IX . XI

[3 of 4]...Part 1...Part 2.

I was having breakfast in my serene world, unaware that zero-hour had arrived. I went to my class at 9:30, came back to my dorm afterwards and checked online for the latest news and upon scanning caught three words.

“World. Trade. Crashes.”

“The stock markets are crashing?” was my confused thought.

“Center,” was the fourth unbelievable word that hit me.

I clicked the link and there on the page was a picture of one of the crumbling twin towers.

“No.”

I ran out to the main living room and turned on the TV. The twin towers were no more.

I knew who was responsible. Every fiber in my body knew. It was the scum who had declared war on Americans in 1996, and then masterminded the attacks on the embassies in Africa two years later. His group had attacked a US warship in Yemeni waters in 2000. I knew that he wanted to showcase a grand attack. Perhaps, bombings of multiple airliners over the Pacific and Atlantic or assaulting the enclosed infidel sites in Saudi Arabia. Instead, Osama had struck at the jugular of the American Republic.

Practically all the channels showed gruesome scenes and presented scary scenarios. Some thought that there were more than 10,000 dead. Others differed but still offered numbers in the thousands.

Students started to stream in the living room. They all watched the horror without uttering a word. I left them and went to my room. That morbid picture on the screen, in which so many innocent lives were instantly extinguished, produced a feeling of emptiness.

I checked other websites and came upon a most wretched spectacle. Palestinians were celebrating and passing around sweets. Their euphoric performance made my stomach churn. How demented is a society when it reacts with glee to the slaughter of thousands of innocents? I simply couldn't comprehend the depths of their depravity.

As the day passed, my grief morphed into anger. Anger for those who had carried out, supported, and financed the heinous acts, for those who had rejoiced at the news of the atrocity, and for those who were planning more assaults on the West. For too long the Islamic terrorists had thought of Americans as cowards. For too long the Americans had been at the receiving end of their attacks. For too long the US had done little in response. For too long the majority of the American public had not acknowledged their evil enemies.

At long last, at tremendous personal cost in blood and treasure, the US was awake and furious.

*       *       *       *

The immediate months after 9/11 were quite jarring. An economics professor of ours told us to not believe “the official” version of events. He hinted at some dark conspiracy without illuminating the situation. Sometime later, on a different topic, he told us to not pre-judge communist economies. I stopped listening to his Leftist palaver after that.

Then there were the idiotic doom and gloom scenarios. For example, thousands of American troops dying, millions of Afghanis starving to death, and the war raging on for years and years. The Ayatollah of the Left, Noam Chomsky, was always present to crown the US as the leading terrorist state in the world. Yet, there was a clear-cut choice. America plus the Allies were up against 7th century woman-beating, gay-hating, liberty-crushing Jihadists. After the incredible victory of the American army in less than two months, the credibility of the Left was in a quagmire. The overwhelming majority of Leftists kept on spewing venom at the Americans.

Leftists were not alone. One day, I walked into the living room where two guys were watching some news channel. The program was about the merciless lampooning of Osama in every late night show. One of the guys was very agitated.

“I understand why he makes fun of Osama all the time. It’s because he’s a rotten stinking Jew. But I don’t get why Leno jokes about Osama so much?”

The other guy nodded. I was speechless. I don’t know to whom he charmingly referred to as “a rotten stinking Jew,” though, I was touched to hear him defend a mass-murdering psychopath. A few months later, I would find the same guy laughing heartily at the President Bush pretzel incident. It seemed that no amount of ridicule of the Chimp-in-Chief was too much.

I found out later still that the guy was a member of the Muslim Student Association.

From my experience, the reactions of the Muslims in Canada ranged from indifference to outright support of the Islamic terrorists. It made little sense because these Muslims would never live in an environment with harsh Islamic rules. It’s uncanny how this attitude is shared by most Leftists in the West who proclaim the superiority of Castro’s Cuba or in years past the Great Soviet Russia. Yet, all of them -- similar to most Western Muslims -- are like leeches on the democratic capitalist system.

*       *       *       *

After finishing the exams, it was time for my December trip to Saudi Arabia. As usual, on the flight to the Land of Saud, the passengers are provided customs cards. So, I started to fill one out.

“First Name. Second Name. Third Name. Family Name.” I filled out the entries.

“Nationality.” Pakistani.

Further along, checkboxes for “Single” and “Married.” Single.

“Religion.” I stopped.

“Religion.” I had mindlessly filled out those forms on countless occasions.

“Religion.” Why was it so hard to write the same thing I had written so many times before?

“Religion.” Finally, I wrote down the usual answer: Islam.

The days that followed were unreal.

“The planes were remote controlled by the Americans. That’s why it was easy for them to be slammed into the buildings.”

“They want to start a war to go after Afghanistan.”

“How could Osama pull off 9/11? He is thousands of kilometers away in Afghanistan.”

“The US is the superpower, isn’t it? So, how could supposedly 19 Arabs cause such havoc to such a super country?”

“The US wants to subjugate Muslims.”

That’s just what I heard from my family. The situation was not much different in the newspapers and magazines. Every time the media mentioned Osama in a story, the “who is blamed for 9/11 by Washington” was not far behind.

I was reading through a Pakistani magazine where in the letters section was this gem. “The attacks on 9/11, which we all know were caused by Mossad,...” It was mind-numbing. The Muslim world simply couldn't agree as to who was behind the 9/11 attacks when the plain truth was staring them in the face.

