EDITORIAL - The enemy is terrorism

This is a bad time to be an Arab or South Asian in the United States. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 in New York and Washington, an Indian was killed in what was suspected to be a hate-crime, and veiled Muslim women are reluctant to leave their homes for fear of being harassed. Three Arabs were barred from a domestic flight because passengers refused to ride with them, while a Pa-kistani with a ticket for first class was bumped off from another flight because the pilots refused to fly with him.

Broadcast and print media have played up images of Muslim women in the United States lighting candles for the victims of the terrorist attacks, of Muslim clerics joining other faiths in praying for peace, even of Muhammad Ali proclaiming that he is a Muslim who condemns terrorism. The images, however, have failed to dispel those of the men responsible for the hijacking of four commercial planes that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania, leaving nearly 6,500 people dead or missing. There are also images of people in the Middle East rejoicing over the successful terrorist attacks.

Osama bin Laden, the Americans’ Public Enemy Number One, invokes Islam in his crusade of terror against the United States. Many Muslim leaders, however, have condemned his acts as perversions of Islamic teachings. Bin Laden’s religious extremism has its adherents especially in the tinderbox that is the Middle East. This did not stop the United Arab Emirates from cutting off diplomatic ties with Bin Laden’s hosts, Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban. Yesterday, Saudi Arabia, keeper of Islam’s most sacred shrine, also severed diplomatic ties with the Taliban.

This leaves only Pakistan, where Bin Laden enjoys a strong following, as the only nation that still recognizes Afghanistan’s rulers. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, however, has promised "unstinting cooperation" with American efforts to get Bin Laden. How far he is willing to make good on his promise remains to be seen. For now, the world lauds the majority of Muslims who are standing up to terrorism. They are the true representatives of Islam. And they will play a crucial role in fighting the scourge of terrorism, the real enemy in this new war.