By Yusuf Kanli
TDN- No one, neither citizens of civilized societies nor members of murderous gangs, can forget the Sept. 11, 2002 tragedy which, according to many philosophers, has almost totally altered every previously held perception and has became a landmark in human affairs. Immediately following the tragedy, everyone was commenting that nothing would be the same after all that had been experienced. Indeed, in today's security-obsessed world which is facing a further heightened threat of international terrorism, nothing is like pre-9/11.
9/11 was such a gigantic "success" for the heinous bandits that despite the relative security atmosphere in the United States thanks to heightened security measures, the Patriot Act, enhanced screening processes and such methods, a well-placed intelligence source cautioned in a recent discussion that indeed the threat was at unpredictable levels.
"9/11 was such a huge success for the terrorists -- both in size as well as impact on American and world peoples -- that any attack on the United States ought to be at least of that caliber. That's the task the terrorists are facing because anything less than that would ruin their 'image.' This is the disadvantage of the terrorists and the enormous threat we are facing," he said.
From this perspective the intelligence source was perhaps right in warning that vigilance must be maintained against an attempt by terrorists to stage an attack that would have at least no less of an impact than that of 9/11.
But how long will the world continue to live with such a security-obsessed psychology, which has started transforming societies into schizophrenic masses? The world indeed changed with the 9/11 tragedy. With patriot acts and heightened security measures, suspicions taking form against "foreigners" are erecting barriers between peoples. Is this what we are trying to do, or was this what the perpetrators of the horrific 9/11 attacks were aiming to achieve? We shouldn't let the perpetrators of 9/11 achieve their goal of igniting a clash of civilizations.
Traveling to United States in the post-9/11 period has become a nightmare for all non-U.S. citizens, and developments indicate that Europe is soon likely to become off-limits to Muslims. The murder of a prominent Dutch film director by some Islamist extremists just because he directed a film on the perceived sufferings of Muslim women has ignited a wave of "Islamophobia" and enmity -- initially in Holland but which now is apparently spreading across Europe.
Yesterday morning, vandals firebombed a Turkish mosque in the southwestern German town of Sinsheim, near Heidelberg, incinerating the front door of the building before it was extinguished.
No one was killed in the attack, which was apparently carried out immediately after morning prayers, and the damage to the building was limited to the charred door, thanks to a woman living in the building who was able to douse the flames with water.
Rather than trying to find plausible excuses for stalling Turkey's European Union accession talks, European statesmen should instead wake up and see the rising xenophobia and Islamophobia in their societies and take immediate steps before the old continent plunges into yet another racial catastrophe.