On September 14th, I stood on top of the South tower of the World Trade Centre and watched the sun set over New Jersey. A third of a mile up, nature showed us her disdain as we withstood buffeting winds, but the towers stood unmoved. They continued to offer their solid reassurance, acting as a point of reference as we explored the lofty city of New York over the next few days.

Two years later, the last survivor had already been pulled from the rubble of these latter-day towers of Babel. Citizens of many countries who had put their faith in these earthly wonders, as I did, had their lives destroyed by people whose motives will never fully be known. We are left grief stricken, shocked, disorientated, angry, asking the question “why?”.

We can deduce something from the choice of targets. This was an attack against people of many countries united by their economic system, but the attack was made in the country that was the largest and most enthusiastic supporter of capitalism. It was symbolic in many ways, and suggests that those behind it were attacking a system they saw the negative effect of. Whether these were those disenfranchised by European and American-centred capitalism, or sympathisers of those whose political systems have been ‘influenced’ by the West, makes little difference.

Another reason is even less palatable — because they could. Because in our society, the trust and freedom we have makes us vulnerable.

However we cannot simply present ourselves as victims. We in the West are collectively responsible for much of the economic and political intervention which has, perhaps unwittingly, given rise to resentment against our political and economic system.

As I write this, retaliation against Afghanistan looks likely. But this seems as much because Afghanistan is a convenient target — an unfriendly government, with vastly inferior fire power — as because it is the source of out troubles. Indeed Afghanistan’s current situation is largely a result of it being a battleground for other people’s wars. British troops now face the prospect of being attacked with British weapons — surely a reason for drastic changes to the arms trade.

Even if Osama Bin Laden is behind the recent American tragedy, we cannot look merely to Afghanistan. His personal fortune is largely a product of tabloid journalists’ imaginations — he was a millionaire, but inheritances cannot last for ever — and Afghanistan is not a wealthy country. Funding comes from sympathisers in many countries, both Arab states and closer to home.

In light of this depressing situation, what can we do? It would be arrogant of me to try to tell George W. Bush or Tony Blair what to do, and neither of them are known to read Christis. I would not like to have to make the decisions that they will have to make in the coming months. Despite our living in a “free and democratic” country, our individual efforts can seem irrelevant.

It is important to remember that the motive for many terrorist attacks is not religion, or even fundamentalism, but extremism and the love of violence and evil which bears no resemblance to whichever faith’s name is taken. We must not let the terrorists speak for the vast majority of genuinely peace loving adherents to any religion or denomination. It is also important not to marginalise America because of the anger felt against her attackers. Anger is a natural part of grief, and we must grieve with her.

We must also use this not as an excuse for suspicion of strangers, for jingoism or racism, but as a reason to reach out to people afraid that this will make them unwelcome in our society. Our mission as Christians is to show all people the love of Christ. This does not mean blanket evangelism or treating people as though non-Christian beliefs are an infectious disease, but meeting their real and personal need for friendship, security and welcome.

We can also support the victims and the agencies who work with them. We can work for an end to inequalities between those who live in the West and elsewhere, to prevent the marginalisation that encourages drastic cries for attention. The Americans use the word “normalcy” — normality in the face of crisis, not letting the intended disruption to life take place. There is a lot to be said for refusing to let this cancel out the joy, laughter and good in the world and certainly not to take things out of context. I’m not the most ardent supporter of consumerism, but many travel agents, airline staff and a myriad of other workers would appreciate our confidence in their services and our help in keeping them from redundancy.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we must pray. Pray for peace, justice and the will of God to be done. Pray for guidance and wisdom, for ourselves and our leaders; both Tony Blair and George W. Bush claim to be Christians, so are hopefully receptive to that still small voice of calm. And pray for humankind and our humanity — that we may all recognise our common existence, experience and needs, and not let money, evil or ignorance get in our way.

Alastair Disley

Every issue of Christis includes a letters page. We would love to hear from you. If you have an opinion about this subject or about anything else you read in Christis, write to us at editor@christis.org.uk or put something in our pigeonhole in the SU building.