CAIRO: “Tzz tzz” Hossam, a young Egyptian clicks with his tongue, demonstrating his disapproval as he reads the news of Osama Bin Laden's killing. Now, just to avoid any misunderstandings, Hossam is not a religious fanatic, he has many Western friends and his interpretation of Islam would never support the killing of innocent civilians. So why on Earth does he disapprove the assassination of Bin Laden? His reaction is similar to that of the young Changez in Moshin Hamid´s novel “The reluctant Fundamentalist.” Changez, a young, well integrated business student from New York with a Pakistani background smiled when the World Trade Center towers fell on September 11, 2001. An inappropriate reaction from an open minded person one might think. How can a tolerant, respectful person smile while facing the murder of thousand of innocent people? How can a person such as Hossam not agree with the assassination of Osama bin Laden? The answer to this question might have nothing to do with religious fanaticism. It might be useful to zoom in on the circumstances of his assassination. Osama Bin Laden was killed on Pakistani soil. Pakistan suffered from American bombs and American intervention for years. Between 2006 and 2008, US drones killed 687 civilians and 14 Al-Qaeda operatives. Nearly 50 civilians are killed for each Al-Qaeda fighter. However, American President Barack Obama found it important to mention that “no Americans were killed in the assassination of Osama Bin Laden.” Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani celebrated the assassination as a “great victory” but added that he “didn't know the details” of the US operation. Now how would an American feel if President Obama would celebrate an assassination on US territory by Pakistani forces as a “great victory” even though he did not know “the details?” Osama Bin Laden might not have been a nice person, but for many Arabs – although this number had been diminishing in recent years – he seemed to represent resistance against US imperialism. Hossam explains ‘The United States were only afraid of two Arab men, Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden.” It might be an inconvenient feeling for people in the West but many people in the Arab World looked up to Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. Several shops or taxi's have pictures depicting Saddam Hussein as a hero and resistance fighter. This goes certainly along with a lot of misinformation concerning the war crimes that both committed. However, the assassination of Obama Bin Laden is unlikely to improve this attitude. The only signal that it gives to the Arab world is that the US government continues to dictate the policy to other countries. Hillary Clinton addressed the Taliban: “You cannot wait us out, you cannot defeat us, but you can make the choice to abandon al-Qaeda and participate in a peaceful political process.” The Pakistani government is one of the partners in this peaceful process, it failed to prevent the bombardement of its own territory. No wonder that this “peace” does not seem attractive. The next stickers, key-holders, and posters of Bin Laden are probably already in the making. All in all, the attempt to idealize lunatics just because they oppose the foreign policy of the US seems desperate and unnecessary. During the last few months, the Arab people have illustrated how a real opposition to US imperialism should look like. By taking the streets in millions, demanding not only the democratization of their own governments, but to address economic inequality, US interventionism and to stop of the collaboration with the Israeli apartheid state. The US government might be able to kill a leading opposition figure, but it will not be able to eliminate a movement built on the anger and resistance of millions. BM