Though, what they could all agree on was a sense of uninhibited joy. Whether it was Americans, Israelis or the tooth fairy that was behind 9/11, they didn't mind the auspicious atrocity.

For example, my dad told us of a blue Saudi in his office right after 9/11.

“He was distressed because he wanted the twin towers to topple sideways for more death and carnage.”

I felt sick. The US, just a decade before, had sent half a million of her finest to save the Saudis from imminent danger. On 9/11, the citadel of the US was attacked, thousands of innocents were murdered, and the ingrate citizens of Arabia were delighted.

Many went a step further and defended the "innocent" Muslims of Afghanistan. Saudi Arabia was one of three countries which not only recognized the Taliban regime but also sympathized with it. The attack on the pure Islamic state of Afghanistan was considered an attack on Islam itself.

It seemed that with a few exceptions the entire Muslim world had gone stark raving mad. Instead of opposing the evil regime of Afghanistan, they openly supported it. There were women in Pakistan who publicly supported the Taliban. That made about as much sense as blacks in favor of the KKK. It felt like being in a lunatic asylum where the US was attacking Muslims and the Taliban were gentle and sinless creatures.

Many Muslims had supported Saddam against the US, more than a decade before 9/11. Why? Because he's a Muslim! Again, the same horrid logic was being used to defend the most wretched and wanted man in the world.

*       *       *       *

The West simply can’t please the Muslim world. The ummah basically manufacture reasons to hate the West. There’s a conspiracy theory to back up each and every grievance for loathing the West. The infidels, in the minds of most Muslims, are out to destroy their communities. However, their very Islamic rules cripple a functioning society. Their one-and-only solution^TM to every perceived problem is more Quran, more aping of Muhammad, more 7th century barbarism - in one word, Islam. That was, and is, by far the loudest force in the Muslim world.

Very few, very precious few, look at the US, and the West in general, and say, “How about emulating those successful folks?” The rest are shocked and ask, “You want the Great Satan and his minions to be our role models!?” That is enough to shut up most liberals in the Muslim world.

I had wondered about many questions that had gone unanswered. After coming to North America, my life was on auto-pilot and I hadn’t given much thought to those questions. Then, 9/11 acted as a catalyst. The thin "Islam means peace" mask was removed and the hideous truth was in the open. No amount of evidence could convince the ummah of America’s innocence.

I left Saudi Arabia for Canada in January 2002. I filled out the Saudi customs card as same as before. The trip was long and arduous.

I walked in my dorm room and firmly shut the door. I was a Muslim no more.

TO BE CONTINUED

Contents

Update
September 11th Remembered by Jay.
A compilation of 9/11 commentary from Lorie Byrd.
In Memory by Cassandra.
Remembering 9/11 by Josh:

I remember watching the smoke and debris pour through the streets like an avalanche. It looked like something from a movie--only the tears and the terror on the faces were real.

The terror was real. Damn you Moore.

Update II
Crossposted to Colbert's Comment's Open Trackback Party.
Four years ago - never forget at CatHouse Chat:

"...Who could do such a terrible, terrible thing?"

Well, now we know, and we are hunting those bastards down like the barbaric animals they are. God indeed help us wipe this scourge from the face of the earth.

With courage, strength and perseverance, we shall.

Update III
Sister Toldjah:

It would be an understatement to say that one of the events that changed all of our lives in a most major way was 9-11. I was in NYC when 9-11 happened. The first plane struck at 8:46 a.m. and during that time, my friend and I were in Rockefeller Ctr...

Read the first comment as well.
Always Remember September 11th 2001 by Ken.
The Political Teen:

We will never, ever forget.

Update IV
Port McClellan:

On a Tuesday morning four years ago, I stood on top of an office building, two blocks from the White House, fuming with rage, watching the Pentagon billow clouds of black smoke. Al Qaeda believed they had achieved a great victory.

Less than a month later, Al Qaeda was reaping the rewards.

Comments

[Romeocat]

Isaac... Wow! Just... WOW! I'm looking forward to your next entry.

Blogrolling you now...And thanks for the TB - I'm returning the favor!

Best,
-- R'cat

[Isaac Schrödinger]

Thanks R'cat.

I should have the fourth and final essay up by the 20th of this month.

This post has all the relevant links if you're interested.

[Romeocat]

ooops! Sorry about the multiple TBs! TPad and I are arguing today, I guess...

-- R'cat

[Isaac Schrödinger]

It happens. Don't sweat it.

We'll just have to live with the mysterious personality of TPad.

[Mr. Snitch!]

Great piece. Yes there are a lot of mixed messages and hypocricy surrounding 9/11.

We've put our own 5 minute video memorial online. No burning buildings, no rubble, no explosions, no speeches, no screeches, no Bin Laden, no bodies. Just a remembrance of some people whose lives were cut short through no fault of their own, with poignant candid snapshots from their lives, with musical background.

http://mistersnitch.blogspot.com/2005/09/our-after-911-site-is-online.html

[Jay]

Excellent post, thank you for sharing it with us.

[Ken Bingham]

Thank you so much for linking to my site. I have recipricated. (c8

[jen]

just incredible...I just finished reading your four-part story and am amazed. thank you so much for your love of America!