Wednesday morning. You walk bleary-eyed to the metro to get to work. The sidewalk is bustling with other morning commuters, a sea of black suits and unfashionable commuter sneakers (you are in Washington, D.C. after all). As you are about to get on the escalator, you grab a copy of the Express, the Washington Post’s free commuter newspaper. This is enough to jolt you awake:
(And no, I’m not referring to the Cinco de Mayo guide to top-shelf tequilas.)
Ever since Faisal Shahzad was arrested for trying to blow up a car in Times Square over the weekend, we have been inundated with news items analyzing every minute detail of the Pakistani-American’s life. Media outlets have left no stone unturned as they attempt to fit Shahzad into a profiled box and understand how and why such a man could threaten the safety of Americans.
But Faisal Shahzad, dear news agencies, can’t be boxed in. And while that astounds you, that he doesn’t fit your narrow profile of a terrorist, this should really not be news to you. Just like not all Muslims are terrorists, not all terrorists are impoverished and uneducated young men. (Remember Jihad Jane?)
Here are a few non-sensical gems over the past few days I found worthy of sharing (the blue lines are what I’d imagine to be the reporters’ inner thoughts):
- From Reuters: “This is our son,” retired school teacher Nazirullah Khan told Reuters by telephone. “I recognized him. Last time when I met him, he didn’t have a beard. I attended his wedding.” No beard = no terrorist. Beard = terrorist. Easy.
- From the NY Times: “When they [Shahzad & wife] returned to the United States, his colleagues at the cosmetics maker Elizabeth Arden celebrated with a small office party.” What would-be terrorists work at Elizabeth Arden?! That’s crazy talk.
- Also from the NY Times: “A Pakistani man said that an acquaintance of his who was a friend of the Shahzad family told him that within the past year, Mr. Shahzad had peered critically at a glass of whiskey the friend was holding, indicating a judgmental stance typical for rigid jihadis.” Not a boozehound. Definitely a terrorist.
- From BBC News: “He was a jovial type, very active and playful. But after his marriage some three years ago, he began to change. He moved his base from Peshawar to Karachi, grew a beard, and grew quieter and withdrawn,” says Faiz Ahmad, a local elder. Wow. Getting married, sucks, dude!
- From CNN: “He was quiet. He would wear all black and jog at night. He said he didn’t like the sunlight,” Brenda Thurman [his next-door neighbor] said. It seems like Shahzad was also a Twilight fan, and was most probably Team Edward. Most probably.
Ultimately, the so-called stereotype of a terrorist does not really exist. And that’s because there is a difference between would-be jihadists residing in the West and those living in countries like Pakistan – the recruits who surf jihadist chat rooms sitting at home in London and those living in a village in Waziristan. The complexities and nuances among these groups are endless. Faisal Shahzad may be a Pakistani-American, but he was not only “Made in Pakistan.” Yes, Pakistan is plagued with a vast number of issues. We have an undeniable terror problem. But the right solution in this case is to have both countries – the U.S. and Pakistan – look inward at their own societies and take responsibility for the issues at hand. Reuters, in its coverage framed the question very well when it said,
To what extent was Shahzad an “amateur” who had been radicalised in the United States in a way that may have prompted him to seek training or contacts with Pakistan-based militant groups? Or alternatively to what extent should Pakistan-based militant groups be seen as “exporting” their jihadi ideology abroad?
It’s the Islam, no? Lots of us humans have problems, but most don’t go terrorist. The Quran is telling us it’s ok, right? I am so over being Pakistani and Muslim. I am now just a South Asian American agnostic. Screw Pakistan and its problems. It’s holding me back in the US, so–America is the land of new beginnings, and I’m doing mine, baby!! Out with the old, in with the new. Grey Goose all-round for my friends!
“There is an undeniable terror problem. But the right solution in this case is to have both countries – the U.S. and Pakistan – look inward at their own societies and take responsibility for the issues at hand.”
Awesome buddy, so now both countries are responsible. What about 11000 madarssas who churn out 500000 potential terrorists every year. But no Pakis will not take responsibility of that. It is all a conspiracy of Mossad, RAW and CIA.
Pakistan is the land of the pure, right? Or did I miss anything.
