Mr. President:

Please Correct Course Before It Is Too Late! 

By: Jan Qarabaghi

 

It is a bad (perhaps the worst) time for America’s image-building and public relations efforts in the Muslim world. There is no doubt that the perception of the country that prides itself as the center of freedom, progress, and democracy on this planet has been badly (perhaps irreparably) bruised and tarnished in the eyes of those who call themselves Muslims. Mrs. Bush’s harsh welcome by Palestinian youth during her visit to Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, and long, deadly demonstrations on the streets of “liberated” Afghanistan during the past week, to mention only two among many other similar cases, are but only two open manifestations of the serious difficulties America is facing in winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim world. Anti-American sentiments among Muslims have reached such a height that even American pawns such as Karzai feel the heat and hurry to denounce American “military mistakes” and ask for explanations and change in Washington’s policy.

Watching images of anti-American demonstrations and flag-burning from their living-rooms, ordinary Americans might once again ask themselves, as they did in the aftermath of 9/11: “Why do these people hate us?”

The answer often promulgated by extremist American politicians and media outlets is short, simple, and openly self-serving. This answer, to paraphrase, goes like this: They hate us because we are successful; they are angry because they lack what we have. In clearer terms, according to this misguided view, Muslims hate America because they are envious of the American success! The fact that millions of America-loving Muslims live in America and make daily contributions to the American success totally escapes the eyes and the minds of the envy-theorists. And the fact that millions of devout, practicing Muslims over the world respect and use American science, information, and medicine on a daily basis does not tell them anything.

The answer fabricated by the envy theorists, although initially designed to keep a minority of political/religious bigots happy, has played an important role in helping the American public to endure and tolerate the daily news of human and monetary costs that the country is asked to bear to keep the real or perceived enemies of America off of the American shores. In other words, the theory of envy is good for the business of war and a foreign policy that seems to badly have gone wrong. 

The true reason behind Muslim misgivings toward America does not lie in Muslims’ envy or hatred of the American success, or even the American way of life; rather, it lies in the gulf between what America preaches and what America does, between what America claims as its ideals and what American shows as its political deeds: America preaches respect for human rights, but in practice she fires the U.N. designated human rights monitor for occupied Afghanistan because of his criticism of the way U.S. soldiers treat Afghan prisoners; America preaches democracy, but in practice it reestablishes the power of the warlords in a country ruined by the same warlords; America promises nation building, but in practice it fails to give hope to a village; America propagates free and fair elections, but in practice it sides with her own hand-picked favorite and wins the election for him (she even tailors a constitution tailored for him)…

For America to be loved, and to win respected, not only in the Muslim world, but also among the rest of humanity, she needs to pay heed to two principles: First, stay away from imperial hubris, and second, practice what you preach. Because of her unprecedented military might, America’s deviation from these principles can certainly inflict unimaginable pain on other nations, but it will also cost America its moral authority, an authority that can be much more powerful than military might in a world still plagued with unpredictable crises and tyrants.

            Thus, my humble plea in the title of this commentary: Mr. President: Please …

© Qarabaghi 2005.