What’s in a name? Al-Qaida is not al-Qaeda [Archives:2002/52/Focus]

BY SHAKER AL-ASHWAL
FOR THE YEMEN TIMES
Our car cruised nicely along a straight road on a flat valley surrounded by grayish mountains. Except for the green tees that lined the road, the land was dry and not much vegetation was growing around. A group of camels gathered around a small grassy area, but the speed of the car prevented me from taking a snap shot of the scene.
The car slowed down as several cars ahead of us were checked by soldiers. Soon enough it was our turn. The soldiers looked inside the car quickly and motioned to us to move and the driver did. Look! Look! To the right Ali yelled; the small sign, he added. I looked at the sign and understood what he wanted me to see it. The sign itself was not that attractive it was a small sign held by a rusty rod and on it I read “Welcome to Al-Qaida.” I smiled because I was familiar with “Al-Qaida,” the town lying on the border between the provinces of Taiz and Ibb.
The car climbed a steep hill and followed the curvature of the road leading to “Al-Qaida.” We drove past a barrel placed by traffic officers on the road to guide traffic; 30 yards later we came to a quick stop. Having heard so much about “Al-Qaida” lately I allowed myself to sink into a state of confusion. The word “Al-Qaida” had acquired a different meaning lately, and along with it a negative connotation. Nowadays, “Al-Qaida” refers to the mother of all terrorist organizations and headed by the number one suspect sought by the U.S. today, Osama Bin Laden.
As our car entered Al-Qaida, the town, there was no evidence of “Talibans” here, few people walked around carrying Kalashnikovs but they were carrying bags of vegetables and produce. These people definitely did not look threatening, nor did they look like they were in control of this town. Uniformed officers were walking around, directing traffic and observing the law of this land. Many people had facial hair, but the beards were not long I counted four people in the area with Taliban-like beards, the rest had beards that did not exceed one-inch in length. Although it shares the name with the now-famous Al-Qaeda the people here are no Osama fans or Taliban followers.
Apart from those with beards and some facial hair that characterize Middle Eastern society, the rest of the people belonging to this “Al-Qaida” look normal enough to erase any suspicion. Where is Osama? My friend asked a street peddler, who was moving near our creeping car selling some tomatoes to feed his children, “Osama! Who?” he asked us. I said to myself this is no Osama territory. He probably has some fans here like he does in many places but this Al-Qaida is not a hub for Osama or the Talibans. Groups of girls were walking wearing their uniforms and heading home from school, this is definitely no Taliban land. Al-Qaida is but a small town whose only crime is its name.
The Arabic language is about to suffer a loss of one of its words, that word is, you know it, Al-Qaida. Al-Qaida also spelled Al-Qaeda means a base, and it was a commonly used word until September 11, 2001. It was then that it became sinful, and suspicious to use the word, however, Al-Qaida residents in Yemen are hoping that they will be able to keep the name. Although westerners use it freely Arabs and Muslims including Yemenis have censored themselves and stopped using it for fear of mistaken association with Osama’s Al-Qaeda. The continued war on Al-Qaeda the Bush’s number one enemy may push them to change their town’s name to avoid being hit by a misguided cluster bomb seeking the other Al-Qaeda and becoming “collateral damage” in the war against terrorism.
People now are quick to qualify the word “Al-Qaida” in Yemen with the word “town” immediately adjacent to it to avoid any confusion. Yemenis in the United States have stopped talking about that town or referring to it knowing that their phones could be tapped. I wonder if some American Yemenis have stopped investing in “Al-Qaida”, the town for fear that their investment could be interpreted as support of Osama’s Al-Qaeda.
The traffic at the intersection was merging, but it was not just the cars, people too were walking with the slow moving cars, some put their hands on the cars ordering the cars to stop while they walked across the street. An unbelievable mix of elements on the road that would surely arouse the interest of any artist who is looking for subjects and ideas.
My bewilderment was abruptly ended by the loud horn coming from a car trying to squeeze through the constricted space created by that chaos. Seconds later the most annoying symphony was produced by the vehicles as their horns began to compete for attention. This was a typical Yemeni market; people come here from nearby villages to sell their produce and buy what they need. Most of the shoppers appeared to be villagers who come to this old and famous market to get what they need and return to their villages.
You can buy everything you need here, vegetables, fruits, meet, sweets and especially made goat cheese, that is what this Al-Qaida is famous for.
Knowing the suspicion surrounding “Al-Qaida” I was not going to go around and shop there, and I had to live with missing out on the famous Al-Qaida sweet known as “mushabek.”
Historically, “Al-Qaida” has served as an important market that linked various parts of Yemen. Products used to be transported to “Al-Qaida” from Aden to be in turn sold to merchants from other parts of Yemen. It has remained an important market for the nearby areas and a must-pass-through town as it lies on the main road linking some of the main cities of Yemen.
“Al-Qaida” residents are still brave to hold on to the name of their town, despite the anger it arouses in the U.S. administration and in everyone at war with terrorism. I hope U.S. CIA drones will not bombard that nice villa on the hill thinking it’s Osama’s for he has no residence in this town.
My observations confirmed that this “Al-Qaida” is a Yemeni town like the rest of Yemen full of peaceful people buying and selling and surviving striving for a normal life like the rest of us. Like the rest of Yemen it is keeping a low profile and hoping that this mistaken association with terrorism fades to reveal the true spirit of a striving nation for peace and normalcy in these crazy times.
This town exemplifies how the brush of terrorism, first picked up by the terrorists known as Al-Qaeda, and now in the hands of the U.S. administration, has tainted everything and everyone of Middle Eastern association or origin.


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