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by Seth G. Jones

From time to time Ethics Newsline® publishes timely guest commentaries. This week’s piece comes to us from Seth G. Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation and author, most recently, of In the Graveyard of Empires: America’s War in Afghanistan (W.W. Norton, forthcoming). Dr. Jones recently returned from several weeks in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, are part of a disturbing trend across the Muslim world of groups that target civilians in the name of Islam. Less visible to Western eyes, but potentially just as significant, is a growing backlash among Muslims who condemn such attacks as unethical.

The Mumbai perpetrators arrived by boat and launched small-arms assaults over a two-mile radius against civilian targets: several prominent hotels, a café, a hospital, a Jewish Center, the city’s main commuter rail station, and a range of smaller targets. Sajjad Karim, a British member of the European Parliament, was at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel when a gunman burst into the hotel foyer. “He was standing there with a big automatic machine-gun type of weapon,” Karim said. “And he just lifted it up and started firing it at us.” The senselessness of the act was incomprehensible.

But the attacks should not be viewed in isolation. They are part of a broader array of terrorist incidents that have jolted India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and numerous other countries. Terrorism is so pervasive across South Asia and the Near East that the region accounts for 87 percent of all attacks globally that led to casualties, according to a study by the U.S. government’s National Counterterrorism Center in early 2008.

One of the results of this wave, however, is a growing debate within the Muslim community about terrorism and the ethics of targeting civilians. There appears to be renewed acceptance of the principle that such activity is fundamentally unethical and immoral.

In India, throngs of Muslims have demonstrated against the attacks, holding aloft banners with slogans such as “Killers of Innocents are Enemies of Islam.” Several Muslim clerics harshly condemned the Mumbai attacks, including Maulana Abul Irfan Mian Farangi Mahali, a prominent cleric from the northern city of Lucknow. He stated that the terrorists should not be called legitimate followers of any religion, including Islam, and that terrorism is an act of cowardice. Killing innocent civilians of any faith is unethical and cannot be justified in Islam or any religion.

In addition, Mumbai’s top Muslim clerics vowed to block the burial of the nine attackers killed during the fighting with Indian forces, declaring their acts an affront to Islam. “Such demons — they will not find an inch of land in any Muslim cemetery,” remarked Maulana Sayed Moinuddin Ahsraf, secretary of the All-India Sunni Jamiat-ulema.

This backlash also has begun to confound al Qa’ida. One of the most prominent critics of al Qa’ida and its practices is Sayyid Imam al-Sharif, better known as Dr. Fadl. He is the former leader of the Egyptian terrorist group al Jihad and was a close associate of al Qa’ida’s deputy leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In late 2007, in a major break with the past, Dr. Fadl published a book from his prison cell in Egypt calling for an end to jihad in the West and in Muslim countries. “We are prohibited from committing aggression,” he wrote.

In his book, Rationalizing Jihad in Egypt and the World, Dr. Fadl argues that “there is nothing that invokes the anger of God and His wrath like the unwarranted spilling of blood and wrecking of property.” He characterizes terrorism as unethical and illegal under Islamic law, and contends that the “blowing up of hotels, buildings, and public transportation” is not permitted under Islam.

This backlash from Dr. Fadl and a handful of Muslim clerics has not been confined to a few prominent figures. Public opinion polls suggest a notable — and growing — support base for this wave within the Muslim world. Polling data from a 2008 report released by the Pew Research Center shows declining support among Muslims for both terrorism and al Qa’ida. Since 2002, there has been a major decline in the percentage of respondents saying that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilians are justified to defend Islam from its enemies. In 2002, for example, three-quarters of Lebanese Muslims said such attacks could often or sometimes be justified. Today, only one-third say they can be justified.

Opinions about Osama bin Laden have followed a similar trend. Three years ago, nearly two-thirds of Jordanian Muslims voiced at least some confidence in the al Qa’ida leader. Today, just 19 percent have a positive view of him. In 2003, 20 percent of Lebanese Muslims and 15 percent of Turkish Muslims had positive views of bin Laden. Today, bin Laden’s ratings have plummeted to 3 percent in Turkey and 2 percent in Lebanon.

The extent of any backlash, however, is unclear. The voices of Muslims who denounce terrorism have received scant attention in the Western press. And it is apparent that many who may wish to publicly denounce terrorism have not, fearing retribution. Prominent clerics in Afghanistan and Pakistan, for example, have been killed for publicly condemning the Taliban as unethical and un-Islamic for targeting civilians.

