Muslims listening to only one man

By ROBERT FISK

CAIRO - George W. Bush and Tony Blair may tell the world they are going to win the "war against terrorism" but in the Middle East, where Osama bin Laden is acquiring almost mythic status among Arabs, they have already lost.

Whether it be a Lebanese minister, a Jordanian bank clerk or an Egyptian resident, the response is always the same: bin Laden's voice, repeatedly beamed into millions of homes, articulates the demands, grievances and fury of Middle East Muslims who have seen their pro-Western presidents and kings and princes wriggling out of any serious criticism of the Anglo-American bombardment of Afghanistan.

Arabs hear a voice which accuses the West of double standards, a voice which addresses the central issue in the lives of so many Arabs: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the continuation of Israeli occupation.

As a long-time resident of Cairo put it yesterday, Arabs believe America "is trying to kill the one man ready to tell the truth".

Arab civilians, usually uneasy about identifying themselves when their views conflict with their Government, are now speaking more freely about their anger.

"They say their target is bin Laden," said Jordanian Samar al-Naji, a bank clerk and, at 29, hardly a seasoned politician. "Then they strike at innocent people in Afghanistan.

"They strike Muslims while ignoring the acts of Israel, the terrorist state which is demolishing Palestinian homes and killing women and children."

In the Nile delta town of Zagazig, students went to the heart of the problem in all pro-Western Arab regimes. "Our rulers, why are you silent?" they chanted. "Have you got orders from America?"

This is rubbish, of course. Rulers of what we like to call "moderate" Arab states don't need orders to give their discreet support to the West.

The Lebanese Information Minister, Ghazi Aridi, regards bin Laden's videotape as "a stroke of intelligence".

There was, he said, "an international incitement against one person. If he is killed, he will become a symbol and if he survives he will become a stronger symbol."

-

INDEPENDENT