Religious factor in U.S.-Muslim relations

Muhamad Ali, Lecturer, State Islamic University (UIN) Sharif Hidayatullah, Jakarta

Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest Islamic organization in Indonesia, is hosting an international conference of Islamic scholars from over 40 countries, discussing world peace, education, the global economy and the mass media. At the same time, the U.S Embassy in Jakarta will distribute books on U.S. history, geography and other topics to a thousand Islamic boarding schools to counter rising anti-American attitudes in Indonesia.

Embassy spokesman Stanley Harsha said the important thing was getting the books into Islamic boarding schools whose students often base their view of the United States on "movies, television and rumors". These recent developments indicate that the religious factor in Western-Muslim relations has started to receive attention.

Religion is a complex, multidimensional phenomenon in human history. In the United States, as well as in the Muslim world, the religious element exists and plays a role in shaping worldviews, thereby affecting views of the relationship between the two worlds.

The rise of "fundamentalism" in different forms reflects how religiosity has become vital in politics. It is widely held that fundamentalism has provoked a threat to the U.S., as well as the world. But many would suggest that religion should be taken out of debates and policies, while only a few argue that the religious factor needs to be considered not merely as a problem but also as a solution. While religion has been used as an inspiration for clashes between different peoples, religion has equally proved to be one of the most important forces of world peace.

In the context of U.S.-Muslim relations, the Palestinian question has always received the major concern. For the Muslim world, the major criticism is the uncritical support of the U.S. for the creation and defense of Israel.

Many Muslims view the U.S and Zionism as one unified, monolithic force that humiliates the Palestinians, and therefore Muslims. They believe that Zionist propaganda plays a vital role in gaining such support and know that the Zionists rely on allies abroad to apply strong pressure to influence decisions in their favor.

Nowadays, the vast number of Jews and Christians are supportive of Israel for religious reasons. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center in July 2003, 41 percent of respondents said they sympathized more with Israel, while only 13 percent sympathized more with the Palestinians. Eight percent sympathized for both sides and 18 percent neither.

Views of Muslims and Islam are influenced heavily by religious beliefs. More specifically, white evangelical Christians and political conservatives hold more negative views of Muslims and are more likely than other Americans to say that Islam encourages violence among its followers. Religious beliefs about biblical prophecy play an important factor in shaping these attitudes.

The Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy dramatically transformed world relations. But the old binary oppositions of "us" and "them", "good" and "evil" were revived. For most Muslims, U.S. support for Israel and its humiliation of the Palestinians, and its attack on Iraq are attacks on Muslims, despite U.S. insistence to the contrary.

The vast majority of Muslims condemn al-Qaeda and call terrorism un-Islamic. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) repeatedly condemns terrorism, both by Muslims and others (Israel and the U.S. included). In Iran, President Muhammad Khatami regards Osama bin Laden as his enemy. When asked about the presence of al-Qaeda members in Iran, President Khatami said: "The hostility of al-Qaeda toward the Islamic Republic of Iran is not less than their enmity toward the U.S."

Are these conflicts a sign of a clash of civilizations? Many do not think so because there is no such thing as an inherently and purely authentic Western civilization or an authentic Islamic civilization without mutual interaction in history. But fundamentalists from both sides perceive such a clash of civilizations.

And this perception is created by multiple factors, including exclusive religious education and religious bigotry, coupled with socioeconomic and political circumstances. If radical fundamentalism needs to be reduced, the religious element must be taken into consideration in peacemaking and building.

The first and foremost attempt to avoid further terrorism is to solve the Palestinian problem. The late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat once reminded us, "Even if a peace agreement was achieved between all the confrontation states and Israel, without a just solution to the Palestinian problem it would never ensure the establishment of the durable, lasting peace the entire world is now trying to achieve."

Muslims have been waiting for U.S. condemnation of Israel's oppression and injustices in Palestine. If Christians and Jews can acknowledge the evil of Israeli oppression of Palestinians, then Muslims will be more prepared to condemn Palestinian suicide bombers.

In the longer term, to prevent the appeal of fundamentalist ideology among younger generations, apart from sending American books to Islamic boarding schools, there should be an attempt to bridge the cultural-religious gap between the West and the East through education, intercultural collaboration, the mass media and diplomacy. Tolerant religious education is also necessary.

Efforts should also be made to develop teaching materials about various faiths for use at different levels in the school system. Textbooks should contain information on different religions and avoid or even correct biases and distortions. Courses need to be developed on conflict resolution and peacemaking. Sharing of cultural materials such as films, novels and music is also effective.

Political leaders need to be conscious about the religious- cultural element and should deal with it in a wise and just manner. Diplomats need to recognize that religious peacemakers can be their allies in the promotion of peace and reconciliation. As German philosopher Hans Kung said, "Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed."

The values of moderation should be emphasized to avoid religious triumphalism, because religious triumphalism at the expense of interfaith amity compounds the levels of fear and mutual hostility.

It should be recognized that Islam, like other religions, can create two different positions: liberalism and fundamentalism. All efforts should be made to promote moderation, if not liberalism, and diminish fundamentalism. The world should support the moderates to establish moderate religious teachings.

It is essential to recognize that there are narratives in all religions that are pluralistic and peaceful, but there are also exclusive narratives in each of these traditions. Diplomats need to recognize that religious peacemakers can be their allies in the promotion of peace. To leave the language of faith out of peacemaking is a serious deficiency. Religious language is powerful. It motivates people. If religion does not become part of the solution, it will motivate hate.

Dialog vision, rather than conflict vision, a dialog of civilizations, rather than a clash of civilizations, should be promoted in every corner of the globe. We need "boundary leaders" -- those who operate on the borders of their communities and are ready to reach out to other communities. There are experts of empathy who can become conflict resolvers not to reinforce boundaries, but to reach out to other communities.

The writer is pursuing his PhD in history at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and is a fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu.