JEDDAH, 2 February 2003 — Extremism in the Muslim world did produce Osama Bin Laden and his likes and that must change. It should not be allowed to exist in the name of such a universally accepted peaceful religion. However, to think that extremism is an exclusive property of Islam would be a grotesque mistake. Fundamentalist exists everywhere and they have been having a field day of late in the US Jerry Falwell announced on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that Prophet Muhammad was “a terrorist.” His comments are part of a trend that keeps growing. Many times Pat Robertson has called Prophet Muhammad “a robber and a brigand” and described Islam as “a monumental scam.” Billy Graham’s son Franklin has joined in as well, frequently calling Islam “a very evil and wicked religion.”

And in this case, the “extremists” are not obscure characters but rather three of the best-known religious icons in America, with tens of millions of followers and massive political effectiveness and clout.

As it prepares for a war with Iraq, the United States is trying to convince the Arab and Muslim world that it is not at war with its people. The White House and the State Department have devised major programs (which were recently stopped) to tell Muslims that America is concerned about their welfare. This argument becomes much tougher to make — and soft efforts at cultural exchange will mean nothing — against the echo of bigoted sermons by preachers.

For the next generation or so at least, the most important issue for American foreign policy will be its relationship with the 1.2 billion Muslims around the world. Getting that relationship right will have more effect on protecting the lives of American citizens than any other.

Falwell, Robertson and Graham’s hate-filled campaign is lighting fires that could grow into a terrible conflagration. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson’s sermons and messages were sources of motivation for various terrorist attacks in America. All of the abortion clinics’ fires and assassinations of its nurses and doctors were carried out by extremists who were influenced by the thoughts and words of these fiery preachers.

This type of ignorant and bigoted remarks are not exclusive to the far right extremist; it also comes from leading newspaper columnists such as Thomas Friedman, William Safire and others. Friedman, in a very wicked article, linked an Egyptian elevator operator’s saying the name of Allah as he pushed the requested floor button to Egypt’s backwardness. How pathetically dreadful! I wonder why the wise in American refuse to see the bigotry and prejudice which exist there, breeding extremists and terrorists — from the Talmudic schools in Brooklyn which produced terrorists like Meir Kahane, Baroch Goldstein and Jerry Rubin to Bob Jones University, which produces the likes of Falwell and company. Immediately after Sept. 11, Robertson and Falwell agreed to use the tragedy to ignite their followers.

They blamed the tragedy on “pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays and lesbians, ACLU, people who tried to secularize America.” They were also later joined by Billy Graham’s daughter Anne Graham Lotz repeating the same message. Later on they were all bombarded by articles and talk shows condemning their opinions.

They backed down — announcing their apologies and regrets saying they were quoted (what else?) “Out of context”!! They later on shifted their direction finding in Muslims a more convenient prey.

These types of mad, zealot irrational extremists are in every religion and culture. They all need to be stopped immediately and all should be treated equally. President Bush has always said that fighting extremism works. Its must work across the globe equally not excluding the ones in America either.

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(Hussein Shobokshi is a Saudi businessman based in Jeddah)