WASHINGTON -- There is an interesting byproduct of the Sept. 11 attacks that seems to be sweeping the country: In universities and the media, people are learning about al-Qaida and its religious philosophy.
There is a tendency in our country, particularly among academics, to treat all beliefs as worthy of equal merit. It is a type of intellectual relativism that ignores the obvious in favor of the inquiry.
The sudden interest in the core beliefs of al-Qaida and similar groups appears entirely the result of their success in killing a great number of people. Yet any mental defective with enough money and maniacs at his disposal can kill large numbers of innocent people. There are no similar symposia looking into other fringe groups with different "causes" that, while equally bizarre, have proved insufficiently lethal to be taken seriously.
It takes something more than blowing up buildings to be taken seriously. If anything, academic panels and television programs may be taking the teachings of al-Qaida too seriously.
Al-Qaida is a serious threat to safety but not a serious intellectual movement. Simply increasing the number of dullards who embrace a view does not suddenly transform those beliefs from the moronic to the meaningful. Intelligence is not cumulative; the net intellectual level remains the same regardless of how many half-wits you stuff into a room. When one half-wit joins another half-wit, they do not form a "wit" but merely the beginning of a crowd of half-wits.
Just as there is danger in underestimating their desire for mass killings, there is also danger of over-thinking the significance of al-Qaida and similar groups. Rather than justify mass killing for money or thrills, they justify their acts in the name of religion or nationalism. I fail to see the significance.
There is a strange need to give substance to a group that caused such great pain in order to justify its effect on our lives. In reality, a close examination of these individuals hardly inspires awe in their intellectual prowess. Take Zacarias Moussaoui, who was caught when he told a Minnesota flight school that he was not interested in learning how to land a plane, only how to steer it. What is amazing is that this is one of al-Qaida's graduates. Reports indicate al-Qaida only takes the top 10 percent from its terrorist schools. What does it take to flunk out of suicide bomber school?