Nevertheless, the trend is unmistakable. The attacks in Mumbai offer a window of opportunity for people from all religions to condemn terrorism in all of its forms as unethical and contrary to basic human dignity. And given their excessive gruesomeness, these recent attacks may ironically make it easier for ordinary Muslims to condemn those who to try to hijack Islam to further their extremist agendas.

©2008 Institute for Global Ethics

Questions or comments? Write to newsline@globalethics.org.

“It is just so huge, to get this turnaround. Afghanistan was under a lot of pressure from the United States. If Afghanistan can withstand the pressure, so can others.”

– Thomas Nash, coordinator of the Cluster Bomb Coalition, quoted by the Associated Press in an article marking last week’s signing by more than 90 nations, including surprise signatory Afghanistan, of a treaty banning cluster bombs.

The treaty, which must be ratified by 30 countries before taking effect, is opposed by Russia and the United States, which says banning cluster bombs will imperil military operations.

Advocacy group Handicap International “says 98 percent of cluster-bomb victims are civilians, and 27 percent are children,” reports the AP. The article notes that “cluster bomblets are packed by the hundreds into artillery shells, bombs or missiles, which scatter them over vast areas. Some fail to explode immediately. The unexploded bomblets can then lie dormant for years until they are disturbed, often by children attracted by their small size and bright colors.”

Source: AP, Dec. 3.

Car company CEOs, smarting from slap-down for taking luxury private jets to seek Washington bailout, return to Capital in fuel-efficient hybrids

WASHINGTON and DETROIT
December traditionally marks not only the holiday gift-giving season but also big end-of-year bonus checks for corporate CEOs — a tradition that may be curtailed amid this year’s ethics controversies over executive compensation.

BusinessWeek’s Ben Steverman reports: “As corporate boards begin discussing 2008 bonus awards, it is a near certainty that U.S. CEOs will get smaller checks — and many will not get bonuses at all. To blame are the plunge in the stock market, the financial crisis, the downturn in the economy, and also an environment that makes hefty bonuses toxic in the arena of public opinion.”

One boss who did not get the memo was Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain, who was blasted widely on Monday for seeking a $10 million bonus during a year in which his firm sustained massive losses and appeared to narrowly avoid collapse only by being bought out by Bank of America. Late Monday, Thain apparently dropped his request, reports CNN.

Executive compensation has been at the center of debates over the morality of rewarding executives whose companies have performed poorly.

Some of those foundering firms, such as many banks and the major U.S. car companies, have asked lawmakers for a taxpayer-funded bailout.

As Washington moves toward finalizing some sort of bailout package for automakers, the Detroit Free Press and the Financial Times report that the CEOs of Chrysler, Ford, and GM have agreed to some government oversight on management and spending.

And, reports ABC News, the CEOs of the Big Three automakers appear ready to give up most of their salaries in return for a government bailout. But ABC reports that even if CEOs take a token salary of one dollar per year, the money faucet may not be entirely dry.

In the last year, according to data obtained by ABC, a handful of corporate executives took little or no base pay but still earned millions through stocks and other forms of compensation.

The Big Three CEOs recently were caricatured as the “poster boys” for corporate greed when it was disclosed that they flew to Washington on luxury private jets to appeal for a government rescue.

For their most recent appearance, reports the Detroit News, the CEOs drove to Washington in fuel-efficient hybrids.

Sources: CNN, Dec. 8 — Detroit Free Press, Dec. 6 — BusinessWeek, Dec. 5 — Financial Times, Dec. 5 — Detroit News, Dec. 4 — ABC News, Dec. 3.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Nov. 24 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 17 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 10 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 14 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 15.

Critics say Indian TV exploited tragedy for ratings, as well as gave away tactical information during gun battles

NEW DELHI
In the wake of last week’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, critics are accusing the media of ethical indiscretions that they claim aggravated the crisis.

According to a report from the Agence France-Presse, the dozens of television channels in one of the world’s most TV-rich markets are being criticized for nonstop broadcasts that some say peddled rumor in the quest for ratings.

Some claimed the nonstop coverage encouraged publicity-seeking terrorists, according to a report from the entertainment trade journal Variety. A police spokesman maintained that the terrorists, who were fighting floor-by-floor battles with law enforcement, gained tactical information from the live coverage, watching hotel TVs to learn both how their coconspirators were faring as well as what police were doing.

