NEW YORK - When President Barack Obama visited Egypt last month, he made his long-awaited speech on a proposed new US relationship with the Muslim world.
Islam, he pronounced, has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize the US was Morocco, a predominantly Muslim country in North Africa. "I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition," he told his audience in Cairo.
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| US President Barack Obama (R) and family friends arrive at Fort McNair in Washington, DC, on July 3 to board the Marine One helicopter en route to Camp David. AFP |
The sentiments he expressed were widely applauded globally. But the ground realities, both in the US and in Western Europe, are far different. As Obama warned: change cannot happen overnight. Or at most, it will be painfully slow.
After eight long years of the Bush administration, which was widely perceived as being anti-Muslim, the US is awakening to a new call: not all Muslims are terrorists, nor should all Muslims be treated as terror suspects at airports around the world.
But right wing neo-conservatives of the former administration, who are still very much alive and heckling, are criticizing the new US president even for his so-called minor infraction (by their reckoning): abandoning the highly-Westernized "Moslems" in favour of "Muslims." Obama is right and the neo-cons are wrong.
The average American politician is known to mispronounce even the names of countries the US has either invaded or ranked on its political hit list: "I-raq" instead of "E-raq", "I-ran," instead of "E-ran".
As one comedian remarked during the US war on Iraq: "The United States should not invade a country until our leaders know how to pronounce the name of that country." Rightly so.
Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union said last week that the battle against terrorism -- initiated by the Bush administration -- has devastated genuine Muslim charitable organizations, nine of which have closed shop.
The reason: either these organizations are under investigation by US law enforcement agencies or they have been designated terrorist organizations. But wrongfully, most of the time.
Mindful of this fact, Obama told his Cairo audience: "In the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation. That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims (7.0 million in all) to ensure they can fulfill zakat."
The Obama administration has also officially abandoned the term "war on terror" which was earlier construed as a code word for "war on Muslims." But still, the misperceptions continue both in the US and, more so, in Western Europe.
Asked why things virtually remain the same in Europe, Mark Lattimer, Executive Director of the London-based Minority Rights Group said that probably the best indication of current European opinion is provided by the recent elections to the European Parliament, in which some 375 million people in 27 countries were eligible to vote.
The far right parties scored some notable successes, including parties which have been heavily critical of Muslims in society. These included the Freedom Party in the Netherlands (led by Geert Wilders, described as vociferously anti-Muslim), the Danish People's Party, and the British National Party (although in other countries, such as France, the far right lost support).
A good part of this support, Lattimer said, can be put down to disaffection with incumbent governments, but there is no indication that European opinion towards Muslim communities is becoming more welcoming. In most instances, it's quite the opposite.
In the US, it is even more subtle. The State Department's list of "terrorist states" includes mostly Muslim countries. Of the four countries currently on the list, three are Muslim: Iran (since 1984), Sudan (since 1993) and Syria (since 1979).
The only other country on the list, and which is non-Muslim, is Cuba (since 1982). Libya, Iraq (both Muslim) and North Korea have graduated from the list, even though North Korea may be back because of its continued nuclear threats against its neighbours. The most vexatious issue between the US and the Muslim world is Palestine (and America's unconditional military and political support for Israel). As long as there is no resolution of the Palestine problem, the rift between the US and Muslim world will continue to linger.
In Cairo, Obama said the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. And America will not turn its back on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
As he put it: For decades then, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive.
"It's easy to point fingers -- for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought about by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond.'
"But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: The only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security."
But how long it will take for this to be a reality is Obama's greatest single challenge. |
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