SENTINEL WATCH August 18, 2008 Issue

TO DEFEAT THE MERCHANTS OF FEAR

ROSALIE E. DUNBAR

FOR MOST OF US, the daily routine is seldom interrupted by violence or terrorism. We go to work or about our errands, never doubting that we'll get home safely that night. And this is as it should be. But in a Canadian courtroom a few months ago, e-mail evidence presented in the trial of a man accused of terrorist acts showed the importance of continuing to pray not just for the general health of a nation's economic system but also for its protection from terrorist threats.

Three years ago, Momin Khawaja, who is facing seven charges of financing and facilitating terrorism, sent messages to his ex-fiancee, claiming that the US was leading a plot to plunder the wealth of Muslims and even wipe out whole countries. He called for an "economic J[ihad]" against the Western countries "until they cripple and fall, never to rise again" ("Disputed email about economic jihad allowed at terrorism trial: judge," The Canadian Press, July 14, 2008).

These words revealed a distinct fear of the West, possibly whipped up by fanatical teaching. They echo the hatred toward the US expressed by Osama bin Laden after the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. Such threats and actions tend to revive fear and even hatred, especially toward Muslims, which is an unfortunate side effect.

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