In June 2009, President Obama called for 'a new beginning' in relations between the United States and Muslim world. One year later, with no sign of an Israel-Palestine peace deal, a deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, and an ongoing nuclear standoff with Iran, has the "new beginning" stalled? Is the process of engagement a long-term one? Should the current strategy be sustained?
What can politicians do to re-build trust among these communities? How much impact do foreign policy decisions actually have on individuals' perceptions of Muslim-West relations? What is the role of media in shaping public opinion? How significant is the role of the Arab-Israeli conflict in widening the gap between communities in the US, Europe and the so-called "Muslim world"? Is progress on the Middle East front a sine qua non for the improvement of Muslim-West relations?
Bio
Reza Aslan
Reza Aslan is a writer and scholar of religions.
Born in Iran, Aslan is currently a research associate at the University of Southern California's Center on Public Diplomacy. He was a visiting assistant professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Iowa and the Truman Capote Fellow in Fiction at the Iowa Writer's Workshop.
A frequent commentator on television, radio, and in print, Aslan is a graduate of Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of Iowa. He is the author of No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam and How to Win a Cosmic War: Why We're Losing the War on Terror.
Roger Cohen
Roger Cohen is a journalist and author who focuses on international politics and relations. He is the New York Times' international writer-at-large and the International Herald Tribune's editor-at-large, where he writes his weekly Globalist column.
Mr. Cohen began his career as a freelance journalist in Paris in 1977. Two years later, he became a foreign correspondent for Reuters based in various cities across Europe. In 1983, he began working for the Wall Street Journal in Europe, and opened a bureau in Rio de Janeiro. In 1990, he took a position with the New York Times working out of Berlin, Paris and Zagreb, Croatia, and became the Times' foreign editor in 2001.
Mr. Cohen has also authored several books, including Hearts Grown Brutal: Sagas of Sarajevo and In the Eye of the Storm: The Life of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf. He holds a master's degree in history and French from Oxford University.
Amb. Martin S. Indyk
Ambassador Indyk is the Middle East expert and former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin S. Indyk joined the Brookings Institution on September 1, 2001 as a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program.
Ambassador Indyk served two tours in Israel, the first during the Rabin years (1995-97), and the second (2000-June 2001) during efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace and stem the violence of the intifadah. During these periods, he helped to strengthen U.S-Israeli relations, reinforce the U.S. commitment to advance the peace process, and substantially increase the level of mutually beneficial trade and investment.
Prior to his assignment to Israel, Dr. Indyk served as special assistant to President Clinton and as senior director of Near East and South Asian Affairs at the National Security Council (NSC).
While at the NSC, he served as principal adviser to the president and the National Security Adviser on Arab-Israeli issues, Iraq, Iran, and South Asia. He was a senior member of Secretary Christopher's Middle East peace team and served as the White House representative on the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Commission.
Joe Klein
Joe Klein is a columnist and senior writer at TIME. He joined the magazine in 2003 to write a regular column, In the Arena, on national and international affairs. He is the author of The Natural: Bill Clinton’s Misunderstood Presidency and several other nonfiction books. As “Anonymous,” Klein wrote the critically acclaimed novel Primary Colors, a best-seller inspired by the 1992 political race. Klein is an occasional contributor to The New Yorker, where he formerly served as Washington correspondent. He has written articles and book reviews for The New Republic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, LIFE, Rolling Stone, and other publications. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and is a former Guggenheim fellow.
Marc Lynch
Marc Lynch is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Williams College.
Lynch is the author of Voices of the New Arab Public and State Interests and Public Spheres: The International Politics of Jordan's Identity. His articles have appeared in The Wilson Quarterly, Foreign Affairs, and the Middle East Report; and, he maintains the Abu Aardvark blog, a widely read running commentary on the Arab media, American public diplomacy, and Arab popular culture.
Dalia Mogahed
Dalia Mogahed is a senior analyst and executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies. With John L. Esposito, Ph.D., she is coauthor of the forthcoming book Who Speaks for Islam? Listening to the Voices of a Billion Muslims.
