September 11 2001 will be remembered for many things, not least of which is the devastation caused by the attacks in New York and Washington and the audacity of the perpetrators. Historians will see it as the date on which a new approach in international politics was ushered in – the ‘war’ on terrorism. This finally filled the post-Cold War vacuum in the world order, defining relations between states and overriding previously insurmountable obstacles between the major powers, such as NATO’s eastward expansion.
However, for many on both sides of the Atlantic, it will also be remembered as the moment at which they woke up to a huge gulf in perceptions and understanding between the west and the Arab world. For them, the fact that the perpetrators of the attacks were western- educated, middle class citizens of traditionally pro-western countries like Saudi Arabia was almost as shocking as the devastation of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
