M.D. Nalapat
Manipal, India — Anger against the United
States within the Muslim "Ummah," or diaspora, has risen above the
level aimed at the USSR after its 1979 invasion of Afghanistan. The United
States seems on course to overtake Israel as the primary object of hate. This
despite a well-funded campaign to convince Muslims that Uncle Sam loves them
and is eager for reciprocation.
Unfortunately, apart (presumably) from
Muslims resident in the country itself, followers of Islam around the globe see
the United States as determined to emasculate and finally eliminate them. Such
views have been in vogue since the 1950s, so it would be inaccurate to credit
this perception entirely to George W. Bush, great though his contribution has
been.
Since 1945 the United States, after being
isolationist for most of its previous history, has metamorphosed into the most
interventionist nation since the inhabitants of Britain decided in droves
during the 18th century to leave their insipid food and miserable climate
behind and seize control of much of the globe. Sadly for the United States,
this attempt at emulating Britain has simply reinforced Karl Marx's dictum that
history the second time around converts itself from tragedy to farce. A
historical evaluation of the strands that fuse into Muslim hatred for the
United States would be too ambitious for this column, which will therefore
confine itself to some of the reasons behind the current loathing.
George W. Bush and other U.S. policymakers
often speak of their desire to "bring democracy to the Middle East"
by "empowering the people" and backing "voices of
moderation" within the Islamic world. They apparently see no irony in the
use of such language when the two King Abdullahs, Pervez Musharraf, Hosni
Mubarak and the Turkish General Staff -- to name a few -- are given U.S. cover.
