POV – Death of Osama bin Laden

By Contributor
May 9th, 2011
Section: Opinions

Although the death of Osama bin Laden elicited a wide variety of reactions, these three students responses each offer a point of view with a personal connection to the issue.

By Mandi Gosling
Opinions Editor

Few people in the world enjoy the luxury of always feeling safe and arguably, I shouldn’t feel entitled to such a naive illusion. Either way, the death of Osama bin Laden reminded me of the day he stole that from me.

On a morning run in midtown Manhattan on Sept. 11, 2001, I stopped to talk with construction workers who were staring a few miles in the distance at the black smoke billowing from one of the towers of the World Trade Center.

Hundreds of sirens blew past us, too many to count, as they told me about an ill-fated airplane. We talked about mechanical problems and pilot errors.  Then we watched as another plane slammed into the second tower.

I don’t remember my reaction really, I think I went numb, but I remember so distinctly the words I heard next.

“That’s no accident, that’s terrorism,” said one of the men.  I knew the word – terrorism – but it felt unfamiliar, like it only belonged in foreign countries. I dismissed his comment at the time, quite sure the whole thing had to be an accident, not intentional, even planned.

From a friend’s 27th floor apartment, I watched both buildings crumble.  I saw people running uptown, away from the smoke and ashes filling the air. As the faint smell of death wafted up my nose, I still felt no fear for my safety, just hollow at such a tragic accident, absolutely unavoidable.

But that evening, more foreign words began to echo from the TV – Taliban, al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden – so weird to pronounce, strange to my ears, each time perforating my sense of safety, which would never be restored.

The news of his death does not restore it so I feel no impulse to celebrate.  The celebrations remind me of the ignorance, born of extremism, which stole my safety in the first place. I will celebrate when we rid the world of extremism and not just the face of it.

By Christiaan Patterson
Staff Reporter

The death of Osama Bin Laden does not mark the end of war on terrorism or invoke peace in our country. If anything, it begins another chapter in which we will have to face in the near future. With every major issue reported, people will concoct their own explanations and conspiracy theories. No matter which idea you choose to believe, bottom line: The bastard is dead.

It may be wrong to celebrate a death of a person, however, do unto others as you want done to yourself is a superbly fitting phrase in this case. After killing thousands of people around the world, this mongrel got exactly what he deserved.

After 9/11, I was angry with Bin Laden and those followers who didn’t have half a brain to think for themselves. The next few years were spent educating myself on Islam and understanding that Muslims were not to be blamed. It was extremist ideals that were the problem. Therefore, in 2006 when I was 19, I joined the Navy in an effort to end his tirade.

Once my service ended, I closely monitored and supported my fellow shipmates and comrades over seas. When the news broke last week, a huge sigh of relief and closure came over me and my military friends. Our efforts were not in vain and we did our jobs remarkably well! The family members of those who perished on 9/11 can finally have a sense of closure and know that justice has been served. Hooyah Navy!

By Mashhoud Salehian
Contributor

Whether the death of one evil man will change the world for the better is uncertain and it is tragic for me to feel comforted by the death of a human being.

But for nearly a decade, the face of one man has overshadowed the beauty and peace of Islam, my religion. It has distracted from its true meaning of submission to God. It has perpetuated an image of terror and hatred which is contrary to what well over one billion Muslims around the world practice and live.

I sincerely hope that his death will mark the beginning of a new era in America and the rest of the world. An era in which words such as Islam, Arab or Middle East will not equal terrorism, but the cry of young men and women for freedom, democracy and equality.

I hope that people will finally realize the terrorists we are fighting are not Muslim terrorists, but rather terrorists who pretend to be Muslim, a dying breed soon to be replaced by a progressive youth who are yearning for the most basic thing that many take for granted – Freedom!

Mashhoud Salehian, 24, is a junior majoring in political science.

