Obama and the Muslim World

Dear President Obama,

There has been so much discussion in this country about what this election, your election, our election, signifies for America. May it be that it signals the healing of our racial wounds. Yet this is not just about us. It is also about the world, and our place in the world community, and a return to an ethic of sharing and generosity. I will focus my comments on the area that I know best, the Muslim world.

Iraq: We have inflicted a great violence upon Iraq, and as you have recognized, this was an unnecessary war. Getting Iraq right will be key. You are familiar with Martin Luther King Jr's famed April 4, 1967, speech in Riverside Church. You can look at virtually everything that King said about Vietnam and apply it to Iraq. The first step in getting Iraq right is to begin by publicly admitting to ourselves -- and more importantly, to Iraqis, and the world community -- that we made a horrible mistake, that our error resulted in the deaths of thousands of Americans, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, and the wasting of untold hundreds of billions of dollars.

Iran: Iran is a complicated society, and it is not 1978 anymore. Since the revolution, Iran has been home to the most sophisticated Islamic reform movement in the world. Today, 70 percent of the Iranian population is under 30, and the overwhelming majority of Iranians want to normalize relations with the United States. President Bush alienated most Iranians by labeling Iran as part of an "Axis of Evil." Instead, engage and acknowledge the subtlety and nuance of this ancient civilization.

Palestine/Israel: For Muslims worldwide and Muslims in the United States, this is and has always been foreign policy issue number one. The creation of Israel is seen by hundreds of millions of Muslims as the result of colonial interventions in the Middle East, going back to the Balfour Declaration of 1917. Israel has remained the single largest recipient of US foreign aid over the last thirty years. Every scholar knows that the current situation in Israel/Palestine is not tenable. No group of people on Earth would voluntarily agree to live in the situation of occupation and second-class citizenship that the Palestinians have had to endure for over forty years.

There are no easy solutions, for there is such a discrepancy of power between the two sides. Yet if we move from being an ardent supporter of Israel at all costs to stating that the dignity and well-being of both Palestinians and Israelis and the security of both communities will be equal priorities for us, that will be the beginning of the road toward healing. A two-state solution presents serious challenges, none more important than the dozens of illegal Jewish settlements in the Occupied West Bank. A one-state solution (one person, one vote) is ultimately the fairest solution, maybe the only fair solution, but it would mean giving up on the notion of a Jewish state, over that of a secular democracy. Either way, dealing with significant issues like the fate of Jerusalem as the symbolic capital of both peoples, the right of Palestinians refugees to return, and the guarantee of exactly and identically the same set of rights and responsibilities for both Jews and Arabs will be mandatory.

Afghanistan: The attention of much of the world community is focused on Iraq, but Afghanistan might present the more serious long-term problem. The re-Talibanization of Afghanistan is already underway, and it is vital to confront that. The last bits of al Qaeda will have to be uprooted.

Solutions

The solution begins when we realize that we need to change not just the impression of the United States, but also the reality of our presence in the world community. This was one of the great errors of the Bush administration. Immediately after 9/11, they hired a Madison Avenue advertising executive (Charlotte Beers) to serve as an undersecretary for public diplomacy. They simply do not understand that the reason much of the world came to hate our government is because of the policies of our government. They do not hate us (pace the pundits post-9/11) because we are "free," "civilized," and "democratic." No, they hate our policies, because we have become synonymous with aggression, privilege, militarism, support of dictators, unilateral action, disregard for civilian life, and ultimately, Empire.

How to fix it? Change the impression of the United States by changing the policies of the United States. Take between 10 percent and 20 percent of the military budget, and redirect it toward building schools and hospitals worldwide, fighting poverty, training people in skills for a new globalized world, and providing relief from HIV/AIDS. Every penny of that money will give back dividends hundredfolds. Unlike in Iraq, where billions of dollars went to no-bid contracts for Halliburton and other companies, invest the money in local businesses. Follow that up with the largest deployment of American peace activists in history. Come up with a revamped version of the Peace Corps, where our best and brightest will want to devote two years of their life in going for paid internships to places around the world where our help is needed.

President-elect Obama, now is the time. Now is the time to build on the good will of the world community. The "fierce urgency of the now" that you spoke about so eloquently indeed is now. Lead us, and we will follow. Cross-posted from Beliefnet's Progressive Revival blog

Comments

[hindy]

Moslem individuals and regimes need to examine themselves. Terrorism and fanaticism are the root all of the problems you elaborate on. While Israel and Jewish zealots are not blameless, any country that becomes terrified of putting a child on a bus, going to a restaurant, shopping mall or walking on city streets without being blown up by a "suicide bomber" will become radicalized. That's also true of Americans, Brits, Spaniards and Indians. Its human nature.

