On September 11, 2001, four commercial planes were hijacked. Two were flown into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. One was flown into the Pentagon Building in Washington, D.C., and one crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. All on board the planes were killed. Thousands on the ground died.
The United Nations called the orchestrated attacks a "crime against humanity." Then United States President George Bush, and other world leaders condemned the perpetrators as terrorists. Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, asserted the attacks were part of a holy war, done in the name of the Islamic god, Allah.

The Al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001, were not the first acts of terrorism committed in the United States or on the world scene. Terrorist attacks have been used by political and religious extremists to achieve their goals for the past several decades. In Ireland, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) has killed thousands of people in Great Britain and Ireland. In Palestine, the PLO has attacked Israeli leaders and their supporters, causing a tremendous amount of loss of life and property.

According to postmodernism, there is no absolute moral standard by which any act of terrorism can be condemned as wrong. Likewise, no terrorist act can be said to be just or good.

To understand the influence of postmodernism on our culture, use the internet to find statements by political leaders and/or cultural figures condemning or condoning the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Find two statements by those condemning (against) the attacks.

Find two statements by those condoning (for) the attacks.

List the 4 quotes in the box below. Beside each quote identify and explain whether or not the judgment was made according to an absolute moral standard or not.

"These acts are without any justification whatever and the full force of the law will be used against those who do them." _ Tony Blair, British P.M
"These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong.:- George Bush, American President.

What is Postmodernism?

This refers to the movement that focuses on the reality of individuals and also the lack of an absolute moral standard.

The statements by people that condoned the attacks were the terrorists themselves which were Al Qaeda and their affiliate networks who celebrated in their "holy jihad".

There was no use of an absolute moral standard because the justification for the attacks was that America was the "Great Satan" who needed to be destroyed.