the.world.is.flat-第78章

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my　column　with　my　picture　runs　in　Arabic　in　the　leading　pan…Arab　
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newspaper；　the　London…based　Al…Sharq　Al…Awsat；　and　because　I　often　appear　on　Arab　
satellite…television　news　programs；　many　people　in　that　part　of　the　world　know　what　
I　look　like。　I　have　been　amazed　by　the　number　of　young　Arabs　and　Muslims…men　and　
women…who　have　come　up　to　me　on　the　streets　of　Cairo　or　in　the　Arabian　Gulf　since　
9/11；　and　said　to　me　what　one　young　man　in　Al…Azhar　mosque　did　one　Friday；　after　noon　
prayer：　〃You're　Friedman；　aren't　you？〃　


I　nodded　yes。　
〃Keep　writing　what　you're　writing；〃　he　said。　And　what　he　meant　was　writing　about　the　
importance　of　bringing　more　freedom　of　thought；　expression；　and　opportunity　to　the　
Arab…Muslim　world；　so　its　young　people　can　realize　their　potential。　
Unfortunately；　though；　these　progressive　young　people　are　not　the　ones　defining　the　
relationship　betweeen　the　Arab…Muslim　community　and　the　world　at　large　today。　
Increasingly；　that　relationship　is　being　dominated　by；　and　defined　by；　religious　
militants　and　extremists；　who　give　vent　to　the　frustrations　in　that　part　of　the　world　
by　simply　lashing　out。　The　question　that　I　want　to　explore　in　this　section　is：　What　
produced　this　violent　Islamist　fringe；　and　why　has　it　found　so　much　passive　support　
in　the　Arab…Muslim　world　today…even　though；　I　am　convinced；　the　vast　majority　there　
do　not　share　the　violent　agenda　of　these　groups　or　their　apocalyptic　visions？　
The　question　is　relevant　to　a　book　about　the　flat　world　for　a　very　simple　reason：　
Should　there　be　another　attack　on　the　United　States　of　the　magnitude　of　9/11；　or　worse；　
walls　would　go　up　everywhere　and　the　flattening　of　the　world　would　be　set　back　for　
a　long；　long　time。　
That；　of　course；　is　precisely　what　the　Islamists　want。　
When　Muslim　radicals　and　fundamentalists　look　at　the　West；　they　see　only　the　openness　
that　makes　us；　in　their　eyes；　decadent　and　promiscuous。　They　see　only　the　openness　
that　has　produced　Britney　Spears　and　Janet　Jackson。　They　do　not　see；　and　do　not　want　
to　see；　the　openness…the　freedom　of　thought　and　inquiry…that　has　made　us　powerful；　
the　openness　that　has　produced　Bill　Gates　and　Sally　Ride。　They　deliberately　define　
it　all　as　decadence。　Because　if　openness；　women's　empowerment；　and　freedom　of　thought　
and　inquiry　are　the　real　sources　of　the　West's　

economic　strength；　then　the　Arab…Muslim　world　would　have　to　change。　And　the　
fundamentalists　and　extremists　do　not　want　to　change。　
To　beat　back　the　threat　of　openness；　the　Muslim　extremists　have；　quite　deliberately；　
chosen　to　attack　the　very　thing　that　keeps　open　societies　open；　innovating；　and　
flattening；　and　that　is　trust。　When　terrorists　take　instruments　from　our　daily　
lives…the　car；　the　airplane；　the　tennis　shoe；　the　cell　phone…and　turn　them　into　
weapons　of　indiscriminate　violence；　they　reduce　trust。　We　trust　when　we　park　our　car　
downtown　in　the　morning　that　the　car　next　to　it　is　not　going　to　blow　up；　we　trust　
when　we　go　to　Disney　World　that　the　man　in　the　Mickey　Mouse　outfit　is　not　wearing　
a　bomb…laden　vest　underneath；　we　trust　when　we　get　on　the　shuttle　flight　from　Boston　
to　New　York　that　the　foreign　student　seated　next　to　us　isn't　going　to　blow　up　his　
tennis　shoes。　Without　trust；　there　is　no　open　society；　because　there　are　not　enough　
police　to　patrol　every　opening　in　an　open　society。　Without　trust；　there　can　also　be　
no　flat　world；　because　it　is　trust　that　allows　us　to　take　down　walls；　remove　barriers；　
and　eliminate　friction　at　borders。　Trust　is　essential　for　a　flat　world；　where　you　
have　supply　chains　involving　ten；　a　hundred；　or　a　thousand　people；　most　of　whom　have　
never　met　face…to…face。　The　more　open　societies　are　exposed　to　indiscriminate　
terrorism；　the　more　trust　is　removed；　and　the　more　open　societies　will　erect　walls　
and　dig　moats　instead。　


