Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH)
January 10, 2006

Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity (CGNews-PiH) is distributing the enclosed articles to build bridges of understanding between the West and the Arab world, and countries with significant Muslim populations. Unless otherwise noted, copyright permission has been obtained and the articles may be reproduced by any news outlet or publication, free of charge. If publishing, please acknowledge both the original source and Common Ground News Service, and notify us at cgnewspih@sfcg.org.

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ARTICLES IN THIS EDITION:

1. The terrorism debate should not divide East and West by Thomas R. Pickering
"The world as seen from East and West is too interconnected, too interdependent, and now too closely related to be torn apart by 11th-century-style religious controversy," writes Thomas R. Pickering, former ambassador to the United Nations, the Russian Federation, India, Israel and Jordan. Identifying the players, the approaches and the challenges in the so-called "war on terror", he suggests a course of action based on dialogue and understanding.
(Source: bitterlemons-international.org, January 3, 2006)

2. When tolerance is no longer enough by Endy M. Bayuni
Endy M. Bayuni, editor-in-chief of the Jakarta Post, worries about some of the recent interfaith unrest in Indonesia, a country often touted as an example in tolerance. Suggesting that a passive tolerance is insufficient to quell the recent pattern of intolerance, Bayuni warns that "if Indonesia wants to continue to remain a multiracial, multiethnic and multireligious society, the nation has to go beyond tolerance to the next, higher step: mutual respect...[which requires]...finding out more about other groups, getting a better understanding of them, and working to prevent rifts and mutual suspicion that are often the cause of tensions and conflicts."
(Source: The Jakarta Post, December 30, 2005)

3. Ugly figures - Jordan Times Editorial
"Twenty per cent of Jordanians still consider Al Qaeda a legitimate resistance movement." This Jordan Times Editorial wonders how to interpret this disappointing number, particularly since it is an improvement from the 66.8 per cent who did in 2004. Alarmed that one fifth of the country is "so disgruntled, disillusioned and desperate that they have embraced the most deviant notions and ideologies," the editorial suggests ways for governmental and non-governmental institutions, as well as for each citizen, "to restore hope amongst these pockets of desperation."
(Source: Jordan Times, January 9, 2006)

4. Where is the Arab media outrage? by Khaled Batarfi
Saudi journalist, Khaled Batarfi, faced with questions about the lack of Arab media outrage over acts of violence perpetrated by Muslims, asks whether the role of media is to "provide accurate, updated and objective information" or whether it is to "campaign", "rally", "preach", "enlighten" and "educate"? Comparing Arab and Western media, he argues that context is important - be it 9/11 security concerns in the United States or anger against American policies. Just as American media is often tolerant of wiretapping and privacy restrictions to protect citizens in the "war on terror", should not Arab media have the right to show tolerance for violent responses to foreign policy and actions that directly impact the security of Arabs?
(Source: Arab News, December 25, 2005)

5. No haven for Scrooge in Cairo by Dan Murphy
Dan Murphy, staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor, writes, with great relish, about spending Christmas in the predominantly Muslim city of Cairo.
(Source: Christian Science Monitor, December 23, 2005)

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ARTICLE 1
The terrorism debate should not divide East and West
Thomas R. Pickering

Washington, D.C. - It requires no particular genius to know that Islam has become of special interest to many in the West. From tourists and travellers worried about their safety to senior leaders of government, within religious denominations, among academics and in the press, the issue is a hot-button topic. What does the West, in this case particularly the United States where I live and work, think about Islam? How can the issues be managed?

The main source of concern relates to terrorism. The major focus, from Bali to Baghdad and from Madrid to Mazar-e-Sharif, has been on the intimate linkage between Islamic fundamentalists and the use of the terror tactic. So much so that events like the Oklahoma City bombing (where American extremists were tried and found guilty) and the fateful assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (involving Jewish extremists) are almost passed over or ignored.

A second dimension in this doleful analysis of course extends beyond Islamic fundamentalists to Islam as a whole. While President George W. Bush seems careful, after having made his "crusade" allusion several years ago, to distinguish between Islam and terrorism, others are not. Some readings of parts of the U.S. press can certainly lead to the malign and in my view badly-mistaken conclusion that the war on terrorism has become a war on Islam.

