JEDDAH, 23 February — Has Islam been hijacked by terrorists? The question was posed to Dr. Zamil Abu Zinada, director general of information in the Ministry of Information, and Arab News Editor-in-Chief Khaled A. Al-Maeena by Riz Khan in a feature on BBC World’s “Haj: Islam speaks” aired yesterday.
“No, Islam has not been hijacked by terrorists but the time has come for the silent majority of Muslims, who are law abiding and who believe in the true faith of Islam, to raise their voice. It’s time for them to say enough is enough and the right type of people should speak up,” Al-Maeena said.
Emphasizing that a great majority of Muslims were peace loving, he said: “A great majority want security for themselves, want to educate their children and give them a good lifestyle, not because (US Secretary of State) Colin Powell or (US Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld want it. The logic of Islam is that we want to better ourselves.”
As the gathering of more than two million pilgrims continued in Saudi Arabia, BBC World aired the feature thrice yesterday. Abu Zinada and Al-Maeena answered questions ranging from the significance of Haj, its overtones in the context of the post-Sept. 11 situation, to the rights of women in Islam and the rising cost of the annual pilgrimage.
Asked how the image of Islam had suffered after the Sept. 11 event, Abu Zinada said: “We’ve to create awareness among the people in the West about Islam. We need an awareness program about Islam in general and Haj in particular.”
Al-Maeena said: “I think we’ve been very bad in public relations. The perception is so bad outside that it will take time to remove the misconceptions. Language is a barrier. Not many of our people know English. Now the works of various Islamic scholars are being presented in different languages. And we’re also trying to present a correct image. We’re all followers of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them). Our faith has many similarities, but to portray that we’re different because we wear a different dress or a headgear is not proper.”
On the treatment of women in Islam, Abu Zinada said: “There is no discrimination.” Referring to his statement that there was a misconception about the treatment of women in Islam, Al-Maeena said at one time there were three countries in the Muslim world - Pakistan, Turkey and Bangladesh — headed by women, despite they being conservative societies. “So it’s wrong to say that women are ill-treated. Of course they have to play a bigger role. In fact, women are now working and are completely at par with men.”
Abu Zinada said the media also had a free access to information. “Censorship is a word in the vocabulary of the past.” Supporting Abu Zinada’s statement, Al-Maeena said: “The Kingdom has nothing to hide. We’ve issues and we’ve been taking them up. We’ve a large young population. We’ve to think of their future.” He added: “We’re a young country and our journalism is also young. Over the past years, we’ve seen the emergence of good writers and journalists here.” About safety and security at the holy sites, Abu Zinada reiterated that pilgrims performed the annual pilgrimage amid utmost safety and security. It’s a costly exercise for the Kingdom. And as soon as one Haj ends, preparations for the next Haj begin.”
Al-Maeena added: “The Saudi government’s main concern is safety and security of the pilgrims from their arrival to departure. More equipment and new technology have been put to use.”
