By Mohamed Elshinnawi, VOA, Washington, D.C.
To mark the spring holiday of Nowruz, President
Barack Obama called for a "new beginning" in relations between Iran and the
United States. The
has
proposed a set of recommendations to help Mr. Obama engage Iran and the rest of
the Muslim world in a constructive way.
"I think one of the first things is to encourage President Obama and Secretary
of State Clinton to work more closely with the international and transnational
Muslim organizations and the broader kinds of organizations that work for
intercultural and international understanding," says Georgetown University
professor John Voll, associate director of the center.
He says the center has been building bridges of understanding between the Muslim
world and the West since it was created in 1993. Its programs address issues
such as stereotypes of Islam and Muslims, the clash of civilizations, the
compatibility of Islam and modern life, and American foreign policy in the
Muslim world.
Since President Obama's inauguration, Voll says the center has been approached
by policy makers and members of Congress hoping for insight into the best way to
engage the Muslim world in a constructive and respectful manner:
"I think where we have a little greater impact now than before is in helping
Congress and in helping the White House to be more aware of the importance of
our own American-Muslim community and making better use of the American Muslims
as resources for information," Voll says.
Voll says cooperating in education is fundamental to better relations between
the U.S. and the Muslim world. He says both sides must improve textbooks to make
sure there are no factual errors or demonizing of the other. The center is
launching a new program through the American Universities in Cairo and Beirut to
help people in the Arab world get a better understanding of American society. It
also invites Muslim groups to the United States to meet members of the
Muslim-American community, to see how they worship and create Islamic
institutions in a country where religion and government are separate.
Professor Yvonne Haddad, a member of the center's faculty, believes that
President Obama's message is striking many of the right chords in the Muslim
world.
"When President Obama took the oath of office he made the statement, 'We are a
nation of Christians and Muslims,' and then Jews and Hindus. That was
interesting to me, because it sort of changed the mantra, which used to be, 'We
are Judo-Christian country.' So he gave a lot of prominence to it [Islam], but I
would like to see more than words," Haddad says.
For example, she points out that no American Muslims were appointed to major
posts in the Obama administration, while the president has several
Jewish-American advisors and officials.
"As long as he does not consult with Muslims to understand where they are coming
from, it seems to me that his policies will be determined by what he is fed as
information," she says. "He does not have a senior Muslim advisor and does not
have people in the administration that seem to understand the Arab world well."
Haddad recommends that President Obama match his good words with some good
deeds, such as voicing a strong American objection to the continued expansion of
Israeli settlements or proposals to evacuate Palestinians from dozens of homes
in Jerusalem.
A few months from now, she says, words alone will not be enough. America will be
judged by its actions, not by its promises, and Obama's ambitious promises of
change will make that judgment even harsher.
... Payvand News - 03/26/09 ... --
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