That would be an unparalleled tragedy and one probably sought by our enemies, the progenitors of terrorism, coming from groups such as Al-Qaeda and its affiliates and supporters around the world. In this struggle, as in any other serious effort in life, we ought to heed the wise counsel of Hippocrates to the medical profession: "First, do no harm."

Elsewhere, others are taking a different and somewhat more sophisticated approach. It remains, however, sequestered for the moment among academics who have studied Islam, diplomats who have sought understanding and cooperation with our friends in the Arab and Muslim world, and groups of religious leaders seeking reconciliation, cooperation where possible, and mutual understanding as a basis for avoiding the calamities of mindless confrontation. Their success so far has been limited and sporadic, but they continue to work at the task.

To some extent, those in the U.S. bent on understanding and reconciliation face not only their own limitations in influence as noted above, but those of their colleagues and friends within the circle of Islam. Leadership there seems to have been hijacked by the extremists; the press regularly dotes on their confrontational public declarations to the pleasure, I am sure, of those who seek wider confrontation.

Here, those working to build bridges often express the need for "a little help from their friends," but what they receive comes often on a personal basis and in conferences behind closed doors and blinded windows. Nor, on the Western side, is all necessarily well in the religion department. There are, as we all know, some among the Christian right who seek their own form of association with the Middle East and the issues of the religious divide. Often mesmerised by the words "Judeo-Christian heritage," they seek to find common cause with the Jewish presence in the Holy Land and champion it because of their belief that postulates a pre-messianic presence of Israel in this Holy Land.

What happens afterward is more problematic. However, the present expressions of these views give rise to, on the one hand, unquestioning support for the settlements in the "territories" and, on the other and in a diametrically opposed fashion, the creation of antagonism and animosity toward Islam. For example, there is a rejection among some in this community of the commonality among the three Abrahamic - or, for the sake of balance, "Ibrahimic" - faiths, of belief in a single, common deity, and a denial that the Allah of Islam is the shared common God of all three faiths.

It is not easy to know how to respond. Many who have analysed the growing divide insist that the heat and emotion of the present will subside over time. Others, more activist in their course, seek the leaders, the understanding, and the dialogue with Islam that can help to temper the confrontation and relieve the apparently growing divisions.

The latter course seems only right under the circumstances. The world as seen from East and West is too interconnected, too interdependent, and now too closely related to be torn apart by 11th-century-style religious controversy. One has only to look at the decades of history when Islam and the West coexisted to understand the value and the necessity of this wiser course.

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*Thomas R. Pickering was ambassador to the United Nations, the Russian Federation, India, Israel and Jordan, and served as US undersecretary of state for political affairs .
Source: bitterlemons-international.org, January 03, 2006
Visit the website at www.bitterlemons-international.org
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained from the author for publication.

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ARTICLE 2
When tolerance is no longer enough
Endy M. Bayuni

Jakarta - This Christmas provided another fine display to the outside world of the religious tolerance that has developed among peoples of different faiths in Indonesia, the country with the world's largest Muslim population.

As Christians observed Christmas inside churches, hotel ballrooms and other venues, outside, young people from Muslim organisations worked with the police to provide security.

Amid reports that radical Islamic groups were planning to launch another massive bombing campaign targeting churches, the security forces were out in full force to ensure the minority Christians in this country could celebrate Christmas in peace.

In yet another gesture of tolerance on the part of Muslims, Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia's largest Muslim organisations, offered the use of its schools and other buildings for Christians to mark Christmas. Some of the faithful reportedly took up this offer. Picture-perfect religious tolerance in Indonesia? Not quite.

Underneath these displays of religious tolerance -- cynics might describe them as PR stunts -- tension has quietly been building up in many parts of Indonesia this past year, pitting the majority Muslims, who make up 88 percent of the population, against other religious minorities.

