Religious factor in U.S.-Muslim relations

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.