I never said Pakistan shouldn’t take responsibility – if you read my blog, I constantly lambaste my own government for our scapegoating and our need to take more responsibility for the problem within Pakistan’s borders. No one’s saying that Shahzad didn’t go to Pakistan and didn’t receive training from militant groups there – while those details are murky, he did receive some sort of training in Pakistan. But at the same time, what were the factors that led this seemingly innocent guy from a military family to want to become radicalized? All I’m saying is it’s important to not try and scapegoat this issue but start an honest conversation that takes all the nuances into consideration.
Yet again, you’ve made some great points and made me laugh out loud while doing so! Thanks for such a thoughtful post, Kalsoom.
Team Edward, really, I have to ask why
Let’s face the reality: Pakistan has really become a hub and safe haven for international terrorism. It is everywhere, in the government, in the military, in the politics, in the cities, and in the villages. The country, its government and people, need to do something against the menace of terrorism or face its bitter consequences in the future. The terrorism it has created will eventually become its destroyer.
I might be labelled a “war-monger”, but with due respect to the Media Complex, many people who work out of Wall St cause much more “mass destruction’ than we give them credit for.
Profiteering from war and the deaths of civilians by pushing in more weapons, more arms and lobbying for more military intervention makes these people as much a terrorist as anybody who drives a explosive laden vehicle into Times Square.
I tend to disagree with you when you say [Begin Quote] “But the right solution in this case is to have both countries – the U.S. and Pakistan – look inward at their own societies and take responsibility for the issues at hand.” [End Quote]
I disagree because. it’s unfair to expect a society to “look inward” when you have drones pointed at you and the country has been used to fight a proxy war for three decades. I don’t think the “people” or “society” of Pakistan need to share the blame. That blame rests squarely on the shoulders of US foreign policy and maybe to some limited extent on the people in government in Pakistan. Over the years the government of Pakistan (and for that matter India) encouraged US dabbling in complex problems of the region.
We must not get into a mode where the status of “victims of terror” is granted to only those people who live west of Turkey – while all other causalities of war are given the status of “collateral damage”.
American media’s chest beating is reminiscent of feudal villages where a crime is a crime and violence is a problem only if it is directed against the people who wield power. They remain completely blind to how they themselves exercise power and violence.
Faisal is not made in Pakistan. If at all he needs to be labelled, he needs to be clearly labelled as “Made entirely by military grade American Foreign Policy”.
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“But the right solution in this case is to have both countries – the U.S. and Pakistan – look inward at their own societies and take responsibility for the issues at hand.”
Kalsoom, When you say US should look inward, are you referring to the occupational nature of US and its impact on the Muslim psyche or something else? Has the American society become less tolerant of Islam and is that whats pushing young educated Muslims to terrorism? I ask because I don’t live in US and would like to know the ground situation.
Thanks in advance.
Hey Aditya, thanks for your comment!
What I meant was that the U.S. needs to understand their role in this self-enforcing phenomenon – While I understand the root cause for stereotyping, profiling, polarization in the media, drone strikes & aggressive policies overseas is, in a large part, a defense policy for national security, many of those policies invariably make the problem worse. It’s not an easy issue to be sure – but if we really are seeing a rise of what the media has dubbed “homegrown terrorism,” we do better by not pushing blame completely on other countries – that is true for both the U.S. and Pakistan. We live in an increasingly interconnected world, and terrorism as a phenomenon that transcends borders.
The news coverage is as expected although still alarming for Pakistanis and Muslims. It would be interesting to know how this man developed his world view, which in its initial and significant stages was developed in Pakistan. Who was giving him his knowledge, what did they say, which views resonated with him, why, which information did he seek out, was this a long term process or did it happen suddenly after a trigger? If it can happen to a priviliged kid like him then it can happen to anyone. We need to better understand how this brainwashing is done. Pointing to Islam or Quran and saying that it teaches bad things is nonsense and lazy. Terrorism is a modern phenomenon and yes a lot of it is coming out of Pakistan so we should look there first.
Dear Chip,
You’re right, there is no clear box in which you can place a would-be terrorist, and say”this is the type of people whom we should look out for”. You have got to understand that people are running scared, and the fact that the assailant may be just about anybody is way more frightening than saying its a particular type of person. So I would say this is about creating some more public assurance.
