Madeline Albright discusses American perceptions of the Muslim world

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright says that most Americans are "woefully ignorant" of the Muslim world, and that the press holds a certain responsibility to educate people about their culture.

Madelaine Albright: Americans “woefully ignorant” of Muslim world

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and former Represenative Vin Weber (R-Minn) spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations conerning American relations with the Muslim world. Secretary Albright said that Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world, but that Afghanistan and Pakistan are closely tied in their turmoil. She continued that most Americans are “woefully ignorant” of the Muslim world, and that America’s approach should not be one of ‘tolerance’, but rather one of ‘respect’. Concurrent to that line of thought is the notion that the United States should be prepared to deal with Islamist democratic elections where the results are not favorable to American policy. Albright said people all over the world are ready for democracy, but that the United States should take the position of supporting popular democratic movements, not “imposing democracy”. Weber echoed that sentiment, but insisted that the U.S. could help build the “preconditions for democracy”, such as improving women’s rights or encouraging an open media.

Regarding America’s approach to fighting terrorism, Albright said that the U.S. must not fight terror in a way which creates new terrorists, and that every civilian death makes both the United States and our causes suffer. Regarding the policies of ‘targeted killings’ and assassinations, Weber highlighted that both the Bush and Obama administrations said that they would not ignore ‘actionable intelligence’ on the locations of terrorists. Albright also stated that it is important for America to distinguish those who were civilians and those who were “murders”.

Islamist extremism finds strength in a global community

In a full Senate committee hearing on “The Roots of Violent Islamist Extremism and Efforts to Counter it,” witnesses spoke about where violent Islamist extremism begins and what steps the United States should take to maintain strong national security.

Maajid Nawaz, director of the Quilliam Foundation and former member of the Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), spoke about the ways to differentiate between Islam and Islamists. He said that Islamists believe Islam is a political ideology not a religion, that the religious code must become state law, the members identify with a global Islam community as a political community not a religious community, and that the ideology needs to be represented by a block, an expansionist state that must reach non-Islamist states and liberate them from communism or capitalism.

Nawaz spoke about how as a confused youth, struggling to find his identity he turned to the HT and was given a ideology and was connected to a global community. He said this was a common occurrence among third generation Muslims who have grown up in countries and then struggle to find themselves and could happen in the U.S. The danger with HT and other Islamist groups is that they connect local conflicts to a global level and restructures those conflicts to a fight between truth and falsehood, Islam against everything else, and could lead members to violent extremism, he said.

Peter Mandaville, associate professor of Government and Politics at George Mason University, gave several ways that violent Islamist extremism begins: there is a universal approach to religion which drops cultural values making it portable and easily decontextualized, it also targets those newly introduced to the religion or youths suffering from an identity crisis, and provides a sense of identity and framework which greatly affects “easily influenced young people trying to find their way in the world.” Mandaville said that while HT has ranks of passive members, the worldview it espouses could easily lead members to military action.

Zeyno Baran, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, cautioned U.S. government agencies to know everything about Islamist organizations before bestowing them legitimacy as “moderate” Muslims. FBI agents have been trained by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which was an organization connected with Islamist extreme organizations and is completely self-defeating, she said. Baran urged the United States to engage in countering Islamist ideology from spreading in the United States.

Sudan is like “Mount Vesuvius,” ready to blow

The American Islamic Congress held a discussion of “Violence in Sudan: Muslim and Arab Responses.” Deng Deng Nhial of the Mission of the Government of Southern Sudan to the U.S. said that the Sudanese government is using a strategy of Islamization to manipulate the Sudanese people. He warned that the country is like Mount Vesuvius and will disintegrate like the former Soviet Union if nothing is done.

Nhial said that out of 49 years of independence, 39 have been years of war and that a unilateral effort of the U.S. will be ineffective in changing the behavior of the Sudanese government. He doubts any support of Europe will help. Instead, he said that Muslim Americans must work to get Arab countries to join the effort to end the Sudanese government’s violence. Suliman Giddo, the President of Darfur Peace and Development, said that the silence of the Muslim community must end in order for peaceful coexistence in Sudan to occur.