In this week’s piece, Saudi Asharq Alawsat columnist Mshari Al-Zaydi really laces into those who find relief in conspiracy theories. While he doesn’t avoid mentioning those in the West who hold peculiar beliefs, his target is Arabs who take the easy way out in assessing situations, who just assume that there’s a ‘hidden hand’ pulling all the strings and it could never, ever, come down to a matter of accepting responsibility. As we approach the 8th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedies, Al-Zaydi reminds us of the ideas floating around that try to excuse or exclude Arab and Muslim culpability. Some of these are new to me—7th Day Adventists?!—but all hold as much merit as an alternative he offers: Blue Djinn. This is a good column.
They Feed Our Illusions
Mshari Al-ZaydiThose who carried out the 11 September 2001 attacks, were they extremist Serbian nationalists, no it was the Israeli Mossad, no, pardon me, it was a US group of Seventh Day Adventists! Not at all, the one who carried out the terrible attacks was the US Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]!
The suggestions and imaginary illusions continue to pour in the direction of evading the real consequences of the reality, which is that those who carried out the 11 September attacks were Muslim youths who believe in a hard-line interpretation of Islam, who are led by Osama Bin Laden, and who are encouraged and were then encouraged by millions of Muslims.
The idea that the Serbs were the ones who carried out the 11 September attacks to take revenge for US interference in the Serbs’ war against Bosnia and the Croats was pronounced by Hasanayn Haykal, symbol of Arab political journalists who follow the pan-Arab direction. He said it days after the explosions took place (Lebanese Al-Safir newspaper 1 October 2001).
The idea that the attacks were carried out by the Israeli Mossad (the source of all evils and mysterious events that some people do not have the stamina to investigate and scrutinize) was suggested by the Islamist writer Fahmi Huwaydi, who believed that Al-Qaeda could not carry out such an operation, but the Mossad could (Kuwaiti Al-Watan newspaper 25 September 2001).
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September:09:2009 - 10:59
Dismissing conspiring theories just takes old fashion common sense.
I do not want to get into some “pscho-babble” but conspiracy theories seem to only occur when there is lack of transparency to a tragic event, from JFK to 9/11 to the off the wall theory that Free Masons run the world. Again, a tragic event without a lot answers to a major tragedy leads to a lot of theories—and some crazy ones too!
I really do not think that conspiracy theories are going away anytime soon, especially 9/11 where specific groups have been stigmatized as “evil”.
September:09:2009 - 11:40
It’s not just a lack of transparency behind conspiracy theories. Sometimes there just isn’t complete information available, no matter how hard or long one looks, say because a critical witness dies. Sometimes, too, it’s that the simple explanation isn’t sufficient for some people’s minds. They want major acts to have major causes and simply reject arguments that point to simpler things: a lone assassin or a conspiracy? It seems that the more emotional import people put into events, the more complicated they want the explanation.
Bad things happen. Sometimes they’re just bad things happening, with no larger meaning to the world at large, but significant to the ones involved.
September:09:2009 - 14:32
How much of an impact does Al-Zaydi make? Read the letters: A few words of agreement, followed by letters insisting that he talk about the crimes of America and Zionism instead, including the question, “how the Jews were not present in the places of the bombings and told them so?”
That from an educated person, a geologist! They can’t realize that their very comments are a symptom of the disease Al-Zaydi writes of. I suppose, then, that this column will make little or no popular impact.
September:10:2009 - 04:16
Very smart people can believe very dumb things. I worked with a guy–in the USG, this is–who was convinced of the ‘black helicopters’ meme. The JFK assassination is still considered by many to be ‘fishy’.
As for Al-Zaydi’s impact? I think that the fact that he writes his columns for the largest-circulating Arabic language paper in the world suggests he has impact. Even if the comments to the paper are off the wall, he’s impacting at least them, even if not convincing them. Besides, how many people bother to write letters to newspaper or leave comments on websites? It’s a minuscule portion of the readers.
September:10:2009 - 06:57
Well, my PhD in cellular molecular genetics friend believes in Astrology (not the silly newspaper kind, the depth astrology) and consults it about all major life decisions. It now has fed her desire to disbelieve her daughter’s diagnosis of a specific learning disability that was done by reliable standard testing by a PhD psychologist, and would explain her Cs and Ds despite extensive tutoring. Go figure.
Serious conspiracy theorists can find an objection to any proof and keep a theory going forever. That others give them credibility is the concern, like mainstream media giving credence to the Birthists still trying to get Obama out of office in the belief that he was secretly born in Kenya, and falsified Hawaiian documents. The energy would be better spent in going campaigning on the issues in the next elections, but they are too attached to their birthing theories to realize that. Or may be they are right, because all African foreign students who are married with children at home, and from a Muslim family, who are bonking a young white girl, really want to bring her home to their 3rd world country where news travels faster than most other places, so everyone including wife, children, parents, etc can know about it. Especially when neither student has any money, and can ill afford return airfares Hawaii-Kenya. Of course all the African students I knew were most concerned that the white girl not get pregnant, and abort if she did, or just handle it on her own, but that would be reality interfering again.
September:10:2009 - 07:28
Just keep reminding yourself that half the people in the world are below average…
September:10:2009 - 09:34
John–LOL
yes and the other half are watching CNN LOL 
September:10:2009 - 21:56
I suppose my initial reaction underrated Mr. Al-Zaydi. Reading him a second time it is clear that his analysis is deep, makes difficult value judgments, and offers a clear way to self-assessment through the fog of self-denial that afflicts the Arab soul:
So no matter what lie is used to cover up the past, a kind of cultural truth – call it an informed race prejudice or justifiable stereotype – remains in the present day which is unchanged and visible if one is willing to look. Arabs are still Arabs, no matter what, and Arabs still have plenty of problems. And Arabs should face them squarely because by not doing so they are hurting themselves over and over.
I feel I agree with Al-Zaydi that by facing up to the truth the bitterness behind every Arab accusation will eventually subside, leading to cultural efforts that are more constructive rather than destructive in nature. But how many Arabs actually desire this?