Mogahed provides leadership, strategic direction, and consultation on the collection and analysis of Gallup's unprecedented surveying of more than one billion Muslims worldwide. She also leads the curriculum development of an executive course on findings from the Gallup Poll of the Muslim World.
Prior to joining Gallup, Mogahed was the founder and director of a cross-cultural consulting practice in the United States, which offered workshops, training programs, and one-to-one coaching on diversity and cultural understanding. Mogahed's clients included school districts, colleges and universities, law enforcement agencies, and community service organizations, as well as local and national media outlets.
Political commentator Reza Aslan argues that while President Obama handled the election protests in Iran perfectly, the situation in the Islamic Republic has since changed dramatically. Aslan says that the political turmoil goes much deeper than the Green Revolution, and suggests "it's a mistake to think we know who's in charge over there."
Time Magazine columnist Joe Klein argues that military involvement in Afghanistan has also bound the United States to Pakistan, leaving the U.S. in no position to abandon the mission. He relates his experience in the Kandahar province, which borders Pakistan, where the only official government presence is dedicated to protecting a warlord.
Reza Aslan discusses the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, arguing the clash is not based on identity or religion, but rather on land and resources. Aslan says a two-state solution is likely impossible, and diplomatic efforts should be focused on negotiating a one-state solution that provides Palestinian autonomy.
Major world religion founded by Muhammad in Arabia in the early 7th century AD. The Arabic word islam means “surrender”—specifically, surrender to the will of the one God, called Allah in Arabic. Islam is a strictly monotheistic religion, and its adherents, called Muslims, regard the Prophet Muhammad as the last and most perfect of God's messengers, who include Adam, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and others. The sacred scripture of Islam is the Qur'an, which contains God's revelations to Muhammad. The sayings and deeds of the Prophet recounted in the sunna are also an important source of belief and practice in Islam. The religious obligations of all Muslims are summed up in the Five Pillars of Islam, which include belief in God and his Prophet and obligations of prayer, charity, pilgrimage, and fasting. The fundamental concept in Islam is the Shari'ah, or Law, which embraces the total way of life commanded by God. Observant Muslims pray five times a day and join in community worship on Fridays at the mosque, where worship is led by an imam. Every believer is required to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city, at least once in a lifetime, barring poverty or physical incapacity. The month of Ramadan is set aside for fasting. Alcohol and pork are always forbidden, as are gambling, usury, fraud, slander, and the making of images. In addition to celebrating the breaking of the fast of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate Muhammad's birthday (seemawlid) and his ascension into heaven (seemi'raj). The 'Id al-Adha festival inaugurates the season of pilgrimage to Mecca. Muslims are enjoined to defend Islam against unbelievers through jihad. Divisions occurred early in Islam, brought about by disputes over the succession to the caliphate (seecaliph). About 90% of Muslims belong to the Sunnite branch. The Shi'ites broke away in the 7th century and later gave rise to other sects, including the Isma'ilis. Another significant element in Islam is the mysticism known as Sufism. Since the 19th century the concept of the Islamic community has inspired Muslim peoples to cast off Western colonial rule, and in the late 20th century fundamentalist movements (see Islamic fundamentalism) threatened or toppled a number of secular Middle Eastern governments. In the early 21st century, there were more than 1.2 billion Muslims in the world.
[QUOTE=kikl;44802]I think they should focus on the muslim ideology in order to understand the future relationship between the muslim world and the west. Traditional main stream Islam is incompatible with Western notions of universal human rights, the rule of law and democratic government.
How does Islam define its relationship with the non-muslim world? Let us read the quran:
5:51 : O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
A better translation that is truer to the Arabic text is:
5:51 : O you who believe! Don't take Jews or Christians or any people outside of yourself as your friends protecting your interest. You have to be the friend protecting your own interest. They are but friends protecting their own particular interest.. ..”
