It might seem mission impossible to keep Muslims and the West off a collision course, but many believe it can, and must, be done, reports Dina Ezzat This week a BBC poll showed that many in Muslim and Western countries believe it possible for both sides to create a common ground of understanding and cooperation despite many differences and sources of tension. Conducted to assess the state of relations between Islam and the West, the poll covered 27 Muslim (including Arab) and Western states where 28,000 individuals were asked to express views on a wide range of issues related to the chances of dialogue or confrontation between Islam and the Western world. According to the findings announced on the BBC's website, close to 56 per cent found that there are enough positive aspects to build on, with some suggesting that growing Muslim minorities in many Western states have a positive role to play in bridging the gap between Muslims and Westerners. Only 28 per cent suggested that clash was simply inevitable due to numerous cultural differences separating Muslims and Westerners. This week, in Doha, over 200 Muslim and Western scholars, politicians and academics discussed the same issue: "Confronting what divides us". Held in the Qatari capital for three days starting Saturday, the fourth US-Islamic Forum was organised by the Saban Institute for Middle Policy under the patronage of the Qatari Foreign Ministry. An annual event that was launched mainly on the initiative of Qatar, the US-Islamic Forum has been for four years attempting to promote dialogue as the best path for Muslims and the West. Dialogue, however, does not always mean niceties. If anything, this year's three-day event was an opportunity for much expression of disappointment, concern and even fear -- not just between Muslims and Westerners but also amongst Muslims and Westerners. Prominent Sunni cleric Youssef Al-Qaradawi and prominent Shia cleric Jalaluddin Al-Sagheer were both present. Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister Hamad Bin Jassim was also in attendance along with foreign ministers from several Arab and Muslim states, including Oman's Youssef Bin Alawi and Malaysia's Hamid Al-Bar. Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa was also present. On the American side, however, official representation came at a considerably lower level of rank. A group of artists and businessmen from both sides also met in Doha. Participants approached issues like the Middle East as the microcosm of Muslim-Western differences, the role and presence of US and other Western troops in Iraq, the changing security dynamics in the region -- especially in relation to Western military presence and economic interests -- and the division of views in the Western world on the inevitability of a clash of civilisations and the growing rift between Shia and Sunnis in many parts of the Muslim world. Not all were convinced of the possibilities of dialogue. "Talking about moving beyond what divides us, the conference is setting out objectives that are simply too difficult to achieve," commented Al-Sadik Al-Mahdi, prominent Sudanese intellectual and opposition figure. For Hamad Bin Jassim and Amr Moussa, however, the objective of mutual understanding was not impossible to achieve. Nor was it for Martin Indyk, director of the Saban Centre and retired American diplomat. Prescriptions on the way to make it happen, however, varied from one to another. For Moussa, the "way forward" was clear: the US has to act as an honest broker to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict, it needs to reconsider its bias to Israel -- especially on the issue of Israel's nuclear arsenal -- help with Iraq's reconstruction, and stop labelling Muslim and Arab nations as moderates and extremists in accordance with the agenda set by the neo-cons. For Bin Jassim, the US needs to work more with Arab and Muslim countries on issues related to development and education, and it needs to adopt a balanced approach towards the Palestinian issue. For Indyk, Arab countries need to democratise, reform and face extremism. For the three of them, and many others, there was a need on both sides to avoid the immediate negation of "the other", either between Muslims and Westerners or within each group. "But these forums are always convening as they have been for the past few years [in many parts of the world] and we have not really moved ahead," commented Youssef Al-Qaradawi. He added that US-Islamic relations have not improved since the convocation of the first round of the forum in 2004. "In fact, they might have worsened," he said. According to Al-Qaradawi, if the US continues to label Palestinian freedom fighters and to use its money and political influence to support the illegal Israeli occupation of Arab territories then not much will happen in terms of confronting what is really dividing Muslims and the West. After all, he added, the Palestinian cause is one that matters for all Muslims and not just for Arabs, as some decision-making quarters in the US might wish to think. He added: "but above all the US needs to stop thinking that it would dominate the entire world simply because Muslim nations would not succumb to this domination." According to Bin Jassim, "if the monopoly of power at a domestic level is unacceptable, the monopoly of power on the world scene ... the policy of double standards [and] the absence of transparency... and the use of force even more, must cease." The way to stay off collision course, said Moussa, "is to refrain from the path of intimidation, threats, punishments and the excessive use of power."
