Why Do they Hate Us?

In a recent television interview, an Egyptian history professor outlined some of the "anti-Muslim" policies that have inspired anti-Americanism in the Islamic world. The Middle East Media Research Institute has the transcript:

"You mean to say that the World Council of Churches delegated the mission of Christianizing of the world to the US."

Abd Al-Aziz: "Yes. And how could the US win legitimacy for this without anyone saying that they are perpetrating massacres and waging a Crusader war? It fabricated the 9/11 show. I call it a fabrication because much has been written on this. We are also to blame. Why do we accept a single perspective? Countless books were written, some of which were even translated into Arabic, like Thierry Meyssan's 9/11 – The Appalling Fraud [2] and Pentagate. "Pentagate" like Watergate… He brings documents to prove that the method used in destroying the three (sic) towers was "controlled demolition.

"This is an architectural engineering theory, which was invented by the Americans. They teach it in their universities. They make movies and documentaries about it. They incorporated it in movie scenarios and then carried it out in real life. Why do we accept this?"

Host: "My God, doctor. This is unbelievable! You're saying that this destruction…"

Abd Al-Aziz: "...was a controlled demolition. The building collapsed in its place, without hitting a single building to its left or right. The three towers fell in place."


Professor Abd Al-Aziz then goes on cite the mind boggling lie about how all the Jews stayed home on 9/11. You have to read it for yourself. Remember this is a history professor being solicited for his "expert" opinion, not some nutter off the street.

This is just one of the numerous anti-American fantasies that are all too popular in the Islamic world. The idea that Muslim hostility to America is merely a rational reaction to our policies is quite popular, especially among those who believe that the War on Islamist Terrorism is a horrible overreaction to a one-off event. Such a belief ignores the fact that neither America nor our policies are viewed in any kind of objective, rational way. Many Muslims, especially in the Arab world, see the USA through a prism built on xenophobia, conspiracy theories, anti-American propaganda, and lies and incitement from radical clerics and "news" outlets like al-Jazeera. These views will persist no matter what America actually does. It is only when the Middle East ceases to be dominated by fanaticism and dictatorship, when Arabs begin to take responsibility for the shape of their own societies instead of blaming the "infidels and Jews" for everything, that such attitudes will finally change.