VOL. V NO. 15, July 05-July 16, 2009

Liaison Appointed to Represent US Muslims

Hilary Clinton recently announced on the State Department’s website that Farah Pandith will head the newly-created Office of the United States Special Representative to Muslim Communities. The State Department declared, “Special Representative Farah Pandith and her staff will be responsible for executing the Administration’s efforts to engage with Muslims around the world on a people-to-people and organizational level.”

The creation of this office, three-weeks after Obama’s address in Cairo, is part of the Obama Administration’s attempt to initiate a new and stronger relationship with the Muslim world. Al-Jazeera reports that Pandith will carry-out Obama’s agenda for engaging the international Muslim community in constructive dialogues.

In her first official interview on July 8, 2009 with AltMuslim Comment, Pandith outlines her role in the new position, her plans to expand her initiatives to Muslim communities, and the opportunities for lateral engagement with Muslim communities worldwide. Pandith explains that her philosophy is “not about the American flag being waved everywhere. It’s about us getting to know people and actually listening to what is needed, take action, and develop partnerships.”

Pandith served as the Senior Adviser on Muslim engagement in the European and Eurasian region at the State Department. Under the Bush Administration, Pandith led the effort to reach out to the 20 million Muslims in Western Europe. Pandith was prepared to leave her position as the new administration came to office this January, but her proven success won her an appointment as the US Representative to Muslim Communities by the incoming Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. .

In Europe, Pandith’s outreach extended beyond the traditional methods of exchange programs and iftar dinners at embassies, Pandith tells AltMuslim Comment. Rather, she established a partnership for engagement between the private sector, public sector and the government through numerous programs.

Pandith, a Muslim American herself, resolutely tried to involve American Muslims in the US’ outreach initiatives with the Middle East. In the interview, she discusses a program she created that brought teams of American Muslims to 15 countries in Europe. The teams of four, including an American Muslim student, an imam, and two others, visited a country for 3 or 4 days and participated in roundtable discussions, town halls and interfaith dialogues.

Pandith plans to continue her outreach to American Muslims under the Obama Administration. She states in the interview, “I want to have consistent dialogue with American Muslims, and I will do that face to face.”

In a special briefing at the State Department, Pandith explained that she will apply her experience in Europe to form an innovative and dynamic plan of Muslim engagement for the State Department. She asserted that her outreach efforts will not merely focus on improving the US reputation in Muslim countries, but also on listening to Muslims and “building opportunities for [actual] dialogue.” To foster such exchanges of information and understanding, Pandith will establish forums for international dialogue at the grassroots level.

In the briefing, Pandith went on to explain that her office will only concentrate on increasing communication between the US and Muslim communities and will not address matters of US foreign policy, as this is the responsibility of the US Special Envoy to the Middle East. The Jerusalem Post reports that Pandith, the new envoy to the Islamic world, rejects the notion that US foreign policy is the key issue affecting Muslim attitudes toward America and confirms that her new initiatives will not attempt to win Muslim hearts and minds to the "US cause."

Rather, Pandith stresses the diversity of Islam and explains that her approach to engagement will respect the scope and nuances of the world’s Muslim population. As she reiterates, “It’s really… taking the time to listen to what is taking place on the ground so that you understand…what the differences are, even within generations and within ethnicities, so that you’re beginning to build dialogue in different ways and not just use one.”

The Jerusalem Post details that Pandith will initiate a variety of outreach endeavors, “including student exchanges, town hall meetings, entrepreneurial meetings and community projects, calibrated to meet the needs of a diverse and multi-faceted population.”

On a related note, The Times of India reports that the people of India overwhelming support the appointment of Kashmir-born Pandith to this position. According to BBC News, Secretary Clinton believes that Ms. Pandith “sees her personal experience as an illustration of how Muslim immigrants to the US can successfully integrate themselves into American society.”

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