Daily Times

The liberal elite in the US (typically non-believers or agnostics) has proposed multiple alternative versions for the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. Extreme liberal activists (leftists) sometimes even stretch their imagination to consider these attacks as one of the Israel and US’s joint covert operation for the possession of fossil fuel resources in the Middle East and Central Asia.

Similar views are shared and expressed by numerous Pakistanis, who are generally conservative and fall on the right of the centre. The convergence of these distinct factions, in regarding the US as an evil empire with a concealed imperialistic objective illustrates the universal agreement in conspiracy theories.

The term ‘conspiracy theory’ was first introduced in 1909 but it was included in Oxford English Dictionary as late as 1997. Widespread recognition of these theories came in the 1960s with the assassination of President John F Kennedy, Vietnam War and the advancement in the space technology leading to the landing of man on the moon in 1969.

Generally, conspiracy theories offer an unconventional description of both the current and historical events. The narrative in these theories is relatively simple and uncomplicated. These reveal the identity of the adversarial forces unambiguously and ‘expose’ their spiteful and malevolent objectives by, ostensibly, putting two and two together.

These theories can be categorised as event-focused like the ones about the 9/11 attacks or it can be a systemic conspiracy theory, which explains the plan of some malevolent forces to obtain control of certain countries or regions. The third category is the most complex; super-conspiracy theory focuses on elucidating multiple sub-conspiracies working simultaneously to obtain even more obscure goals.

The study of the conspiracy mindset has helped us understand the psychological and socio-political causes of these theories. It describes the innate tendency of human beings to look for and explore the real motives in any event as described by the Latin adage cui bono, which literally means “as a benefit to whom”.

Conspiracy theories are mind projections — a psychological defence mechanism — in which one’s own unwanted and objectionable thoughts are projected onto others and a person finds comfort and alleviates personal anxiety by blaming others for self-failure.

The phenomenon of pareidolia is also a cause of conspiracism, which defines our genetic propensity to extract a concealed meaning from vague stimuli like our ability to make out the images of faces or words in the clouds. These human instincts, which tend to over-interpret the coincidences first, and then project them avidly, make the process of formulating conspiracy theories and believing in them very likely, impulsive and plausible. It also provides psychological satisfaction and emotional stability at some level to the believers of these theories.

In the Middle East, the ruling elites of the dictatorial regimes particularly encourage and propagate conspiracy theories. It helps them shift the blame of the suffering of their own people to Israel-Palestinian conflict most of the time or to the US-Iraq war and ultimately facilitates them in prolonging their stay in power.

In Pakistan, it is our geographic location, our warm waters of the Arabian Sea, the access to the energy reserves of the Central Asian states and their booming economies that have been a source of many a conspiracy theory. Most of these theories originated with the Russian invasion in Afghanistan and are publicly promoted by many respected and responsible individuals who are, at times, serving the nation in a high official capacity. With their endorsement, the prevalence of these conspiracy theories is rife and is almost regarded as the mainstream perspective of our nation. The conventional international position and outlook, on the other hand, has become the fringe explanation in our society since it is so unpopular and marginalised by the booming conspiracy theory industry.

As a nation we have been led to believe in these fantastic super-conspiracies about the conglomeration of Zionists of Israel, neo-conservatives of the US and the Hindus of India working jointly to neutralise the threat from the nuclear assets (‘Islamic bomb’) of Pakistan and trying to seize control over them. These theories might sound convincing, but they are not going to help us solve our deep-rooted and multi-dimensional crisis. We will have to disengage from these implausible ideas, extricate ourselves from the arms race and focus on competing with other countries in education and learning.

The writer is a freelance columnist residing in the US. He can be reached at skhashmi@yahoo.com