From Left to Right, observers were quick to equate the Mumbai attacks to 9/11. But in doing so, the Left has tied itself in conceptual knots, for only consistency in the condemnation of religious violence can make for a sustainable response to the Right’s demonization of Islam.
First of all, the phrase “war on terror” needs to be retired. As a war, it is largely imagined, and as an idea it is ill-conceived. The effect of thinking in terms of global war is to make enemies out of millions of Muslims who would otherwise have been our friends.
As long as the world community chooses to focus primarily on military options, these attacks will continue. But there are other options if we are willing to talk.
Though many have already sought to draw comparisons between Mumbai and 9/11, the most striking thing about the horrific attacks in Mumbai is the local sense of place that that the terrorists tried to destroy.