Barkha Dutt, an editor at NDTV, New Delhi’s largest television production facility, took issue with those charges in a response posted on NDTV’s website. Among other items in his lengthy rebuttal: ” Please do note that at all times, the media respected the security cordon — a cordon that was determined by the police and officials on site — and NOT by the media. If, as is now being suggested, the assessment is that the media was allowed too close to the operations, here is what we say: we would have been happy to stand at a distance much further away from the encounter sites, had anyone, anyone at all, asked us to move. In the 72 hours that we stood on reporting duty, not once were we asked to move further away. We often delayed live telecasting of images that we thought were sensitive so as to not compromise the ongoing operation. Not once, were we asked by anyone in authority, to switch our cameras off, or withhold images. When we did so, it was entirely our own assessment that perhaps it was safest to do so.”

Others took the opposite tack, criticizing TV stations for being too slow and tentative, with some bloggers and so-called citizen journalists taking matters into their own hands and posting updates via social-networking services such as Twitter and Flickr.

Associated Press writer Sam Dolnick reports: “The lightning-quick updates of the attacks that killed 174 people read like a sketchy but urgent blow-by-blow account of the siege, providing further evidence of a sea change in how people gather their information in an increasingly Internet-savvy world.”

Sources: NDTV, Dec. 4 — AFP, Dec. 3 — AP, Nov. 30 — Variety, Nov. 30.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Nov. 24 — Related Newsline Commentary, Nov. 24 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 24 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 17 — Related Newsline Commentary, Oct. 6.

Research group claims many toys contain contaminants; consumer groups challenge government’s decision to not make ban on plastic contaminant retroactive; California settles lead-contamination suit against nine toy companies

NEW YORK and SACRAMENTO, Calif.
The upcoming Christmas season is heralding concern about the ethics of the toy industry. Among last week’s stories:

• CNN reports that one in three toys tested by an independent lab shows traces of toxic substances such as lead, flame retardants, and arsenic. The researchers at the Michigan-based Ecology Center tested more than 1,500 popular toys and claim that a third show “medium” or “high” levels of adulterants. Researchers say they bought toys at common department and toy stores in cities in the East, West, and Midwest. A toy industry group disputed the findings, according to the CNN report, saying toy makers and importers carefully scrutinize their products.
• Two consumer advocacy groups have filed a suit challenging the decision by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to allow makers to continue selling children’s products containing a substance called phthalates as long as they are made before February 10 — the day when a Congressional ban on their use in manufacturing takes effect. The Wall Street Journal reports that some studies indicate that phthalates, which make plastic flexible, can harm early childhood development. Critics argue that unless the ban is made retroactive, manufacturers will be able to stockpile goods and sell them long after the manufacturing ban begins. The CPSC says it simply is enforcing the law as Congress wrote it, but some members of Congress say the CPSC’s interpretation of the law is incorrect.
• Mattel and eight other toymakers last week agreed to pay $1.8 million and speed up reductions in the levels of lead in consumer products to settle an environmental suit brought by the State of California and the City of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times quotes California attorney general Jerry Brown as lauding the settlement, which he says came in time to “safeguard California’s children from lead-contaminated toys this Christmas.”

Sources: Los Angeles Times, Dec. 5 — Wall Street Journal, Dec. 4 — CNN, Dec. 3.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Oct. 27 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 24, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 20, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Feb. 24, 2003 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 9, 2002.

Reports say facilities in China, Mexico, and Russia offer claims that aren’t supported by medical literature

NEW YORK and TORONTO
There’s a new twist in the already complex ethics related to stem-cell research: A panel claims that renegade stem-cell scientists are exploiting desperately sick people by promoting unproven cures while understating risks.

Bloomberg reports that the International Society for Stem Cell Research maintains that unproven treatments should be offered only in research trials that are monitored carefully and reviewed independently.

According to National Geographic, some experts estimate that thousands of people are seeking experimental stem-cell treatment from doctors outside the United States.

A separate study from the University of Alberta in Canada analyzed the services advertised online by 19 stem-cell clinics in countries such as China, Mexico, and Russia, and asserted that claims made by the clinics do not square with what has been reported in medical literature, reports the Canadian Press.

