Why do they hate America? Americans see themselves as the good guys, but anger at the U.S. seethes in large parts of the world. And it's not without some explanation.

• Author: Vilbig, Peter
• Position: National

THE NEWS FLASHED AROUND THE GLOBE: THE WORLD TRADE CENTER TOWERS HAD COLLAPSED, the Pentagon was burning, and thousands of Americans were dead. The reaction in some corners of the planet was pure joy.

In the streets of Jerusalem, Palestinians angry at America for its support of Israel honked car horns and handed out candies. In Israel's West Bank, Arab teens smiled and pumped their fists in the air. In Baghdad, where Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein fought and lost a war to America in 1991, the state-run television announced: "The American cowboy is reaping the fruits of his crimes against humanity."

For Americans, such reactions seemed incomprehensible. How could a nation that sees itself as the Good Guys inspire such animosity--let alone a hatred so fierce that 19 fanatics would commit suicide in order to kill as many Americans as possible?

Millions of U.S. immigrants, including Arab-Americans, pledge allegiance to their adopted country. But anger at the U.S. seethes in large parts of the world, particularly in Arab states, where conservative Muslims see American values--expressed in cultural exports such as music, television programs, and films--as corrupting their societies. Others see America acting to protect its own economic well-being at the expense of smaller, less powerful nations. Still others resent the coercive effects of America's military might and its support of undemocratic governments.

"They don't see us as we see us," says Jon B. Alterman, a Mideast expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington. "We see us as about freedom, individualism, providing opportunity for people from all over. Overseas, we're seen as arrogant, we're seen as huddling behind the high walls of embassies, as supporting corrupt regimes, and as being utterly indifferent to Arab suffering."

AMERICA: BEACON OF HOPE OR A CORRUPTING INFLUENCE?

The killers who acted September 11 are believed to have been operatives of Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian millionaire and terrorist leader, who has vowed to conduct an Islamic jihad, or "holy war," against the U.S. (see "America's Most Wanted," page 14).

Islam, with more than a billion adherents worldwide, is second in size only to Christianity. It shares many traditions with Christianity and Judaism, including a belief in Abraham and other biblical prophets. Bin Laden follows its most extreme, fundamentalist form, which insists on a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Bin Laden's call for a holy war comes out of that view. In that radical...