americans will be calling their leaders and the members of the armed forces heroes. They will be condemning those who were immediately a part of the attacks and those associated with the attacks as terrorists, vehemently damning them to hell.

Good for the Americans. But what about the innocent people of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and whatever other countries have been bombed and/or invaded by US and other foreign forces? Americans laud their leaders and their armed forces as heroes, but I can guarantee you most Afghanis and Pakistani think otherwise. To the innocent here, the US is nothing but a terroristic nation, hell-bent on blowing up entire villages in the hope that they just might kill somebody slightly important to al-Qaeda, the Taliban, some other terrorist organisation. I myself have lost cousins to the bombs of America, and I am not terribly fond of the country that authorised such action.

This sounds awfully similar to the situation I mentioned above in regards to India and Britain. To Americans, the Muslims are the terrorists or the harbourers of terrorists. To Pakistanis, Afghanis, Iraqis, etc., the Americans are the terrorists. In either situation, there are innocent people caught between, and they are punished for the acts of a select few. And when it comes to ‘Muslim’ terrorists, those select few are not even truly representing the views of fellow Muslims.

Before we begin to judge anybody, it is important to give him/her a ‘fair hearing.’ Both sides of the argument should be heard, the past should be considered, the situation should be analysed, and the reason and the intention of the person should be taken into account, and the person can be judged accordingly.

It’s all in the eye of the beholder.