The　founders　of　al…Qaeda　are　not　religious　fundamentalists　per　se。　That　is；　they　are　
not　focused　simply　on　the　relationship　between　themselves　and　God；　and　on　the　values　
and　cultural　norms　of　the　religious　community。　They　are　a　political　phenomenon　more　
than　a　religious　one。　I　like　to　call　them　Islamo…Leninists。　I　use　the　term　〃Leninists〃　
to　convey　the　utopian…totalitarian　vision　of　al…Qaeda　as　well　its　self…image。　As　
al…Qaeda's　chief　ideologist；　Ayman　al…Zawahiri；　has　put　it；　al…Qaeda　is　the　
ideological　vanguard；　whose　attacks　on　the　United　States　and　other　Western　targets　
are　designed　to　mobilize　and　energize　the　Muslim　masses　to　rise　up　against　their　own　
corrupt　rulers；　who　are　propped　up　by　America。　Like　all　good　Leninists；　the　
Islamo…Leninists　are　certain　that　the　Muslim　masses　are　deeply　dissatisfied　with　
their　lot　and　that　one　or　two　spectacular　acts　of　jihad　against　the　〃pillars　of　
tyranny〃　in　the　West　will　spark　them　to　overthrow　the　secularizing；　immoral；　and　
unjust　Arab…　
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Muslim　regimes　that　have　defiled　Islam。　In　their　place；　the　Islamo…Leninists；　however；　
do　not　want　to　establish　a　workers'　paradise　but　rather　a　religious　paradise。　They　
vow　to　establish　an　Islamic　state　across　the　same　territory　that　Islam　ruled　over　
at　its　height；　led　by　a　caliph；　a　supreme　religious…political　leader；　who　would　unite　
all　the　Muslim　peoples　into　a　single　community。　
Islamo…Leninism；　in　many　ways；　emerged　from　the　same　historical　context　as　the　radical　
European　ideologies　of　the　nineteenth　and　twentieth　centuries。　Fascism　and　
Marxist…Leninism　grew　out　ofthe　rapid　industrialization　and　modernization　ofGermany　
and　Central　Europe；　where　communities　living　in　tightly　bonded　villages　and　extended　
families　suddenly　got　shattered　and　the　sons　and　fathers　went　off　to　the　urban　areas　
to　work　for　big　industrial　companies。　In　this　age　of　transitions；　young　men　in　
particular　lost　a　sense　of　identity；　rootedness；　and　personal　dignity　that　had　been　
provided　by　traditional　social　structures。　In　that　vacuum；　along　came　Hitler；　Lenin；　
and　Mussolini；　who　told　these　young　men　that　they　had　an　answer　for　their　feelings　
of　dislocation　and　humiliation：　You　may　not　be　in　the　village　or　small　town　anymore；　
but　you　are　still　proud；　dignified　members　of　a　larger　community…the　working　class；　
or　the　Aryan　nation。　
Bin　Laden　offered　the　same　sort　of　ideological　response　for　young　Arabs　and　Muslims。　
The　first　person　to　recognize　the　Islamo…Leninist　character　of　these　9/11　
hijackers…that　they　were　not　fundamentalists　but　adherents　of　an　extreme；　violent　
political　cult…was　Adrian　Karatnycky；　the　president　of　Freedom　House。　In　a　November　
5；　2001；　article　in　the　National　Review；　titled　〃Under　Our　Very　Noses；〃　Karatnycky　
makes　the　following　argument：　〃The　key　hijackers。。。　were　well…educated　children　of　
privilege。　None　of　them　suffered　first…hand　economic　privation　or　political　
oppression。〃　And　none　of　them　seem　to　have　been　raised　in　a　particularly　
fundamentalist　household。　Indeed；　the　top　9/11　operatives　and　pilots；　like　Mohammed　
Atta　and　Marwan　al…Shehhi；　who　shared　an　apartment　in　Hamburg；　where　they　both　
attended　the　Technical　University　of　Hamburg…Harburg；　all　seem　to　have　been　recruited　
to　al…Qaeda　through　cells　and　prayer　groups…after　they　moved　to　Europe。　
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None　of　these　plotters　was　recruited　in　the　Middle　East　and　then　planted　in　Europe　
years　in　advance　by　bin　Laden；　notes　Karatnycky。　To　the　contrary；　virtually　all　of　
them　seem　to　have　lived　in　Europe　on　their　own；　grown　alienated　from　the　European　
society　around　them；　gravitated　to　a　local　prayer　group　or　mosque　to　find　warmth　and　
solidarity；　undergone　a　〃born…again〃　conversion；　gotten　radicalized　by　Islamist　
elements；　gone　off　for　training　in　Afghanistan；　and　presto；　a　terrorist　was　born。　
Their　discovery　of　religion　was　not　just　part　of　a　personal　search　for　meaning。　It　
went　far　beyond　fundamentalism。　They　converted　Islam　into　a　political　ideology；　a　
religious　totalitarianism。　Had　the　9/11　hijackers　been　students　at　Berkeley　in　the　
early　1970's；　they　would　have　been　Trotskyite　radicals。　〃To　understand　the　September　
11　terrorists；　we　should　have　in　mind　the　profile　of　the　classic　revolutionary：　
deracinated；　middle　class；　shaped　in　part　by　exile。　In　other　words；　the　image　of　Lenin　
in　Zurich；　or　of　Pol　Pot　or　Ho　Chi　Minh　in　Paris　。　。　。　For　them　Islamism　is　the　new　
universal　revolutionary　creed；　and　bin　Laden　is　Sheikh　Guevara；〃　writes　Karatnycky。　
〃Like　the　leaders　of　America's　Weather　Underground；　Germany's　Baader…Meinhof　Gang；　
Italy's　Red　Brigades；　and　Japan's　Red　Army　Faction；　the　Islamic　terrorists　were　
university…educated　converts　to　an　all…encompassing　neo…totalitarian　ideology。〃　
My　friend　Abdallah　Schleifer；　a　journalism　professor　in　Cairo；　actually　knew　Ayman　
al…Zawahiri；　bin　Laden's　number　two　and　chief　ideologue；　when　al…Zawahiri　was　a　young　
doctor　on　his　way　to　becoming　a　young　neo…Leninist　Muslim　revolutionary。　〃Ayman　was　
attracted　from　the　time　he　was　a　teenager　into　a　Utopian　vision　of　an　Islamic　state；〃　
Schleifer　told　me　on　a　visit　to　Cairo。　But　instead　of　being　drawn　to　the　traditional　
concern　of　religion…the　relationship　between　oneself　and　God…al…Zawahiri　became　
drawn　to　religion　as　a　political　ideology。　Like　a　good　Marxist　or　Leninist；　
al…Zawahiri　was　interested　in　〃building　the　Kingdom　of　God　on　earth；〃　said　Schleifer；　
and　Islamism　became　his　Marxism…his　〃utopian　ideology。〃　And　where　Mohammed　Atta　meets　
al…Zawahiri　is　the　intersection　where　rage　and　humiliation　meet　the　ideology　that　
is　going　to　make　it　all　right。　〃Ayman　is　saying　to　someone　like　Mohammed　Atta；　'You　
see　injustice？　We　have　a　system…a　system；　mind　

