American Muslims Call
for a Radical Transformation of US Foreign Policy
By Dr M. A. Muqtedar Khan and Farid
Senzai
The importance of American
Muslims to an effective and more peaceful US foreign policy
towards the Muslim World was once again underscored at a policy
forum in Washington DC on January 28, 2005. US government
officials, foreign policy experts, Muslim scholars and activists
gathered at a standing room only event on Friday afternoon
to discuss the deteriorating nature of US-Muslim relations
and to brainstorm how things could be improved. The open and
very candid forum once again showed the great unease that
American Muslims have about the direction of US foreign policy.
It also highlighted the enormous willingness of American Muslim
citizens and mainstream organizations, several of whom were
represented at the forum, to work with the US government to
improve its policies and its relations towards the Muslim
World.
The Muslim World Initiative of The United States Institute
of Peace (USIP), an independent, non-partisan federal think-tank,
sponsored the forum titled “The Role of American Muslims in
Bridging the US-Muslim Divide”. There is an emerging consensus
among policy makers that the American Muslim community can
play a pivotal role in improving the relationship between
the United States and the Muslim World. The Brookings Institution’s
US-Islamic World Project and the Institute for Social Policy
and Understanding provided the initial impetus and idea for
the event. Dr. Abdeslam Maghraoui, Associate Director of Research
of Studies for the Muslim World, at the United States Institute
of Peace, hosted and facilitated the forum. Featured speakers
included Dr. Fawaz Gerges of Sarah Lawrence College and a
Fellow at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding),
Dr. Muqtedar Khan (Chair of International Affairs at Adrian
College and a Non-resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution),
Mr. Farid Senzai (Fellow and Director of Research at the Institute
for Social Policy and Understanding) and Mr. Duncan McInnes
(Director of the Foreign Press Centers US State Department).
Farid Senzai discussed the inadequacy of past US diplomatic
efforts and the administration’s gimmicky and counterproductive
tactics used since 9/11.
This was partially due to the limited funds devoted to public
diplomacy as well as the inability of the Bush administration
to produce a comprehensive strategy for public diplomacy.
He criticized the government for its lack of understanding
of the culture and the history of the people it purported
to influence. In his view the US government needs to develop
a better grasp of our target audiences. Part of the problem,
he argued, was the lack of professional staff with the language
and regional expertise for public diplomacy in Arab and Muslim
societies. He concluded by pointing out that winning the “hearts
and minds” of the Arab and Muslim world won’t be won by tricks
and manipulation, but by honesty from a country that believes
in its own values – and acts on them. Mr. Duncan MacInnes
outlined US government’s current public diplomacy effort and
the need for greater communication between the various government
agencies and the Muslim community in the United States.
He emphasized the need to continue to tell our stories to
one another and encourage dialogue and exchange -- efforts
based on mutual learning and mutual understanding. During
his talk and in the question and answer sessions, which he
handled bravely, he emphasized the need for American Muslims
to be persistent and continue to speak out with their concerns.
Several Muslim organizations’ representatives who feel that
they have no say in their government’s policies repeatedly
accosted him. His message to them was clear -- do not give
up, be persistent, and continue to engage the government at
various levels. After all that is the role of the civil society.
Muqtedar Khan discussed the role that the American Muslim
community might play in helping bridge the growing divide
between the United States and the Muslim world.
He spoke critically about the Bush administration’s lack of
understanding of public diplomacy and advised the administration
to make a more concerted effort to work with American Muslims
who are committed to improving US-Muslim relations. He pointed
out that the administration saw diplomacy not as a foreign
policy instrument but as a means to damage control. He attributed
the imbalance of power between various executive agencies,
particularly the domination of the defense department on Foreign
policy and intelligence issues, as the primary reason for
failure of US diplomacy. He asserted that as long as the administration
excluded Muslim input, and if Muslims did not actively provide
it, US foreign policy in the Muslim World would remain misguided.
Fawaz Gerges called for “a dramatic transformation” in the
United States’ public diplomacy effort. This transformation
requires changes in both substance and form, including a transformation
of our policies towards the region.
In his view American policies
have contributed to the very real challenges we face today
in the Muslim world. New policies are required to reverse
mounting anger and rage. While we cannot and should not expect
to attract the goodwill of everyone in the region, especially
of the violent groups, a change in our policies will dramatically
improve our status abroad. His most important point was that
the bad US policy was not a function of ignorance but of a
lack of political will. He pointed to several US government
studies that had blamed US policies for bad US-Muslim relations
and called for radical transformation of its policy approach,
but the administration was not paying heed to its own findings.
The forum continues from a previous conference held in December
2004 at the Brookings Institution, from which the American
Muslim Group for Policy Planning (AMGPP) emerged. The group
seeks to first bridge the gap between American Muslims and
American policymakers in order to facilitate better policies
to bridge the divide between the US and the Muslim World.
(Dr. Muqtedar Khan [www.ijtihad.org] teaches
at Adrian College and is a Non-resident Fellow at the Brookings
Institution. He is the author of American Muslims: Bridging
Faith and Freedom (2002) and Jihad for Jerusalem: Identity
and strategy in International Relations (2004). Mr. Farid
Senzai is a doctoral candidate at Oxford University and the
Director of Research at the Institute of Social Policy and
Understanding [www.ispu.us]. His work focuses on US’ democracy
promotion in the Middle East.)
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