The western nations you complain about are multi-cultural democracies. Compare that to Islamic states where rants against Jews, Christians and Hindus goes on unabated from the minarets and governmental bully pulpits. Nazi-like utterings of Ahmedinijad calling for the elimination of Israel and the Holocaust denial get free reign. I don't see where you protest labeling Jews "monkeys" and Americans "Devils". Even Egypt, jails journalists if they are dare visit Israel. Allow progressive Iranians to voice their opinion. Screaming discrimination will only become valid when Moslem states stop institutionalized "discrimination" and respect others. In Israel and the US many Jewish groups openly advocate Palestinian rights. Instead of bombing, they build schools where Palestinian and Israeli children learn to respect each other. When the world sees that happen in Moslem countries, we can discuss peace and tolerance.

[adampap]

No, they hate us because in their eyes we are jesus-loving heretics. Our rejection of Islam in favor of a false prophet of a different god is a terrible sin for which we will burn in hell for eternity. The text of the Koran repeatedly encourages the followers of Islam to send the heretics there faster with the incentive of virgins in the afterlife as a reward for martyrdom. Of course not all Muslims take the Koran literally, but since apostasy is a sin punishable by death under Islamic law, not many Muslims dare to speak out against extremism. Islam itself is the problem. In both the Middle East and America, religion is the problem not religious extremism. Of course people can interpret scripture differently and act lovingly by it, but that's exactly the problem. Both the Koran and the Bible are so plagued with self contradicting messages that one person could read them and decide to love their neighbor, but a different person could read them and fly a plane into a building or kill an abortion doctor. As long as we respect Islam, we will be plagued by Islamic extremism. But until we get rid of our own superstition, I doubt we will criticize the Middle East for it.

As long as we wear our Christianity on our sleeve, a large amount of Muslims will want to kill us.

[plaidsportcoat]

The first thing responsible Americans need to do in regard to dealing with muslim theocracies is to attempt to give women and girls the means to attend school without having acid thrown on their faces, the right to speak to anyone, including men, in public without being "honor killed" with impunity, and to use embargos and any other kind of incentives to encourage the culture to empower women to be equal in all ways to men. The age of sexual consent for girls under Sharia law - within the confines of marriage - is nine. I am repeatedly shocked by the justice systems of muslim theocracies, sharia-based courts in England, and other powerful political and community based bodies that consistently enforce women-hating and women-repressing laws. Not that the USA is perfect in that regard - but better. What shocks me is not that they do it, but that our country does not try to arm the women and encourage them to overthrow their oppressors. We have armed lots of men all around the world, but never have we specifically armed the most oppressed - women.

[hindy]

Hey, you're right. But just think, if you're encouraged to persecute your own women, just think about how much you're encouraged to persecute "infidels" and even progressively minded Moslems.

[Ben Dixon]

"...reason much of the world came to hate our government is because of the policies of our government. They do not hate us (pace the pundits post-9/11) because we are "free," "civilized," and "democrati­c."

This is where you are wrong. While they do hate our policies, they also hate us becuase we are free, civilized, and democratic.

[quizh]

You keep barking at the withered tree until your vocal cords choke on a dose of gullibility.

[adampap]

no they hate us cuz we're heretics. they hate us because we rejected Muhammad, the one true prophet of the one true lord.

[PiscesPrincess]

This is not an indictment of Barack Obama and his future administration. it appears to be an essay from another point of view. In most cases I agree with it. I see nothing derogatory here re; how the Obama administration should go forward. As usual, there are people attempting to push their own agenda. Nothing wrong with that. Its a free country and we Hopefully still have "free" press.

[Stefano]

Are we kidding? I don't reject your argument out of hand, but you think maybe, just maybe the Muslim world might offer a few concessions here too??? How about starting with their treatment of women, sectarian violence, and infidels. To summarize your article, just do whatever the Muslim world wants. Hey, we'll build your schools, you guys keeps builidng palaces and world's largest resort countries, etc. (Because our economy is booming so much anyway of course.) Hey, the israeli problem, we'll just get rid of it, poof, no problem there anymore. And although we definitely should engage Iran, you think maybe asking their leader to stop threatening other countries with annihilation might be OK. Seriously, I really dislike the neocon foreign policy we've been engaging, but this is so incredibly one sided you would think the Muslim world is completely blameless, and worse, completely helpless. A true answer would be much more of a compromise than the author's utpoian vision of the Muslim world. Obama follows your advice and we'll get a neocon right back in there in 2012, something none of us want I imagine.

[Coolcat101]

If you want all of that done, get off your bum and run for President. I'm so sick of people telling Obama what to do. He's decided to run, to make a difference, so let him do it. If you've got some ideas, then start your PAC and get going.