Tony Blair is ‘desperately sorry’ that an innocent man was shot dead in the tube last week. Jean Charles de Menezes had nothing to do with al-Qaida or the London bombings, but had the misfortune to look like a Middle Easterner. As one eyewitness puts it, “I saw an Asian guy…”. That seems to be the only criteria needed. Police chief, Sir Ian Blair, even bashfully admits, “somebody else could be shot”.
Now, the only precaution I think the policemen would take is to ask: “Are you Muslim?”
Some argue that Charles de Menezes should have stopped to explain his situation, but how do you deal with the sight of twenty burly men coming after you with pistols? Seven point-blank shots into Charles de Menezes’ head don’t really speak of policemen interested in a conversation.
Despite defiant declarations to the contrary, the terrorists have already won. Londoners, and this includes people in authroity, are spooked. It’s as clear as day, and the terrorists are probably laughing their heads off.
Don’t get me wrong. Violence in the name of any creed or ideology is plain looney, but it would help to understand the rationale behind terrorist acts. In plain words, terrorism seeks to:
1. Create fear.
2. Divide the community. Since almost all terrorists these days are Muslim, it’s plain who they want society at large to turn against. If Muslims are persecuted, terrorist cells would presumably swell with more disenchanted Muslims.
3. Draw attention to a political predicament. In this case, terrorists seem to see themselves as mascots of the Palestinian cause, and the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq.
It is the second point that is the most dangerous, for every terrorist act pushes the envelope further toward general bigotry of all Muslims.
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