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The Layalina Review

VOL. V NO. 7, March 13-March 26, 2009

Engaging with the Muslim World

Following the election of Barack Obama, one of the primary concerns for many observers was the restoration of America's image, particularly in the Arab and Muslim worlds, according to Lawrence Pintak for the Christian Science Monitor. Pintak stresses that much more needs to be done and real engagement should start sooner than later.

"Despite the initial euphoria about the Obama win, cynicism among the world's Muslims still runs deep, particularly here in the Arab world," he points out. President Obama's visit to Turkey is a symbol of overtly reaching out to what Americans would call "moderate" Islamists. Going to non-Arab Turkey also appears to be an effort to separate US relations with Muslim countries from US policy toward the Arab world, adds Pintak.

Arabs still perceive US policies as biased in favor of Israel and although their perception of the US has improved since Obama's electoral victory, they are still waiting to be convinced. Pintak argues, "The Obama administration must talk to all the players, not just those approved by Israeli or Arab regimes."

Pintak warns that while Obama has successfully seized on the symbolism of outreach to the world's Muslims, gestures are cheap in a region where lives are readily sacrificed in symbolic acts of martyrdom. Now he must follow up with real, concrete engagement.

Rami Khouri of The Daily Star concurs with Pintak, asserting that isolating some parties, such as the Islamists, may prove counterproductive. Khouri cites the British-led efforts to resume contact with the political wing of Hezbollah and the Obama administration's interest in talking with "moderate" Taliban as examples of engaging with Islamists.

"It is now obvious that this once strict policy of isolating and opposing Islamist and other militant groups until they unilaterally changed their ways has not worked, and will not work," writes Khouri. He explains that the past decade has shown the failure of sanctions and isolation policies.

The initial signals from the Obama administration suggest that it is looking for other means of dealing with or politically engaging governments and movements that it had traditionally confronted or tried to isolate.

While this change in attitude may generate meaningful conversations between the US and Syria and possibly Iran, these changes "may also carry the risk of offsetting their neo-rationalism with a resurgent Orientalism." In other words, Khouri notes, "They will say that 'carrots and sticks' should be used to test the troublemakers and see if they are really able to have a meaningful political dialogue and eventually change their ways."

Khouri argues that this approach may fail because it is based on the assumption that US-led policies are righteous and legal, and eventually the other camps must abide by them. Although it is uncertain as to how far these policies could go, "some signs of change are in the air, and they are encouraging."

However, Tariq Alhomayed points out in the Arabic version of Asharq-Alawsat that the West has decided to deal with extremists and extremism in quite "a reckless manner." After the years of violence that characterized the Bush administration following the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qaeda, the call for openness by the Obama administration and tolerance towards extremism could be equally dangerous and unsettling for the region.

Alhomayed concludes, “Openness for the sake of openness complicates matters further and sends out the wrong message."

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