Hostility between the American public and Islam resides in fiction as much as fact, argues Mustafa El-Feki* I have just spent several weeks in New York, during which time a single question was on my mind: will the wave of anti- Arab and anti-Muslim hostility persist or recede? The US president has just approved the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act, in accordance with which the State Department will be charged with monitoring anti-Semitism around the world and rating countries on their treatment of Jews. I could not help but wonder whether the American mind and heart could ever sufficiently expand to press for the application of that law to other religions and ethnic groups, to Islam and Arabs, targets of a vicious campaign of defamation. The question appears to have been answered by the re-election of the Republican administration for another four years, consolidating the influence of the neo-conservatives on the White House policy and the prospect of more violence in this part of the world in the name of the fight against terrorism and the spread of democracy. As I contemplated the present situation and its implications for the future during my stay in the US I registered a number of impressions. Above all I would venture to suggest there is no inherent incompatibility between Islam and the US as a state and no real cause for difference between Muslim peoples and Americans. Both have deeply held religious beliefs and cherish their spiritual sensibilities, nothing disturbing in itself. What is disturbing, though, is the gap in mutual confidence and understanding that has developed in the last few years, and the impact this has had on the global political climate and international relations. It is useful to recall that Americans and Islam sided together against the communist belt that stretched across the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and both fought against the Soviet presence in Afghanistan. This fact puts paid to the notion that there are profound or deeply rooted contradictions between Islam and the US. Indeed, one still recalls President Dwight Eisenhower's remarks on the occasion of the inauguration of the Islamic Centre in Washington in 1959 in which he underscored the feelings of mutual affection and the aspiration to closer cooperation between the two peoples. During my stay in the US I observed that the American people are not obsessed with the question of Islam, but they are keen to learn more about what is being depicted as a new adversary in the media and by some centres of power, especially those we perhaps mistakenly term Christian Zionists. Sales of translations of the Qur'an are up, reflecting the attempt to understand the fundamental principles of a religion that has come to occupy centre stage in the international media. I should also add that the American people as a rule are not well informed about life outside the US. That only 20 per cent of Americans have a passport indicates that the remaining 80 per cent have had no first-hand experience abroad and, perhaps, little interest in gaining it. The US president also hosts a fast-breaking banquet during Ramadan every year and takes advantage of the occasion to deliver a few words intended to humidify the climate, as he traditionally does on other Islamic holidays. Unfortunately, such gestures do not reflect the prevailing spirit of confrontation and violence, which is aggravated all the more by a media that generally homes in on suicide bombings and the kidnapping and ritual killing of victims and other such phenomena that have so gravely tarnished the image of Islam and the Muslim people. This said, it is my impression that the recent tide of hostility towards Islam in the US is a superficial and transient phenomenon. During Ramadan the mosques in New York were packed with worshippers who, contrary to my expectations, came and went in total freedom, which is not to deny the existence of some apprehensions. I also attended a Ramadan gathering held in a mosque in Jersey City and attended by Christian and Jewish clergymen, as well as senators and representatives from the district. The atmosphere was entirely amicable. But then, just as I began to feel that the sense of apprehension had begun to ebb and the climate was beginning to return to normal television networks aired a pre-recorded video tape in which Osama Bin Laden gave his unsolicited opinion on the events of 11 September and confessed full responsibility for that atrocity. In registering these impressions I am not defending the stance of the American people or their government towards Islam and the Muslim people. Nevertheless, I do believe these observations help our collective task of forecasting and shaping the future of a region plagued by violence and bloodshed, in both occupied Palestine and Iraq. Nor do I pretend that relations are anything but tense or that there is light in sight at the end of the tunnel. However, I do believe that there is hope for solving our problems through mutual understanding and awareness. In this regard the following pointers will help guide the way. Firstly, the dispute over the sovereignty of Jerusalem and the sensitivities regarding Muslim, Christian and Jewish holy places in the city have contributed to the religious overtones of the Arab-Israeli conflict which, in turn, has affected the relations between the Arabs and other parties and peoples. I am opposed to the blending of politics with religion and the politicisation of religion. In the case of the Holy City, for example, it is imperative to remember that Jerusalem was, in the first instance, a part of Arab Palestine that was occupied in the June 1967 War. The solution to this issue, therefore, entails the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, rather than harping on the religious and spiritual aspects of the issue. Secondly, the re-election of Bush compels us to conduct a thorough and honest reassessment of relations between Islam and the West. This administration is inspired by certain religious convictions and motives. Although these motives give us cause for misgivings, at least it is an administration that is relatively clear about its objectives. Regarding the Middle East conflict Bush has publicly espoused the creation of an independent Palestinian state, refers to the Israeli presence in the occupied territories as "the occupation" and supports, in word if not in deed, a roadmap that explicitly refers to the 1967 borders. Thirdly, Muslims and their religious institutions must work to rectify the image of Islam and disentangle it from the fabricated link with terrorism. They must further work to eliminate misunderstandings and revive mutual confidence. Simultaneously, the West and the US must desist from tendentious overgeneralisations and oversimplification; Bin Laden does not represent Arabs and the Taliban is not representative of Islam. Fourthly, the European conscience has a special onus to bear in the task of reconciling Islam with the West. By virtue of their geographic proximity and their physical presence in this region in the colonialist past, Europeans are better informed on Islam. It should also be borne in mind that there are four million Muslims in France alone and that Islam is the second largest religion in many European countries. These countries have an obligation to do all that is necessary to protect and uphold the rights of their Muslim citizens. Fifthly, the violent confrontation between terrorism and the peoples it has targeted has worked to distort the image of all religions. That human beings have cloaked such acts in the name of religion renders it all the more imperative for mankind to strive to safeguard the true essence and sanctity of these religions by keeping them aloof from the taint of earthly politics and the horrors of war. If political developments have propelled us towards a clash of cultures and religions there are, simultaneously, indications of a desire on both sides to heighten the mutual awareness and understanding that is essential in order to diffuse the confrontation. I believe that it is in our interests, as Arabs and Muslims, to work to eliminate the flashpoints between Islam and the West. Peaceful co-existence and lasting cooperation promote the welfare and advancement of the whole of humanity. * The writer is chairman of the foreign affairs committee at the People's Assembly.