The attacks and the forced closure of more than two dozen churches in West Java as reported by the Communion of Indonesian Churches; the lockout of believers from the Sang Timur Catholic School by residents in Ciledug near Jakarta; the skirmishes between Muslim residents and members of a Christian Batak Church in nearby Bekasi; the violent attack against followers of the Muslim Ahmadiyah sect in Parung near Bogor -- all these point to two disturbing patterns: that religious intolerance is on the rise in this country, and that the authorities, particularly the police, have failed to protect people's constitutional rights. Freedom of religion and the right to practice one's faith are guaranteed in this country -- but at times police even sided with the lawbreakers.

These are not isolated cases as some people would have us believe. They show an evolving pattern that could spread to other parts of the country, unless the nation, particularly the government, takes immediate steps to address the issue seriously. Staying in denial mode, as people in the highest authority prefer to do, is certainly not helping.

To the outside world, Indonesian officials and diplomats often cite tolerance as among the chief virtues this nation possesses. Indonesia has no other alternative. Given the diversity of this nation in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, religion and tradition, nurturing a sense of tolerance, including religious tolerance, becomes imperative if we are to coexist peacefully. The alternative is simply unthinkable. There may not be an Indonesia left if intolerance is allowed to reign.

To some scholars here and abroad, Indonesia, like Malaysia, has become the antithesis of Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilisations theorem. The brand of Islam that has developed in this part of the world in the eight or nine centuries since the religion hit our shores appears to be far more moderate and tolerant than the strain found in the Middle East, so they say. Indonesia and Malaysia could become models where Islam and democracy are indeed compatible.

But peaceful coexistence between people with diverse races, ethnicities, cultures, languages, religions and traditions is something that one should never take for granted. Since 1945, the history of post-independence Indonesia has been one of a long and painful struggle to remain under a single republic.

If Indonesia wants to continue to remain a multiracial, multiethnic and multireligious society, the nation has to go beyond tolerance to the next higher step: mutual respect. Tolerance, as useful as it has been in promoting harmonious coexistence in Indonesia these past 60 years, does not guarantee all will be well.

For one, there is a thin line between tolerance and intolerance. People switch easily from one to another overnight for the flimsiest reasons. In the case of Muslims rejecting the presence of a church in their neighbourhood, the flashpoint of intolerance was the unsubstantiated rumour the churches were being used for proselytising.

Tolerance also implies passivity. Muslims may tolerate the presence of non-Muslims, but if something were to happen to non-Muslims, would they lend a hand? The situation is likely to be the same if the situation were reversed, say of Christians in predominantly Christian areas, or of Hindus in predominantly Hindu Bali.

Underpinning this passivity are feelings of superiority. "I am better than you, but I am tolerating you" is a common view among people who are divided by race, ethnicity or religion but who have to coexist nevertheless.

This may explain why few people came to the Christians' rescue when dozens of churches in West Java were vandalised; when the Ahmadiyah headquarters in Parung came under a massive attack; when residents stopped children going to the Sang Timur Catholic school in Ciledug near Jakarta; and when residents and the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) prevented Christians from praying at a Batak Christian Church (HKBP) in Bekasi.

There were, however, a few exceptions to the rule.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid, ever the true pluralist, went to Sang Timur with the Nahdlatul Ulama youth group, Banser, to defend the right of the children, some of whom are autistic, to go to their school. He also deployed his young men to defend the offices of the Liberal Islamic Network when it was being threatened by FPI members. The FPI was acting on an Islamic Ulema Council (MUI) fatwa that banned all teachings of liberalism, secularism and pluralism.

But people like Gus Dur, as the former president is affectionately called, are rare in this nation. If only the nation, with some leadership from the government, would move beyond tolerance to mutual respect, then Indonesia would be well on its way to becoming a truly pluralistic nation.

Mutual respect, as Gus Dur has shown, means not only tolerating others, but also being obliged to protect them, to ensure their rights are upheld in the republic.

Mutual respect also means finding out more about other groups, getting a better understanding of them, and working to prevent rifts and mutual suspicion that are often the cause of tensions and conflicts. Mutual respect, therefore, can only come about through dialog and a greater interaction between people of diverse backgrounds.