What's all this noise about democracy? America is not a democracy and never has been. It is a capitalist oligarchy. Elections are all about which oligarch gets to feed from the public trough while bowing to the corporations and allowing them to write laws and regulations. Elections are just one aspect of the circus maximus .
If you think America is not a capitalist oligarchy, ask yourself, how can a vaunted democracy legislate wages of poverty, and hence poverty itself, for tens of millions of its citizens?
Americans are in denial. The Constitution has been so shredded from day one (white, male, property owners only need apply) that it is not fit for use as toilet paper.
Ascertain_The _Truth...
I can't understand how one can claim that a Muslim is synonymous with the true Human, when like all religions; it seems to create an impenetrable wall between itself and the REST of humanity.
Your choice to interpret the verse as not trusting non-Muslims to protect Muslim interests renders the verse absurd in today's context. It means that the democratic institutions that guarantee your freedom of religion should not be trusted, and implies that you should migrate to a country that is governed by Muslims.
Religion is the most dangerous seed in our society primarily because it holds at its core the potential to deny our humanity or human instinct to form bonds with our fellow human. Religion can sanction atrocities that our sense of humanity would not allow us. It provides a Devine authority which enables us to suspend our humanity for the sake of assumed eternal causes. One would do well to recall Milgram’s 1963 experiment on obedience to authority figures as an important example in this regard.
5:51 : O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
Tafsir or Commentary by Imam W Deen Mohammed who is from the West, America. So if the Muslim identity includes followers in the West as much as from the East and from any other place in the World, why is this subject is incorrectly constructed? People who put on these programs are attempting to make Muslims something ethnic. When they think Muslim they think Pakistan, Saudi, Egypt, Iran. Al-Islam is universal and it's not ethnic. Actually, the term Muslim is synonymous with the true Human.
The west is muslim just as much the east is muslim. There are christians in the east just like there are christians in the west. I never here such language about how to improve christian relations with the West.
Al-Islam is not to be seen in a geo-political location and context. Al-Islam is community. Al-Islam exist in the hearts of those who practice that way of life.
Now for the commentary of the verse that has been mistranslated out of context by Imam W Deen Mohammed, an Muslim African-America, a leader of more than 2 million native born Muslims in America whose community is very carefully ignored from being invited to these types of discussions. He say the verse means "don't take Christian and Jews as your protecting friends to protect your particular interest". Whatever are those particular interest for Muslims might not necessarily be a concern for Christian or jews. They have their own interest that are unique to them.
Is it a jew or a Christian interest to make sure I have halal foods, islamic education for our children, etc. etc?
That sounds like good common sense teaching to me. The case close for any who is reasonable.
I cant believe the response to the question on why people cant be pro Palestinian and pro Israeli. The responder talks about Obama on all his responses and its definately clear that he has an issue with Obama.
Azlan wants us to support the muslim brotherhood? He wants to let the muslim brotherhood run Egypt? Now what are the goals of the muslim brotherhood?
I urge everybody to read the wikipedia article about the muslim brotherhood:
The Brotherhood's stated goal is to instill the Qur'an and Sunnah as the "sole reference point for ... ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community ... and state"
The quran is the collection of Allah's words. According to the quran Allah's messenger mohammed is the prefect role model for muslim conduct. The words and deeds of mohammed is recorded is the sunnah. Together they form the source for shariah. The muslim brotherhood wants that shariah be the sole law of the land. They want to create a theocracy in egypt and in fact all over the world.
The Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, founded in 1987 in Gaza, is a wing of the Brotherhood,[59] formed out of Brotherhood-affiliated charities and social institutions that had gained a strong foothold among the local population. During the First Intifada (1987–93), Hamas militarized and transformed into one of the most violent Palestinian militant groups.Hamas goal is the desctruction of Israel.
"Japan post WWII had democracy imposed upon it."
Democracy is government by the people. The people rule directly or by representative government. Imposing a government on a people is not democracy.