Having said that, here are my two cents:
1. Pakistan has been involved in the training and support for a large number of violent extremist/terrorist/ targeting civilians over the past 30+ years. As a country, it has provided logistics support for such activities across South Asia (India, Pakistan itself, Afghanistan), middle east (Israel, Palestine) and Europe and the Americas. This does indicate a possible relation of some sort between the education/ civil society structure in Pakistan and its possible role in indoctrinating people.
2. Every bomb blast within Pakistan is met with ineffectual protests by authorities blaming India, US or Israel. There are no investigations, and after a few days, the Cricket team provides a fresh controversy, and attention is diverted.It is possible, that egged on by such false doctrine (similar to the american public were provided false doctrine about WMDs in Iraq), mny Pakistanis think it morally justified to attack civilians in the US. India, Europe, etc (similar to a more structured military assault in Baghdad)
You write a good column: Balanced, nuanced.
Keep up the good work!
The latest bombing scenario in USA involving a Pakistani man is shameful. On one side we are trying everything to combat this menace of terrorism with USA’s help and on one side people like this sabotage the alliance for shameful purposes.
This is not fair to calling him made in Pakistan may be there is some misunderstanding
lol @ the inner thoughts.
Very well-written!
Javed ,
//The Quran is telling us it’s ok, right?//
Wrong. And not MOST our terrorists.
Had Quran sanctioned such stuff , ALL wouldve been terrorists.
//Screw Pakistan and its problems. //
Screw the likes of you sitting abroad shitting about our country on OUR blogs.
Dont want to get into theology.Simply bcoz there is theological support doesnt mean 100% population will go terrorist route.
You need to be courageous(not cope out),
technical/operational training in tactics,
motivated enough to breach the extreme-views-to-terrorist-transition(walk the talk),
need right contacts & get the contacts right
etc to become a successful terrorist.
The kind of disproportionate anti-US,Israel rhetoric seen in Islamic countries..its quite natural that susceptible ppl will buy into BS propaganda.If Muslims define themselves primarily as Muslims first and get worked up on every rape,torture,cartoon happening to “Muslims” of world in every corner & interpret events merely from a Muslim vs Rest optic..
conflict will be endless..
I lov the Iran Green Movement slogan..
“No Gaza, No Lebanon – My life is for Iran”
This should be the optic ..and Leaders of Islamic countries must define their interest primarily in terms of national self-interest than instigating Muslims-vs-Rest conflicts and discard petty fetishes for becoming Amir-ul-Momineen or Khalifa..etc
Good strong read. First time here, but standing up and clapping nevertheless.
OMG you thought the same about this headline. I was about to puke yesterday commuting.
Yes, you deserve credit for this headline – it was because of your text that I saw the cover of the Express – thanks Shamiela!!!
K, as always fun to read, almost as fun as when I went to CNN.com and saw that the headlines were “he didn’t like sunlight” I had visions of wolf bliztzer speaking for 20 mins about what an important insightful clue that was! Haha all he had to do was realize that it was in reference to twilight!
@Natasha it’s a free world, we live where we want and we say what we want on whatever blog that we want. I too live in the US and screw people like Faisal who make my life difficult and screw people like you who don’t see how or why.
I also read in some newspaper “Faisal and his wife often wore muslim clothing.” Now what is muslim clothing, anyone care to tell me? And is the newspaper seriously meaning to imply that the 100 000 people from other countries and religions wear shalwar kameez etc are 1)muslim 2)terrorists?
No beard = no terrorist. Beard = terrorist. Easy.
Aw crap. Now I gotta turn myself in.
It seems like Shahzad was also a Twilight fan, and was most probably Team Edward. Most probably.
Now that makes him a suspect in my eyes.
We must not get into a mode where the status of “victims of terror” is granted to only those people who live west of Turkey – while all other causalities of war are given the status of “collateral damage”.
Your status as a victim has nothing to do with where you live but rather who your attacker was trying to kill. When a car bomb factory is located in a civilian neighborhood and the US bombs that factory, that’s what they’re aiming for. Not the people living nearby. When a jihadi straps on a suicide vest and boards a bus, he’s trying to kill innocent people. That is the difference.
Dude you missed the other headline of the day, “Pakistani gunman sentenced to death for Mumbai attack”.
Look forward to it in tomorrows papers, it was also made in pakistan.
