After I had composed the prior four parts of this series, Thomas Friedman gave us “America Vs. the Narrative.” Here is a summary of it to augments the series, which it complements.
“The Narrative is the cocktail of half-truths, propaganda and outright lies about American that have taken hold in the Arab-Muslim world since 9/11. Propaganda by jihadists web sites, mosque preachers, Arab intellectuals, satellite news stations and books – and tacitly endorsed by some Arab regimes – this narrative posits that American has declared war on Islam, as part of a grand ‘American-Crusader-Zionist conspiracy’ to keep Muslims down.”
They seem to suppose that 9/11 was done by the U.S. to itself, to distract people from realizing that the U.S. wants to oppress Muslims. They ignore two decades of U.S. rescue of Muslims from oppressors, jihadists and Muslim dictators who kill the most Muslims. They also ignore, by focusing on the few U.S. miscreants, the innumerable acts of kindness and assistance by the GIs and their diplomats.
Actually, the Arab-Muslim narrative is promoted by jihadists to distract people form realizing that the jihadists want to oppress all, including Muslims. It also is encouraged by Arab regimes to avoid having to own up to their failures. They blame all their failures on the U.S. and Israel.
President Obama should ask Muslims to challenge this narrative and to protest against jihadist mass-murder, not just Danish cartoons. Let them show that Radical Islam is not their credo! Otherwise, why believe the mass of Muslims who say that the Ft. Hood massacre, which is a manifestation of jihad, is not legitimate under normal Islam? Incidentally, it is blood-chilling how, although he grew up in America, the anti-American, Arab-Muslim narrative took hold of him (New York Times, 11/29, Op.-Ed.).
The Arab-Muslim narrative, related by the big lie technique, was repeated until the mass of Muslims believe it. They don’t check it or question it. They don’t think about it in relation to our foreign policy that Friedman compared it with.
The U.S. government and media keep advising the public not to condemn Muslims in general. They are trying to figure out how to exit from our wars, for which we really lack sufficient resources. It doesn’t make sense to suppose a secret U.S. war on Islam, which suffers no restrictions in the U.S.. Here it is treated like any other religion. The conspiracy asserted by the narrative is in the imagination of the narrative’s propagandists.
(For the start of the series, click here )
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