If the majority of a people reject democratic government then democracy must fail. If the people do not want to govern themselves then self government must fail. Both Japan and Germany embraced democratic government after the second world war. Both ideologies, national socialism and shintoism responsible for the involvement in the second world war had been defeated and discredited. Therefore, government was not imposed on Japan and Germany.
Islam is antithetical to democratic government. Islam means unconditional submission to the will of Allah. Supreme law of the land must be shariah, Allah's law. Shariah governs all aspects of human life. This means theocratic government. You must choose: Either you say man's law is supreme (democratic government) or Allah's law is supreme (Islam). You can't have both.
I think they should focus on the muslim ideology in order to understand the future relationship between the muslim world and the west. Traditional main stream Islam is incompatible with Western notions of universal human rights, the rule of law and democratic government.
How does Islam define its relationship with the non-muslim world? Let us read the quran:
5:51 : O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for friends. They are friends one to another. He among you who taketh them for friends is (one) of them. Lo! Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
This is the doctrine of Al Wala' Wal Bara'. It basically means loyalty to muslims and enmity to non-muslims. Am I misrepresenting the meaning of this verse? Let's read the most famous tafsir - commentary - of the quran:
http://tafsir.com/default.asp?sid=5&tid=14148
Ibn Kathir:
The Prohibition of Being Loyal Friends with Disbelievers
This Ayah discourages and forbids taking the enemies of Islam and its people, such as the People of the Book and the polytheists, as friends. These disbelievers mock the most important acts that any person could ever perform, the honorable, pure acts of Islam which include all types of good for this life and the Hereafter. They mock such acts and make them the subject of jest and play, because this is what these acts represent in their misguided minds and cold hearts. Allah said;...
(from those who received the Scriptures before you and (nor) the disbelievers...) This is to clarify the particular category (of disbelievers). As Allah said,...
(So shun the evil of the idols...) [ 22:30 ] So some recited it "Kuffari'', making it an object of the preposition, and others recited it "Kuffara'', making it a predicate noun;...
(Take not as friends those who take your religion for a mockery and fun from those who received the Scriptures before you...) with the meaning of "nor'',...
(nor the disbelievers as friends) That is, do not take these people nor those people as friends. The meaning here of "Kuffar'' [disbelievers] is idolators. Similarly, Ibn Jarir recorded that in the recitation of Ibn Mas`ud [in place of "Kuffar'' he recited it: "and those who commit Shirk. Allah's statement,...
(And have Taqwa of Allah if you indeed are true believers.) means, fear Allah and do not take the enemies of you and your religion as friends, if you believe in Allah's Law and religion that these people mocked and jested about. Allah said in another Ayah,...
(Let not the believers take the disbelievers as friends instead of the believers, and whoever does that, will never be helped by Allah in any way, except if you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allah warns you against Himself, and to Allah is the final return.)...
The panelists have no clue why no policy whatsoever seems to lead to any improvement in the relationship to the muslim world. It is simple. Islam forbids muslims from having a friendly relationship with non-muslims. The problem is not the Israeli conflict, Iraq or Afghanistan. The core problem is Islam. The only way for the west to achieve a friendly relationship with the muslim world is conversion to islam.
This panel missed a golden opportunity to discuss the links between free minds and free markets (Ch. 20). Democracy, democratic institutions, and democratic sentiments don't arise in a vacuum- there has to be a social climate in which individuals can freely connect and self-express,as well as governments that expressly define and defend individual rights, including property rights (& the governed have a personal stake in their governments) . Some of this is occuring in countries like Turkey or Malaysia- economically rising but saddled with authoritarian-leaning governments that are only starting to liberalize, and leading to milder forms of Islamic expression.
Japan had some democratic experience in the 1920's. The German electoral franchise was bigger in Germany than Britain at the time of WWI. Both had educated populations and advanced economies with the cooperative social structures needed to support those economies -- cooperative social structures conducive to democratic institutions. So you could argue that there wasn't much forcing of democracy. In the Middle East we have Islam, sharia law and medieval tribal social structures none of which is compatible with democracy.