I really enjoyed the comic relief in the article and I fully agree that it is problematic to try to shove him into this boxed stereotype of a terrorist. The media loves these kinds of stories where there is the usual stereotypical terrorist out to get the Americans. That is not to say that what he was allegedly trying to do is excusable. However what needs to be done is that we need to get to the root of the problem and why these “terrorists” are being created. It is too easy to blame a country or an ideology (whether religious or not) for creating these terrorists. It is much more complex than that. I also have reason to believe that the fact that far too much emphasis is being put on the fact that this man is a Pakistani and a Muslim.
* I also have reason to believe that far too much emphasis is being put on the fact that this man is a Pakistani and a Muslim.
Funny interpretations!
However, on a serious note regardless of what one thinks of US foreign policy, it is bewildering how the suspect turned against the very country that was his home, educated him and gave him an opportunity to make something good out of life…i mean why even become a citizen if you so dislike the country…if the his radicalization occurred in short order, what was the role of his circle of influence in discouraging him from the wrong path if they sensed that frustration?
Also this story is so stark because it does not play into the stereotypical narrative of uneducated teenagers being brainwashed…he is a thinking family person, and to boot it all…son of a senior Pakistani air force ex-official…that I think is the one jarring thing about it. If anyone can turn radical, where do you start to prevent it?
Pravar,
I completely agree with u – why do these ppl come to the U.S. if they’re just going to abuse their privileges that they get from living here?
If a person unsuccessfully tries to kill people in the US,the lone superpower in this world, then Pakistani establishment jumps into action and arrests the alleged terrorrist’s relatives and friends.
If 10 people run around killing people in a metropolis like Mumbai, Pakistani establishment hides the lone survivor’s parents and warns the village heads not to speak to the media. It quickly questions India’s claim that those 10 terrorists are Pakistanis in the 1st place! It asks for “evidence” from India.
I cant wait for India’s GDP to surpass that of the US’s….
“But Faisal Shahzad, dear news agencies, can’t be boxed in. ”
Well, even before hearing his name ,when you heard about the news, didnt you know that he would most probably be a Muslim? Aren’t you “boxing him in” yourself?
Tell me honestly..
By “boxing in” I meant profiling him to be uneducated from a poor family, blue collar, etc. Personally, I didn’t assume much because they first thought it was a white guy from the surveillance video – I did pray he wouldn’t be Pakistani though.
Such subtle but systematic agenda- based journalism should not be taken in lighter vein. Our think tanks need to strategically handle this negative journalism before it turns into a disaster in long term for Pakistanis abroad and in Pakistan.
@kalsoom. Why should Pakistan take the responsibility? Faisal was living in USA and he was a citizen of their. The terrorist organizations are taking responsibility. Citizens of Pakistan are peace loving and we don’t take responisbitly of fueling men like faisal.
What about all the charity money that you folks graciously donate to in the name of religion, which funds terror networks across the globe?
goodness!! i wonder what mr. fox news is saying these days. may be it can give you more content on this story.
Ah, you never fail to amuse me, K! Though I agree with you on most parts, I disagree that Pakistan should step forward and take responsibility. The moment FS changed his citizenship, he lost any legal, political, economical tie to PK. Therefore, he’s solely the responsibility of the US.
Other than that, I agree that the US foreign policy is harming more than it’s doing any good. The Bush doctrine is based on militancy versus militancy, but the world is not black and white, and therefore the growing problem ie. radicalization cannot be addressed by bombs and weapons only. But as we have seen in the past, the US will retaliate by a couple of dozen more drone attacks killing innocent people which result in a couple of dozen more radicalized men.
To combat radicalization it is vital for the US to understand and not just use the word ‘ideology’ for mere rhetoric means, that radicalization of any kind is a thought, an idea, an ideology which usually is very deep-rooted, hence very complex – therefore in terms of the current scenario (war on terror), there isn’t a remote chance of winning the war.
Subha,
Citizenship is just a piece of paper. But, History of a person matters more. Dont you think?
Blank,
I never disregarded the importance of FS’s personal history, on the contrary it is the most important thing if we are to understand what drove him to do what he did. I am merely talking about whether I think a country should be apologetic of something its FORMER citizen has done in ANOTHER country.
