JEDDAH, 22 May 2004 — Saudi Arabia is witnessing a major reform movement. The process is unstoppable now, but it needs to be channeled and nurtured. To deny it our support or to work against it could mean a lost opportunity.

Most Arabs agree on the need for reforms, and agree that they cannot be imposed by foreign powers — what is good for the US is not necessarily good for Saudi Arabia and the Arab world. Approaches to reform differ among different societies and vary according to different environments. We must give our nations what they need, not what others think they ought to need.

What is essential for the Middle East’s prosperity is regional peace and global opportunities. The Arab-Israeli conflict, the situation in Iraq and the threat of terrorism as well as the rise of extremism are obstacles to peace and prosperity in the Arab world. The US’ antagonistic foreign policies toward the ME, the continued Arab humiliations and the inaction of the international community will expose the whole world to more terror and global insecurity.

Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries are capable of developing their own system of reforms and their visions for a better future differ from the West. We need to respect our cultural differences and religious beliefs. There are many social issues that need to be addressed in order to create a better understanding between Arab/Muslim culture and the American public.

This applies particularly to political reform in Islamic societies. Islam does not condone political opposition; however, it encourages political dialogue because that helps unify the nation. When a Western political system was imposed on Arab and Islamic societies it led to disaster, causing 15 years of civil war in Lebanon and violence in Algeria.

However, freedom, the rule of law, equality and accountability are the basic objectives of the Arab nation’s political reform program today. There is no dispute over that.

Saudi Arabia is implementing a reform program through national dialogue and through building up civil institutions like the Shoura Council and the Human Rights Association. The government has also initiated several, economic, judicial and educational reforms based on religious and cultural foundations. Nevertheless, a lot more is needed, and here Western expertise and global partnerships would be highly appreciated.

The United States is calling for democratic reforms in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia recognizes the need to do much more on this score. The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), Washington’s initiative for reforms in the region, is of vital interest to the Arab reformers. The question is, how can the US succeed in finding partners to implement its reform proposals for the Middle East?

Above all it needs to restore its credibility among Saudis and Arabs, who see US foreign policies and aggressive rhetoric as a threat to their sovereignty and integrity. The US must also reinforce cultural cooperation, and respect the right to cultural diversity on a national and international level.

All of us must confront people who think that they alone are right and everyone else is wrong and they alone have solutions to all problems. The blame for much of this situation lies with the silent majority and the liberal intellectuals who allowed extremists to wield such an influence on our two worlds.

It is also essential that we disseminate accurate information to everyone and discourage the campaign of defamation against Arabs and Muslims that is raging in the right-wing media in the West. The US media in particular will have to revise its one-sided, monochrome approach to the Middle East. Only if the US recognizes and respects its friends and allies can we win the war on terror that is tearing through both our worlds.

Some religious leaders in the West have joined in the attack against Arab and Muslim countries for their lack of democracy and failure to modernize. Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has said that Islam and democracy are incompatible and urged Europeans to “resist claims that Islamic states were morally, spiritually and culturally superior.” He also suggested that Arab and Muslim countries had contributed little to world culture for centuries and criticized the Islamic faith.

Such attacks are tantamount to incitement; from a prominent Christian leader they hardly help the deteriorating relations between Muslims and the West. No wonder then that there is little to counter the perception in the Arab and Muslim world that the US and the West today are dominated by greed and immorality.

Many see US plans to democratize our region as only a façade that hides a manipulative corporate interests and plans to dominate the world.

We cannot allow this confrontation to continue. We need to break down these barriers of suspicion that keep us apart. There is no doubt that the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks have been catastrophic, beyond the loss of human life, for human communication. They revealed deeply ingrained historical sensitivities in the minds of people both in the West and the East. Old prejudices have come to the surface and as a result the “clash of civilizations” has become a specter dividing the world today.

Only if we accomplish a genuine partnership between the US and the Arab and Muslim world will we be able to save innocent lives on both sides from destruction and bring peace and prosperity for all.

— Samar Fatany is a radio journalist. She is based in Jeddah.