Panel: Win Muslims' Hearts, Minds

Panel: Win Muslims' Hearts, Minds

by RANDY DOCKENDORF
Press & Dakotan (SD)
09/15/2004

VERMILLION -- The United States has lost support in the Islamic world because of the Iraq war, and America must win back the hearts and minds of Muslims to prevent further terrorism, a University of South Dakota panel said Monday night.

The "Hope, Not Hate" town hall meeting was held in Vermillion to commemorate the third anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The meeting drew mostly questions of how the Muslim world perceives the U.S. and how to improve that image.

Speakers included former U.S. Senator James Abourezk (D-S.D.), the son of Lebanese immigrants and founder of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, and his wife, Sanaa Abourezk, a Syrian-born Muslim and author, both of Sioux Falls; Michael Kelly, a law professor and author from Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.; and congressional candidate Sal Mohamed, born in Egypt and now living in Sioux City.

The Iraqi war has built a rage among the Muslims needed as allies, Kelly said.

"Stop killing the people you're trying to convince," he said. "We roll out the hardware. We're the best in the world at that. We are a superpower. But we need a Œhearts and mind' campaign. We need to remove the hatred."

The Muslim world understood the need to attack Afghanistan after 9/11, but they balked at military action against Muslims in Iraq, Kelly said.

"The hearts were with us after 9/11, but we threw it all away after we invaded Iraq. Now, we are starting at Square One," he said. "The U.S. has failed at diplomacy, which makes the Arab world see it as a war on Islam."

Meanwhile, North Korean and other non-Muslim nations are allowed to develop nuclear weapons, Kelly said. In addition, Muslims hold a negative view of the treatment of Islamic detainees at Gauntanamo Bay, he said.

"It looks we have chosen to invade the Muslim world," he said. "It looks like once again that they are getting the raw deal."

The United States must use diplomacy to win Muslim cooperation against terrorism, Kelly said.

"We have forgotten about the art of persuasion," he said. "You have to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim people, and you don't do it at the end of a gun barrel."

American television features Muslim experts who speak fluent English, while the Muslim world does not have a similar understanding of the Western world, Kelly said.

"How many people do you see speaking fluent Arabic on (the television network) Al-Jazeera to make the case for America? Zippo," he said.

The United States has shut down information and cultural centers operated during the Cold War, denying the Muslim world an opportunity to understand Western culture, thought and democracy, Kelly said.

"There is no place to make the case for what we believe," he said.

President Bush's use of pre-emptive military strikes in Iraq -- which was criticized when used by Israel 20 years ago -- could have dire consequences across the globe, Kelly said.

"China could use the same idea as a pre-text for launching an attack on Taiwan," he said. "Do we really want to return to the old system, this time armed with nuclear weapons?"

Jim Abourezk accused Bush of lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and about a direct link between Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the Sept. 11 attacks.

"It's a tragedy we will regret for an awful long time," Abourezk said.

The United States also attacked Iraq because it was militarily weak and suffered from years of sanctions, the former senator said. "We aren't going to invade Iran or North Korea because we would suffer too many casualties," he said.

While Afghanistan is not a Muslim nation, the nation is seen as a victim of U.S. foreign policy, Jim Abourezk said. Muslims no longer separate Americans from their government policy, he said.

"My parents are Lebanese, and my wife is Syrian. But that wouldn't matter. (The extremists) are so angry at America that they will attack anyone and anything," he said.

"All Americans will suffer because of the politics carried out in secret. We have created enemies where we shouldn't have created them, and that's a tragedy."

The Muslim world questions why the United States attacked Iraq rather than Saudi Arabia, home of the 19 hijackers on 9/11, Sanaa Abourezk said. "People see a double standard, a hypocrisy," she said.

The United States must attack the root cause of terrorism, not the Muslim world, Sanaa Abourezk said.

"If we want to improve the American image, we have got to stop bombing these people," she said. "Poverty and ignorance are at the core of the problem. When you are hungry, and your friends and parents are dying, you have nothing to lose. You will listen to anyone. What we are doing in Iraq now is the best recruiting tool (for terrorists)."

By building up the Mideast, the United States would take away a major source for terrorism, she said.

"When you have a job, you stop thinking of hate. If you have a stable life, you want to keep that life," she said.

Sanaa Abourezk criticized the Western media's portrayal of the Middle East, particularly Muslim women. "You are not shown the educated Muslim woman. It would be harder (to bomb Muslims) if you see someone like your mother," she said.

She was particularly angry at journalists and others who speak with no first-hand knowledge of Muslim women. "They have never been to the Mideast, and they can't speak Arabic. How can they talk about us? There is no excuse for this ignorance."

Kelly agreed on the need to rid the Muslim world of fear and poverty, instead creating a desire to emulate many Western values.

"The (Muslim) people have to buy into the system.," he said. "We need to show democratic principals are universal, not just for us (Americans). We have to convince them that the Muslims in America have, and you can still be a devout Muslim."

Much work remains to be done on both sides, Kelly said.

"We have to go on Al-Jazeera and make our case," he said. "And we have to go to the Americans -- including the half who believe Saddam Hussein knocked down the World Trade Towers."

Terrorism will continue to increase in new forms, Kelly predicted. He noted the progression from truck bombs and shipping to airplanes and trains.

"They work to keep us off balance," he said. "Next will be ports. We check only 2 percent of our shipping containers."

Mohamed called for a greater understand of Islam as a powerful and positive force around the world. In turn, the American mindset needs to shift from war to peace, he said.

"I love the American people. They are very wonderful people," he said. "The world needs America, and America needs the world, so let's get together and build this system of brotherhood."