Taking aside its application, the term “terror” is an extremely dangerous thing. It is characterized as a violent act intended to intimidate civilians in order to further political, religious, and ideological goals. The most often used example is one of the well-known incidents referred to as the “War on Terror.” The 9/11 incident, sometimes referred to as the War on Terror, was carried out by the terrorist organization Al-Qaida against the United States. By attacking the US’s vital political and economic infrastructure and killing 2,977 individuals, Al-Qaida caused significant damage to the US in this attack. The USA made it known to the world that they were terrorists. Given that the USA is a superpower, all states must obviously heed its advice. Furthermore, labeling terrorists as members of Al-Qaida was correct given that they had committed heinous and arbitrary acts. In retaliation, the United States of America launched a war against Afghanistan that resulted in immense destruction. The point is, though: does the USA view as terrorists any state or group that engages in similar behavior? The response is no. How? Taking a brief look at the Israel-Palestine conflict could help us understand. Israel’s illegal existence has killed thousands of human lives, including those of elders, women, and children. The United States of America (the so-called protector of human rights) failed to notice the thousands of dead bodies in Gaza and avoided designating Israel as a terrorist state due to its brutal actions. In actuality, it gave Israel military hardware and funding to combat Palestine. A global movement in order to free Palestine was launched. Even in the United States, hundreds of people took to the streets to demand that Israel stop treating Palestinians unfairly, but the United States did not pay much heed to the voices of millions of people. The United States of America would impose economic sanctions and designate Palestine as a terrorist state if it displayed such brutality against any non-Muslim state. Crimea suffered a great loss when Russia invaded, and many were killed. The violence was not associated with terrorists in the USA. Russia is America’s rival; hence, the USA ought to have designated it as a terrorist state, but that wasn’t the problem because Russia isn’t an Islamic state. Again, thousands of people lost their lives when Russia invaded Ukraine. When violence reached its peak, the USA failed to classify it as terrorism. Beside these examples, most non-Muslim states gained the chance to target civilians of other states and create violence throughout history—not for a single moment, the USA called it terrorist attacks or activities. I don’t endorse the violence that Muslim states and groups spread around the world; we see it negatively. However, why does the USA only apply this label to the Muslim world? When non-Muslim states commit acts of violence and murder individuals, why is it not applied to them? It is always in opposition to the Islamic world. India’s nuclear testing provides acceptance for the idea that the United States of America consistently opposes Muslim nations. Although Pakistan was cautioned by the United States of America not to test its nuclear weapons, Pakistan did so by refusing the United States. Pakistan was subject to economic sanctions by the United States of America. India also conducted nuclear tests, and the USA did nothing to stop it. With the support that Pakistan provided to the United States in the War on Terror, the United States removed Pakistan’s sanctions. This particular example is just to prove the USA’s game for Muslim countries. Such rubbish politics the USA plays in the world. Regarding the concept of terrorism as well as the legal and unlawful means of creating international law, the United States of America has no concern. The USA supports the hegemony of non-Muslim nations while solely considering its own interests. The United States of America promotes non-Muslim nations that destroy peace and encourage bloodshed, as demonstrated by Israel’s destruction of the Palestinian people and infrastructure. On the other hand, the USA becomes serious and begins to make strange sense when Muslim countries begin to engage in similar actions, even if these acts were also carried out by non-Muslim nations or its allies. It doesn’t view it as violent. That is actually violence, but from the perspective of the USA, the actors are very important. America’s definition of terrorism is limited to actors who identify as Muslim or non-Muslim; these actors can be states, organizations, or single people. In the view of the United States, non-Muslim actors who engage in acts of violence will not be classified as terrorists, whereas Muslim actors who carry out the same deed will be labeled as terrorists.
The writer is a student of “BSIR” at “International Islamic University Islamabad” and a member of PYDIR.