Interfaith dialog initiated by the leaders of different religions, is but a first step to building mutual respect. Such dialog should be encouraged and promoted at the grassroots level -- the place where tension and conflict usually develop.

We have learned to live with our differences for the past 60 years and we have managed relatively well as a nation. But as recent communal conflicts show, we have yet to learn to respect the differences that exist among us.

Indonesians still have a long way to go to forge greater unity among our people of diverse backgrounds. But we know that tolerance -- that quality we often tout to outsiders -- is no longer sufficient to ensure this unity. Building mutual respect, the basis of a true pluralist society, is the way to go.

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* Endy Bayuni is Chief Editor of The Jakarta Post.
Source: The Jakarta Post, December 30, 2005
Visit the website at www.thejakartapost.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained from the author for publication.

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ARTICLE 3
Ugly figures
Editorial

Amman - The results of a public opinion poll showing that 20 per cent of Jordanians still consider Al Qaeda a legitimate resistance movement were deeply troubling and worrisome.

The survey, published by the Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) at the University of Jordan late last week, did also contain some relatively encouraging findings: the percentage of people considering Osama Ben Laden's movement a legitimate resistance group did drop dramatically, from 66.8 per cent in 2004 to 20 per cent in December 2005.

Another heartening result showed that 72.2 per cent of people seem to consider Al Qaeda in Iraq a terrorist organisation, while 'only' 6.2 per cent consider it a legitimate resistance movement.

The troubling and worrisome elements in these findings are that one fifth of Jordanians still respect Al Qaeda, and more than six in 100 Jordanians even have a high opinion of Abu Mussab Zarqawi's group.

It is as if for all these people the November 9 attacks never occurred.

The CSS poll suggests that there are some 325,000 people - 325,000 Jordanians (meaning six per cent of the 5.4 million population) - who condone the murder of their own brothers and sisters, innocent children, women and men, at the hands of the terrorists that blew themselves up at three Amman hotels exactly two months ago.

Decision-makers, educators, opinion-makers, leaders in all sectors are called upon to do some serious soul-searching and ask themselves: "Where did we go wrong?"

How could the ranks of Jordanians condoning such brutal terrorist acts be so sizeable?

It appears that there is a quite significant number of Jordanians so disgruntled, disillusioned and desperate that they have embraced the most deviant notions and ideologies. If this is the case, the priority for governmental and non-governmental institutions, as well as for each citizen, is to restore hope amongst these pockets of desperation. The most effective way to do this is through comprehensive and concrete development.

Perhaps some of those who are still condoning Al Qaeda - be it the "mother organisation" or its Iraqi chapter - are simply misguided. In which case, we need to look even more seriously into our education reform drive, and be even more courageous in modernising curricula and more aggressive in retraining teachers.

A timely example of how our efforts in reforming the education system are still inadequate was reported in this newspaper a few days ago: according to one of the textbooks with which we aspire to build our future 'knowledge-based' society, men are allowed to beat their wives, provided they do so "softly" and without leaving visible marks on their bodies.

In a few words, if in our public schools children are taught that domestic abuse is OK, provided it doesn't leave unsightly scars, no wonder things can get terribly messed up when it comes to much more complex issues, such as the line separating national liberation movements from terrorist organisations.

According to His Majesty King Abdullah's directives, the "war on terror" should be fought by primarily involving both schools and mosques.

While we can't think of anything wiser than this, it is also true that the government must be very careful in reshaping its relations with religious institutions and more or less institutionalised religious organisations. The government must make sure that it does not turn a much needed dialogue into blind witch-hunting, and that all constitutional civil, personal, political, and religious rights remain sacred and are sacredly guaranteed.

Many will find the results of the CSS survey difficult to digest.

Many must have been as shocked as we were.

But turning a blind eye to this reality would make things worse.

Education and development are the only right answers.

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* This article appeared as a Jordan Times Editorial.
Source: Jordan Times, January 9, 2006
Visit the website at www.jordantimes.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained from the author for publication.

