Improving tarnished image

The two-day summit of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which opened in Casablanca, Morocco, yesterday, is proceeding on the premise that the tarnished image of Islam and its followers -- especially in the eyes of western countries -- puts its member countries in a difficult position.

Because the notion of Islam among western countries fails to reflect the reality of the religion, which preaches peace and tolerance, the OIC meeting has decided to take steps to correct the distorted image.

Its agenda, which is expected to be completed today, surely will not be a casual one because the delegates, who represent no less than 50 Moslem countries, must first determine who is responsible for the distortion. Clearly no nation will want to be pinpointed as a culprit.

OIC Secretary-General Hamid Algabid was wise enough when he said in his speech at the OIC ministerial meeting on Monday that Islam's image has undergone serious distortion because of ignorance, as well as skillfully orchestrated manipulation. This statement can be expected to defuse any further conflicts among the OIC members themselves. Albeit many agree that ignorance of Islam in the outside world, and of the outside world among Islamic communities, is a troubling phenomenon, it is not very clear what Algabid meant by the manipulation of Moslems.

Because Algabid clearly was not speaking in a tone of guilt, we tend to look to the reality that in many places worldwide Moslems are being manipulated by other powers. This manipulation by outsiders is exacerbated by the lack of workable socio- political systems in many countries. In this sense, the OIC members are in no position to blame outside countries for the conditions in which many Moslems now live.

Many Moslems are now living under autocratic regimes. This fact has not helped improve the image of Islam in the eyes of more modern nations. A case in point is one North African country, which a few years ago tried to introduce democracy, but later killed the plan because the group its military loved to hate won the general election. Worse yet, that North African military regime let a western country manipulate the situation.

In many other Moslem countries the regimes are just as at odds with their own people on how to organize a government. In the existing governments, religious values have either no role whatsoever, or they have become objects of continual debate. Many such regimes, which stubbornly refused to cooperate with moderate Moslem scholars have found out too late that this policy will only lead to the forceful emergence of radical groups.

OIC seems to fully understand the deplorable situation and believes that it should be ended once and for all if the organization wants to have a say in international forums. The dilemma now faced is that the only way to change the situation is to improve the images of the people living in member countries.

Because we wish OIC every success in cleaning up Islam's image, we feel the need to note that Islam is no threat to western civilization.

The misunderstanding of Islam among the western countries is based on misperception of the religion. The situation has been worsened by news reports and the tendency of the governments of the West to simplify complicated issues. The impact of all of this is worsened by an excessive feeling of fear in the hearts of westerners, which emerges due to a lack of familiarity with the realities of Islam. It is clear that a large part of the OIC's task will be to see that greater knowledge of these realities is introduced into western thinking.