Terrorists are our enemies too

Shortly after the September 11 attacks, then US president George W. Bush launched his “war on terror”, mostly influenced by a neo-conservative agenda. America was ruled by fear and consumed by the now-famous question: Why do they hate us?

The conservative author Samuel Huntington’s theory of the clash of civilisations became the guiding principle of the Bush administration, leading to more wars and bloodshed, especially in our region. Bush promised to rid the world of ‘evil’. Thirteen years later, the world is no safer. Bloodshed continues and terrorism has proliferated and threatens with disintegration many hitherto stable states in the Arab world.

Many in Europe today would like to call the abhorrent terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo France’s 9/11 and seek another war on terror. We have begun to hear the same question being raised again: ‘Why do they hate us?’

Islam is an integral part of Europe. It has always been, since the days of Andalusia. Muslims fought alongside Christian Europeans in both World Wars. European civilisation has largely been influenced by Muslim civilisation for centuries. Europe knows the Middle East very well. We share a history. And to suggest that Muslims hate Europe is just farcical.

Terrorists, no matter what their religion is, hate Europe; the same way they hate us here, too. They hate everything that doesn’t resemble their distorted, backward and dark view of the world. Terrorists are not just Europe’s enemies; they are our enemies, too.

We know that France, and the administration of President Francois Hollande, will not succumb to fear, the same way Bush did in 2001. The terrorists who attacked Charlie Hebdo have nothing to do with Islam or any other religion. Their actions are the result of an ideology that is on the run in many Muslim countries now. France and Europe must not let those terrorists shape the way they look at the world. We are in this together, and must work together to ensure the world is rid of this evil.