Our Al Qaeda problem.

• Author: Bennoune, Karima
• Position: Letters to the Editor - Letter to the Editor

I am writing to thank you for addressing the issue of fundamentalist violence--in this case from extremist Muslim groups--in your October issue ("Our Al Qaeda Problem," by Sasha Abramsky). While Abramsky feels strongly about this issue, having been in two cities under attack by such groups, you can imagine how strongly those with roots in communities and countries under ongoing assault by the same groups must feel. As an Algerian American, I am grateful to you for making us think about these issues.

In the wake of the London bombings, some of the Arabic language press began to discuss openly the fascist nature of some of these fundamentalist movements. It is horrifying to watch some on the left soft-pedal what is at stake here. Progressive, secular, and feminist movements in the Arab and Muslim world look to their counterparts in the West both to critique our own governments' policies and to stand in solidarity with them against their own extreme right. We have often failed to do so, falling instead for arguments that these movements are somehow "authentic" or, because they are anti-Western, not to be criticized. This is a tragic mistake.

In a world threatened by Bush and his ilk on one side and his mirror image bin Laden and his ilk on the other, our job is to offer a true progressive alternative.

Thanks for pushing forward this discussion on the left, a discussion that must continue.

Karima Bennoune

Newark, New Jersey

Sasha Abramsky's article serves as a perfect example of how we all, even on the left, are being scared into falling in line with the police-state policies of the "war on...