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  • Anonymous

    ” I sincerely hope that his death will mark the beginning of a new era in America and the rest of the world. An era in which words such as Islam, Arab or Middle East will not equal terrorism, but the cry of young men and women for freedom, democracy and equality. ”

    Mahoud, you CONveniently left out the following minor details:

    Here are some reasons Islam and democracy are incompatible.
    • Inimical to ‘social freedoms’, demanding that all people obey their 7th century moral codes without question or criticism, under penalty of death.
    • Inimical to ‘man made’ laws, claiming that their laws are given to them by God/Allah and all must obey them, in submission, under penalty of death.
    • Inimical to the ‘social contract’ that is democratic constitutional government, for the people and by the people, in pursuit of ‘life, liberty, and happiness’, as these are ‘man made’ ideas, and to submit to them over Allah’s laws is apostasy, punishable by death.
    • Inimical to the ‘rights of individuals’ to pursue their own ideals and beliefs, freedom of worship, freedom of inquiry of truth, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of artistic expression, freedom of loving other human beings, freedom of choice, freedom of pursuing one’s life with reciprocal respect for others regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity, or sex, as these are our ‘inalienable’ rights; to pursue these may be punishable by death.
    • Inimical to ‘democratic freedoms’ as protected by (man made) constitutional laws agreed upon by social contract to protect the rights of individuals, but in favor of ‘dictatorship’ politics supported by the Ulama with the ultimate goal of imposing a universal Caliphate dictating all society according to (Allah/Mohammad’s) Sharia, where submissive obedience is rigorously mandatory, under penalty of death.
    • Inimical to intellectual ‘secularism’ in all its forms, in education, in philosophical inquiry and discourse, in the sciences, in religious studies, in history studies, in sociological studies, in anthropological studies, in archeology studies, if these are not in concordance with the ‘religious’ teachings of the Koran, except as studies of ‘infidel’ societies to be subdued, conquered for conversion, to pay the jizyah, or be put to death.
    • Inimical to social ‘equality’ of all human beings, especially of the female sex, women kept in oppression as chattel for procreation and sexual gratification of males; as submissively obedient house slaves in violation of the sanctity of their personal humanity, unfree to seek life as they desire but must live in fear of their male masters who will punish them if they disobey, for violating their ‘honor’, with death.

  • Anonymous

    ” But for nearly a decade, the face of one man has overshadowed the beauty and peace of Islam, my religion. It has distracted from its true meaning of submission to God. It has perpetuated an image of terror and hatred which is contrary to what well over one billion Muslims around the world practice and live.”

    You wouldn’t happen to have a Brooklyn Bridge I could buy from you?

    Here is The Religion of Peace doing what they do best:

    http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/index.html#Attacks

  • Directly affected by 9/11

    Mashoud: Didnt Professor Nabulsi (a Muslim) challenge anyone to show him where does it say in the Koran that Islam is a religion of peace? The statement you put forth in class, that you as a Muslim feel even more relief than the 9/11 victims is completely ignorant of how those people felt. Sure, your religion got besmirched but they lost family members, don’t you ever forget that.

    Regards,

    Directly affected by 9/11

  • David the small-L libertarian

    Mandi:

    “The news of his death does not restore it [sense of safety] so I feel no impulse to
    celebrate. The celebrations remind me of the ignorance, born of
    extremism, which stole my safety in the first place. I will celebrate
    when we rid the world of extremism and not just the face of it.”

    So if you don’t achieve your utopian quest for a world free of “ignorance” there’s nothing to celebrate? Our “sense of safety” will ultimately be achieved as a result of a series if smaller victories.

    I find it astounding that you witnessed the fruits of evil first-hand but can’t manage to muster the word [evil]. You seem to equate the celebration of the justice done by the killing of bin Laden with the act planned and executed by him. I have to wonder what the hell’s wrong with you.

    Christiaan:

    “It may be wrong to celebrate a death of a person…”

    No, it isn’t. Not in this case anyway. Thank you for your service to this country.

    Mashhoud:

    “Whether the death of one evil man will change the world for the better is uncertain and it is tragic for me to feel comforted by the death of a human being.”

    Interesting that it took a Muslim to call bin Laden evil. I agree and am comforted as well. Of course, getting rid of him shows that no one can get away with such an attack on our country and that is what we must do.

    “But for nearly a decade, the face of one man has overshadowed the beauty and peace of Islam, my religion. It has distracted from its true meaning of submission to God. It has perpetuated an image of terror and hatred which is contrary to what well over one billion Muslims around the world practice and live.”

    I hope you’re correct. I find it disturbing, however, the large number of people in the Middle East who celebrated the 9/11 attack on the U.S. by cheering in the streets and who support al Qaeda.