Nawwal Nur preaches Islam in America and was interviewed about September 11 by Saudi Iqra TV on July 15. The host asked if the attacks had harmed American’s image of Islam. Ms. Nur explained, “Not at all, it has not even been proven that Muslims committed it. There hasn’t even been an investigation…They are confused about what happened…That is why more people converted to Islam.”

As the third anniversary of 9/11 approaches, Arab and Iranian TV have been commemorating the attacks by airing such shows. Aside from the occasional denunciation of the attacks, the murder of 3,000 Americans is often observed in the region’s government-controlled TV with statements by leading professors, religious leaders, government officials, and even Muslim-Americans that are often conspiracy theories stating that Arabs and Muslims were not involved and that the American government or Jews are the true culprits.

Many reasons are given for why the American government would attack its own country. Syrian researcher Tayyeb Tizini claimed on Iran’s Al-Alam TV on August 16 that an intifada against globalization had broken out, and that in order to thwart it America attacked itself: “According to American and European documents, including the investigation of President Bush and his aides about 9/11, I’d like to say that 9/11 was an American action. These Americans began to understand that the new order must be marketed by a great event that would create new dangers for the world. 9/11 was for this purpose…”

Former Dean of Humanities at Egypt’s Ain Shams University Mustafa Shak’a was interviewed by Iqra TV on June 16, where he attributed the 9/11 attacks to America and the Jews: “To this day, we don’t know who attacked the U.S. on September 11. Why is the attack attributed to bin Laden although it has not been proven that he was involved in the operation? …The operation was 100% American…”

At the Al-Shahid Mosque in Khartoum, Sudan on August 27, the imam Abd Al-Jalil Al-Nazir Al-Karouri discussed 9/11 during a sermon that appeared on Sudan state TV: “… When September the ninth comes [i.e. 9/11], we will again review the material we handed out about the Jewish thumbprint. Let’s say, in brief, that whether the 9/9 events and the destruction of the two famous buildings in the U.S. were carried out by Israel’s enemies, as the U.S. claims, or by Israeli agents, as we claim, the outcome is the same: the Jews are the cause…”

Another common conspiracy has been to state that Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden are puppets of America. On April 28, Lebanese Druze leader and parliamentarian Walid Jumblatt gave an interview to Al-Arabiyya TV discussing why America is responsible: “Who invented Osama bin Laden? The Americans, the CIA invented him…Osama bin Laden is like a ghost, popping up when needed. This is my opinion… Even 9/11.

In 2002, Saudi interior minister Prince Nayef blamed September 11 on “Zionists.” This theory has been repeated many times in Saudi Arabia, most recently on August 16, 2004, by Saudi Cleric Sa’d bin Abdallah Al-Breik on Saudi Channel 1: “We must not inflate [the importance] of Al Qaeda to the point of claiming that it is the main and only perpetrator of this large operation [9/11]. I’m not here to defend [Al Qaeda], but we must not overstate this matter…It is a mistake to ignore the possibility that the Zionist hands used some people who were planted into one of the stages of this plan from this issue.”

Iranian TV also frequently discusses 9/11. The Iranian station Jaam-EJam3 aired a program on June 15 that began with the question: “What group or organization was responsible for the events of 9/11?” The show explained how America was responsible. Similarly, on June 1, Jaam-E-Jam 1, began airing a series about September 11: “Some hours after the Twin Towers were blasted, the FBI had arrested five Israelis who had planned to blow up the New York Bridge in the Manhattan and New Jersey area. Also, the absence of 4,000 Jews [working] in the Twin Towers strengthened the claim that they took a vacation on that day…”

As each year passes following the attacks of September 11, 2001, conspiracy theories surrounding that day continue to appear on Arab and Iranian TV. While it will be commemorated as a solemn day in America as in much of the world, unfortunately, in the Middle East, it will be continued to be blamed on others.