Campaign of Defamation
The
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
at Geneva recently adopted a resolution,
presented by Pakistan, deploring a “campaign
of defamation” against Muslims
in the post 9/11 world. The vote was
31-16 with the US, Canada, UK, and the
EU voting against the text. The resolution
calls upon the UN’s Special Rapporteur
to investigate and report on the discrimination
faced by Muslims “with regard
to access to justice, political participation,
respect of cultures, physical assaults
and attacks against their places of
worship, cultural centers, business
and properties.” The delegates
also pointed to Hollywood films, which
were seen as Islamophobic, and expressed
“deep concern” over the
“intensification of the campaign
of defamation of religions, and the
ethnic and religious profiling of Muslim
minorities” in the aftermath of
9/11.
A pattern seems to be emerging of nation
states using their participation in
the ‘war against terrorism’
as an excuse to pursue their own agendas,
which often appear to include the denigration
of Muslims. Filipinos, for example,
are enthusiastically backing the ‘war
against terrorism’, perhaps in
no small part because of deep bias against
Moro Muslims in the south of that country.
The West continues to preach liberal
humanism and tolerance in the Muslim
world. But it breaches what it preaches.
Western leaders increasingly depict
Christianity as under-siege in the Muslim
world. In the Muslim world, however,
many view the situation in reverse.
The growing Muslim community in Europe
is being viewed with suspicion and paranoia.
British MP and Home Office Minister,
Hazel Blears, told a Parliamentary committee
that Muslims should recognize the “reality”
that they were more likely than others
to be stopped and searched by police
and be the focus of anti-terror measures.
Even in a liberal democracy like Denmark,
Queen Margrethe stated that “we
are being challenged by Islam these
years globally as well as locally…we
must take this challenge seriously.”
The killing of a Dutch filmmaker by
a Muslim, following scurrilous attacks
on Islam, has further exacerbated the
matter.
The new Pope Benedict XVI recently met
with members of the Muslim community,
saying he hoped for a “growth
of dialogue between Muslims and Christians”
and assuring them that the church wanted
to continue to build “bridges
of friendship” that could foster
peace in the world. Calling for “authentic
and sincere dialogue” in a world
longing for peace, he cautioned that
“peace is also a duty to which
all peoples must be committed, especially
those who profess to belong to religious
traditions.” However, in his inaugural
address, while Pope Benedict specifically
addressed Jews as “brothers and
sisters” and called for all Christians
to unite, he left out any specific mention
of Muslims. Previously, as Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger, he headed the department
in the Vatican under Pope John Paul
II dealing with church doctrine. In
that capacity, he opposed Turkey’s
inclusion into the European Union, stating
that “Turkey has always represented
a different continent always in contrast
with Europe.” In 1964, Pope Paul
VI declared St Benedict to be the patron
saint of Europe. The new Pope’s
choice of papal name suggests that the
Vatican’s posture may become more
Euro-centric.
All of the above is fueling a combustible
brew. Course-correction is badly needed
and has to be two-way for it to be viable
and sustainable. A first small confidence-building
step would be for Western leaders and
policy-making elites to moderate their
language about Muslims and the Islamic
faith. For its part, the Muslim world
needs to rethink its counter-strategy
and develop a presence in thinking professions
like media, law and academia.
