In fact, it would be puzzling if this were not the case, given that nationalism is the cultural foundation of modernity – the framework of its social consciousness. And, precisely because nationalism shapes the way we think, its role in phenomena that do not trumpet their nationalist motivation – like Al Qaeda’s attacks in 2001 – can easily be overlooked.
事实上，如果事情不是这样，那倒反而令人奇怪了。这是因为民族主义是现代性的文化基础，社会意识的框架。而正是因为民族主义决定了我们的思维，因此它在民族主义动机不太明显的现象中——比如2001年的基地组织袭击——很容易被忽视。