Times of London science editor Mark Henderson says that for all of their potential, few stem-cell therapies are ready now to be given to patents. In addition to iffy results, he notes, such therapies sometimes can pose actual dangers by seeding cancer and causing infections and immune-system rejection of tissues.

Sources: Times of London, Dec. 6 — Bloomberg, Dec. 3 — National Geographic, Dec. 3 — Canadian Press, Dec. 3.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Sep. 24 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 11 — Related Newsline story, July 28 — Related Newsline story, June 2 — Related Newsline story, May 27.

In other news, New York City school administrator are accused of changing test answers; also, joint investigation by “60 Minutes” and Washington Post fingers alleged cheaters in wild world of Internet poker

WASHINGTON and NEW YORK
Several eyebrow-raising stories about cheating appeared in the U.S. press last week. Among them:

• A new survey of U.S. teens shows that 64 percent admit cheating on a test at least once in the past year; 38 percent said they had cheated two or more times, and 36 percent said they had used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment. According to the survey, summarized in U.S. News & World Report and originally conducted by the Center for Youth Ethics at the Josephson Institute, 82 percent said they had copied another student’s homework at least once in the past year.
• New York City officials say they will move to fire an assistant principal at a Bronx high school because, investigators claim, she attempted to boost her students’ test scores by erasing and correcting errors. According to a report from the New York Times, the investigation of Ruth Ralston began in August after a state education official noticed that on algebra exams taken at Ralston’s school, more than a thousand multiple-choice answers had been erased and changed — in 94 percent of the cases, from a wrong answer to a correct one.
• A joint report from CBS’s “60 Minutes” and the Washington Post claims that cheating is a significant problem in the world of online gambling, with, in one case, a small group of players managing to cheat people out of more than $20 million. Online poker is unregulated and essentially amounts to one of the richest sporting competitions in the world, with a half-million adherents, according to the report. While online gambling is illegal in the United States, the report says, it is impossible to enforce laws against it because the sites and computers that host the games are located offshore. In one instance, CBS and the Post claim cheating was uncovered when a conspicuous pattern of winning poker hands was traced back to the computer of a person who was an employee of an online gambling company and had the capability to see the other players’ electronic cards.

Sources: New York Times, Dec. 3 — U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 2 — CBS News, Nov. 24.

For more information, see: Related Newsline Research Report, Dec. 8 — Related Newsline story, Nov. 17 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 15 — Related Newsline story, July 7 — Related Newsline story, July 7 — Related Newsline story, May 19.

Indonesia starts school to teach ethics; Thailand roils with protest after voting-fraud allegations; 15 police officers in Chicago area are charged with helping drug runners

VARIOUS DATELINES
Allegations of corruption figured in a variety of news reports last week. Among the top stories:

• In a bid to stanch rampant corruption, Indonesia has started a new school to instill ethical values. Reuters reports that the Pangeran Diponegoro Anti-Corruption School, named after an Indonesian hero, will encourage students to behave honestly and refrain from cheating. The nation’s attorney general, who started the school, told Reuters that he believes Indonesia’s tolerance of corruption could be changed via education. Indonesia consistently ranks as one of the world’s most corrupt countries.
• Thailand has been gripped by nationwide protests in the aftermath of a court ruling that found fraud in last December’s general election. The decision forced the removal of Thailand’s prime minister and a new round of elections, reports the Bangkok Post. Complicating matters was the return to Thailand of the ex-wife of another ousted prime minister. Pojaman Shinawatra returned to Thailand even though she faces three years in jail on a tax change, the BBC reports. No reason was given for her return, though the Singapore Straits Times reports that some speculate it could be linked to the pending formation of a new government. Her former husband, Thaksin Shinawatra, was removed from office in a bloodless coup in 2006 and fled the country. He later was tried in absentia and convicted of corruption charges.
• Federal authorities in Cook County, Illinois, unsealed charges against 15 law enforcement officers, alleging that the officers were engaging in robbery, extortion, and distribution of narcotics and weapons, the Chicago Tribune reports. An FBI sting resulted in the arrest of one Chicago officer, 10 Cook County corrections officers and sheriff’s deputies, and four police officers from the community of Harvey, Illinois, south of Chicago. The FBI says the officers were providing protection for what they thought were a dozen large-scale shipments of cocaine and heroin.

Sources: Singapore Straits Times, Dec. 6 — BBC, Dec. 5 — Reuters, Dec. 4 — Bangkok Post, Dec. 3 — Chicago Tribune, Dec. 3.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Nov. 17 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 27 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 15 — Related Newsline story, July 21 — Related Newsline story, May 12.

