A reason for relief. The constructive aspect of post-11 September seems solidly in place, and that's a reason for relief. One has now to avoid resting on this first outcome, and not forget the most difficult moment still to come.
What do I call, with doubtless inadequate terminology "constructive aspect"? Instead of seeking a dangerous definition, I prefer pointing the those elements that it contains:
- the idea of a "clash of civilisations", the West against Islam, was forcefully rejected not just by Europe, but also by the United States. Nobody, or almost nobody, wants to hear speak of the prediction of Professor Huntington, who has to be considered as buried;
- the EU has defined and clarified its full solidarity with the United States, which also means that the Americans - while retaining their faculty for decision-making and possible independent initiatives - remains in permanent contact with the Europeans, and that the latter have to possibility of having their opinions and concerns heard as well as their experience with then Muslim world. The limits and modalities of the European presence remain a little vague, and the opinions in the Fifteen are not, despite appearances, totally uniform, but the involvement of the Europeans in the choice seems to be taken for granted;
- on the Islam side, condemnation of blind terrorism was very firm. The authorities of almost all Muslim countries rejected as against their religion and civilisation the attack on New York, several religious authorities and theologians set out ad explained Islam as a "religion of tolerance", against the ideas of the Taliban and other extremists. Professor Merri Haddad, of the University of Paris VI, quoted the Koran maxim that says: " whoever should kill a person not guilty of murder (….) it is as if he or she had killed the whole of humanity";
- the attempt and hope of the fundamentalists to create a certain holy union among the Muslim world against Western civilisation thus failed;
- several observers and commentators drew, from the aforementioned observations, the conclusion that we are not faced with a clash between civilisations but between fanatics and moderates within each of the to civilisations.
The grandeur of the Arab civilisation. In its recent reactions, the EU has on the whole been up to the best European traditions and its ambitions. The successive texts of the Heads of Government are worthy of the situation, both in tone and substance. Last week debate in the European Parliament often had noble accents, recalling the grandeur of the Arab and Persian civilisations of the Middle Age where the light that came from Islam and that saved Greece at a time when Europe was to a great part giving the impression of having forgotten it (the texts of Aristotle!). I would add the chivalrous spirit and fairness of the true Arabian tradition, the echo of which was still heard in the verses of Ludovico Ariosto: "oh great nobility of former knights - they were enemies, their religions were different ….), but they agreed to protect their women".
Necessary collaboration. To summarise: on the whole, the two civilisations reacted well to the terrible events. But nothing can be taken for granted, and the most difficult time is yet to come. It will come when the United States, possibly with the backing of European countries, responds. The idea that it can still refrain from doing so is unrealistic: no country in the world could not react when the very heart of its power has been attacked in such a cowardly and bloody manner. The Muslim countries should contribute in eradicating the scourge of fanatical violence, the same way that Europe prosecutes and severely condemns its own racist and violent groups. Real progress towards a solution to the Palestinian problem would obviously represent a fundamental contribution to appeasing spirits: the EU is working on it. But the Palestinian drama is at times an alibi for certain Fundamentals. In 1998 already, Jean Daniel wrote in an editorial for the "Nouvel Observateur": "fundamental radicalism is pre-Western colonialism as it is to the constitution of the Israeli State". I thus believe that it will not suffice to resolve the Palestinian problem to rid ourselves of fundamentalism and its form of violence, terrorism. The sincerity in the commitment to combat this scourge and the cooperation of the Muslim world will doubtless determine the degree of the American response.. The terrorists failed in their attempt to create a kind of forced unity through their actions; such unity caused by an inappropriate or insufficiently targeted Western response just needs to be avoided.
(F.R.)