you；　a　system…that　will　give　you　＇justice＇；　not　a　religion；　because　religion　gives　
you　inner　peace。'　It　doesn't　necessarily　solve　any　social　problem。　But　＇al…Zawahiri＇　
is　saying　we　have　a　system　that　will　give　you　justice。　You　feel　frustration？　We　have　
a　system　that　will　enable　you　to　flower。　The　system　is　what　we　call　Islamism…an　
ideological；　highly　politicized　Islam；　in　which　the　spiritual　content…the　personal　
relationship　＇with　God＇　…　is　taken　out　of　Islam　and　instead　it　is　transformed　into　
a　religious　ideology　like　fascism　or　communism。〃　But　unlike　the　Leninists；　who　wanted　
to　install　the　reign　of　the　perfect　class；　the　working　class；　and　unlike　Nazis；　who　
wanted　to　install　the　reign　of　the　perfect　race；　the　Aryan　race；　bin　Laden　and　
al…Zawahiri　wanted　to　install　the　reign　of　the　perfect　religion。　
Unfortunately；　bin　Laden　and　his　colleagues　have　found　it　all　too　easy　to　enlist　
recruits　in　the　Arab…Muslim　world。　I　think　this　has　to　do；　in　part；　with　the　state　
of　half…flatness　that　many　Arab…Muslim　young　people　are　living　in；　particularly　those　
in　Europe。　They　have　been　raised　to　believe　that　Islam　is　the　most　perfect　and　complete　


expression　of　God's　monotheistic　message　and　that　the　Prophet　Muhammed　is　God's　last　
and　most　perfect　messenger。　This　is　not　a　criticism。　This　is　Islam's　self…identity。　
Yet；　in　a　flat　world；　these　youth；　particularly　those　living　in　Europe；　can　and　do　
look　around　and　see　that　the　Arab…Muslim　world；　in　too　many　cases；　has　fallen　behind　
the　rest　of　the　planet。　It　is　not　living　as　prosperously　or　democratically　as　other　
civilizations。　How　can　that　be？　th