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ARTICLE 4
Where is the Arab media outrage?
Dr. Khaled Batarfi

Jeddah - "So, where is your media outrage? Instead, you show Western hostage beheadings, allow Muslim fanatics to preach on TV and radio, and publish hate speeches against Christians and Jews. Where is the shame? Where are your principles? You should be campaigning for peace, tolerance and human rights and against intolerance, women and minority abuse, and religious fanaticism. That is the holy role of the media, Arab journalists!"

The above are not the exact words, but a summary of an American scholar's comments during an international conference convened last week in Dubai on the role of the media to enhance the security of Gulf states.

In my response, I said to him (in the general meeting and later in a smaller group discussion): what you are calling for is a classic academic and professional question discussed for ages in journalism schools and forums. Is our role to educate, preach and enlighten the public or just to provide accurate, updated and objective information? Do we campaign and rally for causes we support, or just provide an open marketplace of ideas and a neutral forum for debate and discussion?

The Western media in general, and the American media in particular, stand for independence and neutrality: you give the masses well investigated and researched reports and news stories, supported by available evidence, background information and analysis. You allow all parties to have equal access to the public. You don't take sides or make judgments, except in editorials. It is up to your audience to decide what and whom to believe, accept and side with. End of role. When riots erupted in Los Angeles after the acquittal of four white policemen accused of brutally beating black motorist Rodney King in 1991, the media professionally covered the events. They didn't campaign for black rights or advocate a review of a long history of abuse and enslavement.

Journalists in non-democratic countries are justly accused of being tools of propaganda, mouthpieces of the rulers, and ideologically committed to one school of thought. They marginalise different viewpoints, campaign for certain causes, and serve their owners and controllers' interests.

Yet most new independent media in the Arab world are moving away from the old ways. They attempt to provide as-is news and multi-perspective commentary. If you don't like what is written, write a letter to the editor. If you don't agree with a guest of a live show, call in and tell him so. If an opinion or a report on a website seems wrong, email them your correction. As long as your perspective, no matter how different or unique, is published or aired, you can't complain about the equal opportunity and space given to those you disagree with.

In evaluating Arab media performance, we need to distinguish between mainstream media and underground outlets. The first is owned and supervised by governments and media corporations. Their policies prevent them from preaching religious hatred or siding with terrorists. But at the same time, they cannot ignore their statements and actions. Professional coverage of events requires comprehensive reporting from all sides.

The non-licensed media are mostly Internet based. Comments are usually unsigned. Web blogs, electronic newsletters, mailing lists and discussion groups are uncensored and uncontrollable. Those are the ones who may preach and advocate, with impunity.

The mainstream media never aired or printed beheading videos and pictures, as some websites did. But it was such brutal acts, together with coverage of the suicide bombing of civilian compounds in Saudi Arabia and wedding parties in Jordan, which made most people see the ugliness of the terrorist organisations they may once have admired, believed or tolerated.

Finally, you cannot take media coverage out of context. The liberal US media tolerated outrageous breaches of constitutional principles after 9/11. Because they thought the administration was fighting a just war, they turned a blind eye to abuses of international rules, civil liberties and human rights - at home and abroad. Where was the outrage over the administration's lies and sleazy and brutal tactics? Why did the New York Times accept the Bush administration's request and delay a story about government eavesdropping on American citizens for a whole year? Where is the campaign against torture in CIA prisons around the world?

If the context allows for such tolerance on the American side, why can't it also be applied to Arab media? After all, the media ultimately does reflect the public's mood. In a world where the anger against Western policies has been boiling for decades, you can't expect much sympathy for colonisers and occupiers. A minimum level of tolerance for some sort of violent reaction in response to even worse actions should be expected and accepted.

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* Khaled Batarfi is a Saudi journalist.
Source: Arab News, December 25, 2005
Visit the website at www.arabnews.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission has been obtained from the author for publication.

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ARTICLE 5
No haven for Scrooge in Cairo
Dan Murphy

Cairo - I consider myself a curmudgeon-in-training (I don't have enough grey hairs to claim the actual title). Around this time of year, I tend to identify with Scrooge, the Grinch, George Bailey (prior to the angel's arrival), and other fabled grumps.

For many years I've taken pleasure in living in Muslim lands free from the trappings of Christmas commerce and the unholy trinity: Carols, mistletoe, and, most daunting, Santa's lap.