If he has no connection to Pakistan,then why are ppl associated being arrested in pakistan followin his arrest?Why Pakistan Taliban took responsibility?(credible or not)
He was trying to flee to Pakistan via Dubai after his deed.
He was trained in Pakistan from latest reports coming in(though by bad trainers)
So minimum inference is there are terror training camps giving courses to foreigners for terror acts in home countries and Pakistan is turning a blind eye to visible infrastructure of terror like Mundrike,Bhagawalpur terror campuses and allied spurious “charities”.
Haqqani terror network is opening functioning in Waziristan along side Frontier Corps troops with a parallel admin. Laskhar-e-Taiba is allowed to run charities and aid work though Pak Govt knows the good will&funds accrued by terrorists will spawn more terrorists..Sipah-e-Saiba& its armed wings are patronized by Pak Govt etc are some of the grave War of Terror contributions of pakistan.
“I disagree that Pakistan should step forward and take responsibility. The moment FS changed his citizenship, he lost any legal, political, economical tie to PK. Therefore, he’s solely the responsibility of the US.”
Doesn’t Pakistan has dual citizenship?
Are there any reports in the media whether he kept his Pakistani citizenship or not?
However, I digress. If he has received training in Pakistan then it is Pakistan’s responsibility to ensure the terror infrastructure is dismantled. Nobody is making Pakistan the victim. The fact is had he got this training in North Korea, the onus would have been on NK (provided they were willing to take it) to dismantle the terror infrastructure.
The headline really upset me too, very inflammatory and will definitely not lead to any kind of balanced analysis and reporting. Thanks for the great post!
i went to dawn site, and saw a picture of FS hugging his wife. damn the biwi huma is hot. i cant understand how she married this ugly fuck face. she is one hot item who is going to need a young fit cock to satisfy her as that maaderchold FS wont be seeing her or the family for a very long time. i wish i could meet her and extinguish the heat in her jism!!
Post Faisal Shahzad and Ajmal Kassab scenario has yet again provided Indian hawks to spew venom against Pakistan.
Having gone through most of the posts I dont know how it can be deduced that Faisal Shahzad is a terrorist.
Let us refresh our memory,
1. Pakistani Students picked up by the British Police for suspected links with terroists. No charges were brought or proved. End result they were detained for months and deported.
2. As reported on Al Jazeera channel a few years back, British forces caught red handed planting explosives in Basra. Of course they were released and the story was hushed up.
3. Scores of people detained in Guantanomo who were tortured and were never brought to trial. How do we know if they were terroists?
4. As of now a Pakistani student again detained in Chile. Supposedly he was called to the embassy by some one named Bill. The Pakistani student feeling suspicious contacted the Director of the Institute where he was stuying and also the Pakistani Embassy.
So how can country which has supported dictators and fascist regimes throughout its history(Nicaragua, Pakistan, Chile, Egypt, Iraq, The Middle East, Israel) lecture others on Human Right and Democracy.
What right does this country have on imposing its culture on others especially when this country has the highest crime rate in the world, where rate of children born out wedlock is extremely high and where gambling, prostitution and pornograpgy is also legal. Securing employment cannot be the only criteria of judging a culture. The above mentioned points must also be taken into account.
This country should stop meddling in Pakistani affairs after all it was this super power which promoted the jihadi terrorist culture in out country earlier.
Americans just dont want Pakistanis to set off bombs in their cities. I find that request to be reasonable, even though it comes from American people who like to gamble, visit prostitutes and watch pornography.
Vice Versa, even if these ‘extremist Muhammedans’ wear urbans ,have beard, dont allow women to intermingle with men and have ‘dictatorial’ regimes.
Kalsoom,
I always enjoy your thoughtful articles. But I have several issues with your post. I am not going to organize them into a response, but will list a few thoughts that came into my mind at random.
“Right solution in this case is to have both countries – the U.S. and Pakistan – look inward at their own societies and take responsibility”
1. There will be some action from two sides in the US (a) from security standpoint of strengthening procedures & organizations (b) From societal standpoint of trying to understand this phenomenon. Be frank and tell me, if you hope for any action whatsoever from Pakistan? The point is not who should look inwards, the point is who is likely not ever look inwards.
2. Indonesia, India, Bangladesh have comparable size Muslim population to Pakistan. Egypt, Nigeria, Iran & Turkey though not as much as Pakistan have a large Muslim population. Now be frank and tell me, If some Jihadi is caught in the US, where is he likely to be from? Where is it likely that he went to get terror training? Why?
