Was the cause of 9/11 Islam or foreign policy? George W. Bush has taken a stand on the true nature of Islam, calling it, for example, a "religion of peace." Strange as it is to hear the president of the United States, Bush's statements have given rise to a number of useful public discussions about Islam. Unfortunately, this discussion has too often accepted the confusing terms of the president's rhetoric: Is there or isn't something wrong with the nature of Islam? Salman Rushdie (“Yes, This is About Islam,” New York Times 11/2/01) and Jonathan Ebel (“The Land Is Not the Mind,” Sightings 11/15/01) both make some helpful points in the adoption process the issue, but they somehow leave in place the president's underlying misconception that a religion has an essence. It's definitely not right to say that 9/11 is about "Islam." Violent hatred and intolerance can be alleged in too many corners of the religious world to imagine that they arise, simply, from the doctrines of this or that holy book. At the same time, I find it difficult to blame Salman Rushdie in particular for sensing something in today's Islam that is prone to violence. After all, his literary, nonviolent attack on Islam was interpreted by some Muslims as justification for real threats to his life. And it provides some reasonable evidence that many Muslims believe Islam is in league with the 9/11 terrorists. However, we should not declare that 9/11 is “about Islam, especially if this means that we ignore “foreign policy, humanity, global society and its just ordering” – which according to Ebel are obviously also what “ it's about" 9/11. Ebel's list implies that a broader, broader causal story needs to be told, rather than simply saying that Islam gave us the horrors of 9/11. I agree with wholeheartedly. Believing in an overly simplistic causal story carries both moral and practical flaws. If Islam itself – or something in its nature – were the cause of the attacks, we could prevent further attacks only by preventing further Islam such a simplistic belief would tend to sanction persecution if not outright genocide against Muslims. From a practical standpoint, we will need to understand the details of the true long-term causal story if we wish to minimize the threat of repeated terrorism in America...