Is your name on a terrorist list?

The United States issued its first "terrorist list" after the September 11 attacks. Several Arab nations have now joined in with their own, often even without encouragement from the West.

Every time a new Arab "terrorist list" is issued, I quiver with fear at the possibility I have been included. Acts, opinions and even "undisclosed intentions" can get you added.

I am one of those haunted by the quest for freedom, resisting tyranny and liberating Palestine. I do not believe in normalised relations with Israel, nor do I recognise any Arab-Israeli agreements. I support the fair distribution of Arab wealth and I believe that unity is impossible under current Arab regimes.

All this may be considered enough to get you on a list.

Fortunately, I have not yet been condemned.

I do not understand why the Arab "lists of shame" do not include Zionist terrorists such as Netanyahu and Lieberman.

But the Arab lists grow longer. They are beginning to include categories of people the US, Israel and the West do not - such as the Muslim Brotherhood group, which is known for its peaceful ways and popularity among Arabs.

The group has 100 million members in more than 72 countries. Add the Brotherhood to a "terrorism list" and you have 100 million new terrorists. How can you classify so many people in such a way?

Even stranger is that the US and other Western countries have started reconsidering the "terrorist character" of some entities on their lists, such as Hizballah.

I do not understand why the Arab "lists of shame" do not include suited terrorists such as Binyamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman, or even the entire Israeli state with its rabbis and settlers who promote terrorism every day, committing atrocious massacres against Palestinians and Arabs in plain sight.

People have their own lists of those who shed their blood and suppress their dreams. These lists grow longer with every massacre. The people can easily identify "terrorism", especially by regimes who master the art of torture and repression. The people know.

Let there be a rebellion against the twisted "terrorist lists", that without shame classify all Arab peoples as "terrorists".

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of al-Araby al-Jadeed, its editorial board or staff.