3. What do you mean when you say that Faisal was “not just made in Pakistan”? I am curious to know, What could possibly be the contribution of the US be in making him a terrorist? US society did not give birth to him, invite him, or compel him to get a US citizenship. Is he really a part of the “US Society” if he travels out of his own free will to the US and becomes a citizen through marriage as late as 2009?
4. I presume that a character of a society is reflected by its attitudes and institutions — attitudes that shape the aspirations of the people and institutions that provide opportunity to achieve what they aspire. What aspect of attitudes and institutions should US introspect, identify as being conducive towards radicalization, and take responsibility for creating such an attitude and institution? What aspect of Pakistani attitudes and institutions are conducive to radicalization?
5. I am reluctantly of the view that the only issue here is the stereotyping of Faisal as a “Pakistani”. The blame of radicalizing him falls completely on the attitudes and institutions in Pakistan. The contribution of the US was access to internet, Money to buy a Nissan SUV, A shop selling propane and petrol, and A crowded place like times square. They can hardly be blamed for that.
6. Yes we can mumble about US foreign policy contributing towards radicalizing the Ummah. By that measure I assume that Jews burning down Germany, Tibetans setting off a few bombs in China and India/Pak/Bangladesh sending terrorists to UK would be completely acceptable & justified.
Tariq-
Thanks for your comments. I can understand your criticism and I’m not blaming the United States – but I do think the rise of “homegrown extremism” in the U.S. is significant – yes Shahzad was trained and radicalized but what were the factors that caused that shift? Was it the drone strike policy or the perception of U.S. relations with the rest of the world?
I am in complete agreement with you – why come to America, enjoy the freedoms of that country, and essentially turn against it? I’m not trying to villify the U.S. but I think some root causes, even if they’re indirect, have to be taken into consideration esp. when we’re looking at the cases of this year alone (Nidal Hassan, Jihad Jane, Headley, etc.). I am just saying that conversation needs to be had.
Tariq, great post. I wish your post could be published by the Pakistani media – this view point needs to be heard.
Several introspections & investigations need to be conducted all around instead of apportioning blame at one source: Pakistan. For example
1. Faisal did *not* set off a bomb as long as he was *not* driving a Nissan. 3 days after buying a Nissan, he sets off the bomb!! The connection between Japanese car companies and terror should be investigated. Also note that Taliban drives Toyota and Benazir was assassinated with a sunroof lever on a Toyota. Coincidence? I think not!!
2. Reliable sources tell me that Faisal visited extremist chat rooms on the Internet. As it is well known, Al Gore invented the Internet. Are Al Gore’s policies to blame?
3. Faisal was US citizen for 1 year, but married for 3 years. That is 300% more influence due to marriage. All married women should introspect about why they cause young mild mannered men to become radicalized.
4. As anyone who has held a tank of Propane and a Can of Petrol in the same time can tell you, the urge to firebomb is unbearable. Why do they sell it in the same shop in the US? That should be introspected.
5. What is it about US universities & companies that attract people from all over the world (some of whom end up setting off bombs?). As any pious cleric will tell you, the temptation is to blame, not the person who acts on the temptation. The temptation to join these Universities and companies, if eliminated, will keep US safe from crime. This should be fixed in the US immediately.
6. Whether Pakistani terror groups “export” terror or whether these groups are contacted by willing recruits for training to “import” terror should be carefully thought about. The fact that irrespective of whether it is import or export, it was done to a Pakistani, should not distract us from this introspection.
7. US society to sit up and take responsibility for their citizens committing terror by arresting them and trying them in a court. Pakistanis will support them in this endeavor, just like we did with Aafiya.
8. Pakistan too will take responsibility like it always has by arresting and trying heads of extremist organizations (Exceptions are good Taliban, Strategic assets, Punjabi groups, Kashmir groups)
9. Why are western Jihadis well educated & from upper middle class? This should be rectified immediately by awarding bulk visas to people from tribal areas who wish to do Jihad.
10. The explanation that many people in Pakistan want to set off bombs in the US and only educated upper middle class people get a visa should not distract us from assuming that educated upper middle class Pakistanis went to US and then US society radicalized them.