That's why I was startled to hear strains of "We wish you a merry Christmas," coming in my Cairo bedroom window last week.

I live in an oasis of an apartment in Egypt's capital that overlooks a back garden, thus shielding me from the incessant honking and exhaust from the traffic in this city of 15 million people.

But the Port Said elementary school at the far side of the garden musters its charges at about 7:15 every morning for an outdoor sing-along. Not yet a full-fledged curmudgeon, I don't mind beginning the day to a gleeful, if tuneless, chorus of 100-plus Muslim children.

But instead of the usual patriotic Egyptian songs, lately they've taken to waking me up with "Jingle Bells" and the like.

Is nothing sacred? Egypt is 94 percent Muslim. This is the birthplace of the Muslim Brotherhood, the modern Islamist movement that ultimately seeks to make the Koran the constitution of the world.

This is home to the great scholars of Al Azhar University, and the chauvinist ideology of Sayyid Qutb. Yet, remarkably, there seems to be more controversy in Washington over the devoutly Christian President Bush sending out a million cards wishing friends and supporters a joyous "Holiday Season," than there is over the spread of all things Christmas here in Cairo.

A cab ride through the city shows something on a grand scale is afoot. There's the parachuting Santa strung up in lights over a downtown hotel, "Merry Christmas" and "Joyëux Noel" banners in front of jewellery stores and Cairo's shopping malls. And what's with the cypress and juniper bushes, dressed up as Christmas trees, for sale on dozens of street corners?

Though Muslims acknowledge Jesus as a prophet, his birthday has not traditionally been celebrated in Muslim countries. But there's every indication that the Arab world's largest city is fully embracing the holiday.

The other day, Ahmed Demiri, my local florist whose shop is entirely given over to wreaths and poinsettias these days, was just emerging from afternoon prayers at the mosque next door, when I demanded: "Who, exactly, is getting into the Christmas spirit?"

"The business is about equally divided between foreigners, Egyptian Christians, and Egyptian Muslims,'' he told me. In recent years, the Christmas season has become a mainstay of his trade. This year he expects to sell about 300 Christmas trees and "lots and lots of poinsettias. People think they're festive."

Festive? Bah humbug.

A few nights ago I went out on the balcony to see who was making so much noise in the garden. It was too late to be the schoolchildren. My landlady Nadida occupies the ground floor, and she and her college-aged daughter were holding a Christmas party for friends and relatives.

I couldn't help but watch for a moment. I caught a glimpse of Nadida sporting a rakishly tilted Santa hat on top of her Muslim head scarf as she ducked back inside for more food.

I can only guess that my recent complaints about the building's water-pressure got me scratched off the invitation list.

But even a curmudgeon knows his limits. Earlier this week, I finally caved to the Christmas spirit. I went back to visit Ahmed and bought a small poinsettia for the apartment. (I showed great fortitude, however, in resisting the impulse to purchase a wreath he was hawking at a bargain price).

Walking home, I spotted Amir, a local contractor who painted my apartment when I moved here last year. I've been avoiding him for months, since every time I see him he tries to talk me into buying the Iraqi dinars he unwisely purchased in a bout of currency speculation. It's true I spend a lot of time in Iraq, but the country's currency controls make it illegal to carry the money into Iraq.

I quickly crossed the street and stepped behind a row of cars. Too slow. "Dan, Dan,'' Amir called as he wove through traffic. I took a deep breath and focused on his zabib, the prayer callus on his forehead marking him as a particularly devout Muslim. As he drew near, I prepared to calmly explain once again why I couldn't break the law and change his dinars.

"I'm so glad I caught you, Dan," he huffed. "I've been wanting to wish you a Merry Christmas."

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* Dan Murphy is a staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor.
Source: Christian Science Monitor, December 23, 2005
Visit the website at www.csmonitor.com.com
Distributed by the Common Ground News Service - Partners in Humanity.
Copyright permission can be obtained from the Christian Science Monitor by contacting lawrenced@csps.com.

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Posted by Evelin at January 11, 2006 08:54 AM