Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2001 08:41:14 +0100 (BST)
From: =?iso-8859-1?q?anna=20miller?= <ruboutthewords-AT-yahoo.co.in>
Subject: heres


11 October 2001 08:35 GMT+1 
 Independent 

 No guilt, no responsibility at this perverse
gathering of
 Islamic kings and dictators

 War against terrorism: Arab Summit

 By Robert Fisk, Middle East Correspondent

 11 October 2001

 Listening to the speeches of the Muslim leaders at
the
 Organisation of the Islamic Conference emergency
summit on
 Wednesday, it was possible to believe that Osama bin
Laden
 represented Arabs more faithfully than their tin-pot
dictators
 and kings.

 Please give us more evidence about 11 September,
asked the
 Emir of Qatar. Please don't forget the Palestinians,
pleaded
 Yasser Arafat. Islam is innocent, insisted the
Moroccan
 Foreign Minister.

 Everyone – but everyone – wished to condemn the 11
 September atrocities in the United States. No one –
 absolutely no one – wanted to explain how 19 Arabs
decided
 to fly planeloads of innocent people into buildings
full of
 civilians.

 The very name of "bin Laden" did not sully the Qatar
 conference hall. Not once. Not even the name
"Taliban". Had
 a Martian landed in the Gulf – which looks not unlike
Mars –
 he might have concluded that the World Trade Centre
in New
 York was destroyed by an earthquake or a typhoon.

 Was it not President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt who said,
back
 in 1990, that the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait would blow
over "like
 a summer's breeze"? Thus delegates condemned to a man
 the slaughter in America without for a moment
suggesting
 why this slaughter might have taken place.

 Like the Americans, the Arabs didn't want to look for
causes.
 Indeed, the conference hall was a strangely perverse
place, in
 which introspection included neither guilt nor
responsibility. Mr
 Arafat demanded an international force – a good idea
for a
 new Afghanistan – but it quickly turned out that he
was talking
 about an international force to protect Palestinians
in the
 West Bank and Gaza which, according to the map, is
about
 1,800 miles from Kabul.

 Of course, he condemned the World Trade Centre
massacre.
 So did Sheikh Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, and
 Mohamed bin Issa, the Moroccan Foreign Minister, and
 Abdul-Aziz Bilqazeez, the Islamic Conference's
 secretary-general. But that was about it. Indeed, the
collected
 speeches amounted to a collected theme: please don't
kill
 innocent Afghans, but – whatever happens – don't bomb
Arab
 countries. Indeed, for much of the day, Afghanistan
appeared
 a far away country of which they knew little – a
mendacious
 thought, given that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were
midwives
 to the Taliban – and wanted to know even less.

 Only Farouq al-Sharaa, the Syrian Foreign Minister,
stated
 frankly that attacking Muslim states was "forbidden".
This
 meant, he said, "that all Arabs and Muslims will
stand with
 the country that is attacked". Which must have made
them
 shiver in their boots on board the US carriers in the
Gulf.

 There was the usual rhetoric bath from other
conference
 delegates. The communiqué from the 56 conference
members
 claimed that they rejected "the linking of terrorism
to the Arab
 and Muslim people's rights, including the Palestinian
and
 Lebanese people's right to self-determination,
self-defence and
 resisting Israeli and foreign occupation and
aggression".
 Translation: please, America, don't take the Israeli
side and
 bomb Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Lebanese Hizbollah,
 Damascus, Tehran et al. "Resistance is not terrorism"
has
 become as familiar a slogan in the Arab world as "war
against
 terrorism" has in the Western world.

 There was little that George Bush or Tony Blair would
have
 disagreed with. Retaliation "should not extend to any
but
 those who carried out those attacks [which] requires
 conclusive evidence against the culprits," Sheikh
Hamad
 pronounced. "The Islamic world was the first tocall
for the
 dialogue of civilisation." This might have been
scripted for Mr
 Blair.

 But the Qatari Emir got off one quick biff at the
Americans.
 The world should not, he said, fall "into conflicting
sects,
 camps and clashing dichotomies based on the principle
of 'If
 you are not on my side, then you are against me'." Mr
 Bilqazeez made the point that Afghans had suffered
two
 decades of war and should suffer no more – and that
they
 should decide the future of their country for
themselves. He
 neglected to mention that the West seems set on doing
the
 "deciding" bit for the Afghans and that the Americans
had
 funnelled almost as many weapons into Afghanistan as
the
 Russians had done.

 The Islamic American organisations, represented by
Jamal
 Bazranji, wanted it known that they represented 2.5
per cent
 of the American population, that their role was to
"bridge
 civilisations" and that they were Americans "with no
other
 homeland" – an argument which Mr bin Laden would no
doubt
 disagree with.

 Wasn't Israel the real problem, the delegates tried
to ask?
 Principle among them, of course, was our old friend
Mr Arafat.
 Of course he condemned the attacks in America. Of
course
 he felt "solidarity" with the American people – the
old socialist
 "solidarity" being put to an original new use. But
Israel was
 using these attacks as an excuse for its increased
aggression
 against Palestinians and there must be an
international
 observer force in Palestine to oversee the Mitchell
report and
 there must be condemnation of Israel.

 Money was to be had in a good cause. Qatar opened a
fund
 for the Afghans and the Saudis put in $10m (£6.8m),
the
 United Arab Emirates $3m, Oman $1m. But what the
 delegates wanted was evidence – "conclusive
evidence",
 according to Sheikh Hamad – that Washingtonhad
identified
 the culprits of 11 September.

 This at least allowed him to avoid the fatal words
"bin Laden".
 Indeed, it allowed everyone to duck this annoying,
dangerous,
 frightening man who is calling for the overthrow of
almost every
 single one of the Islamic delegates.

 An interesting day, then, for the Islamic conference.
We're
 sorry about 11 September, they said. Please don't
bomb
 Afghanistan more than you have to. Please don't kill
the
 innocent. And please don't bomb us. You couldn't put
it
 simpler than that. 




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