Caution is the watchword, whether it relates to percentages of funds actually passed along to charities or the propriety of giving presents to clients

VARIOUS DATELINES
‘Tis better to give ethically, advise the experts. The tips among this year’s holiday counsel include:

• Be watchful of charities that siphon off large portions of donations for administrative and non-specific uses. Check the percentage of proceeds from charity-related gifts and holiday cards that is actually forwarded to the actual cause, advises Guardian financial reporter Esther Shaw, who lists websites that compare the actual pass-along rates to nonprofit organizations.
• Try to purchase presents that inspire family time, such as board games or certificates to local theme parks, advises Alan E. Kazdin, incoming president of the American Psychological Association. In an interview posted in the Chicago Sun-Times’s PioneerLocal site, Kazdin also recommends gifts that contribute to skills, such as a musical instrument or horseback riding lessons.
• Cut out expensive gifts for co-workers or the boss, advises business-ethics expert Diane Swanson, a professor at Kansas State University. Aside from being an excellent way to save money this holiday season, Swanson notes that “especially in an economic downturn, a personal touch might be better anyway.” In a press release from the university, she writes that because ethical as well as legal questions are sometimes raised when firms give gifts to clients, a charitable donation might be more appropriate, especially if the charity is somehow related to the client’s business — a concept known as “cause branding.”

Sources: Chicago Sun-Times, Dec. 4 — Guardian, Nov. 30 — Kansas State press release, Nov. 26.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, July 14 — Related Newsline story, Apr. 7 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 24 — Related Newsline story, Oct. 1, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 11, 2006.

“Survey of teens reveals entrenched habits of dishonesty — stealing, lying, and cheating rates climb to alarming rates”

From the Josephson Institute:

“Josephson Institute’s 2008 Report Card on the Ethics of American Youth is based on a survey of nearly 30,000 students in high schools across the U.S. The results paint a troubling picture of our future politicians and parents, cops and corporate executives, and journalists and generals.

“STEALING. In bad news for business, more than one in three boys (35 percent) and one-fourth of the girls (26 percent) — a total of 30 percent overall — admitted stealing from a store within the past year. In 2006 the overall theft rate was 28 percent (32 percent males, 23 percent females).

• “Students who attend private secular and religious schools were less likely to steal, but still the theft rate among non-religious independent school students was more than one in five (21 percent) while 19 percent who attend religious schools also admitted stealing something from a store in the past year….
• “Twenty-three percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative (the same as 2006) and 20 percent confessed they stole something from a friend. Boys were nearly twice as likely to steal from a friend as girls (26 percent to 14 percent).

“LYING. More than two of five (42 percent) said that they sometimes lie to save money. Again, the male-female difference was significant: 49 percent of the males, 36 percent of the females. In 2006, 39 percent said they lied to save money (47 percent males, 31 percent females)….

“CHEATING. Cheating in school continues to be rampant and it’s getting worse. A substantial majority (64 percent) cheated on a test during the past year (38 percent did so two or more times), up from 60 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in 2006. There were no gender differences on the issue of cheating on exams.

• “Students attending non-religious independent schools reported the lowest cheating rate (47 percent) while 63 percent of students from religious schools cheated.
• “Responses about cheating show some geographic disparity: Seventy percent of the students residing in the southeastern U.S. admitted to cheating, compared to 64 percent in the west, 63 percent in the northeast, and 59 percent in the midwest.
• “More than one in three (36 percent) said they used the Internet to plagiarize an assignment. In 2006 the figure was 33 percent.

“Worse than it appears?

“As bad as these numbers are, it appears they understate the level of dishonesty exhibited by America’s youth. More than one in four (26 percent) confessed they lied on at least one or two questions on the survey. Experts agree that dishonesty on surveys usually is an attempt to conceal misconduct.

“Despite these high levels of dishonesty, the respondents have a high self-image when it comes to ethics. A whopping 93 percent said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character and 77 percent said that when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know….

“This report focuses on honesty and integrity. Additional reports, to be issued in the coming months, will address violence, drug use, and other issues.”

For more information, see: Full press release from the Josephson Institute — AP, Nov. 30.

“A good name, like good will, is got by many actions and lost by one.”

– Lord Jeffrey (Scottish judge and literary critic, 1773-1850)