RIYADH, 5 October 2004 — Muslims should do some introspection and diagnose the ills afflicting their societies. They should also go on the offensive by pinpointing the shortcomings of their critics. It was also time to forge alliances with the supporters of Islam in the West in order to take the battle into their adversaries’ court.

This was the opinion of a cross-section of participants at the international conference on “The Image of Saudi Arabia in the World” which entered its third day yesterday. However, security concerns seemed to have played out in keeping the level of attendance rather low.

Participating in the discussion, Sheikh Saleh Al-Hussein, an Islamic scholar, underlined the need for a concerted effort to project a good image of the Kingdom among the pilgrims coming here either for Haj or Umrah. The views were echoed by Dr. Abdullah Al-Lohaidan who spelled out his strategy for making use of the mass media to correct the misconceptions about the Kingdom and Islam.

Mohammed Aslam Khan, an executive editor working for Internews Pakistan, took up the theme at a later stage when he proposed high-caliber training programs to hone the professional skills of Muslim journalists as well as an Islamic think tank to undertake indepth research on each Muslim country. Khan had a dig at the United States and asked when the US could not bring democracy to Haiti since the time of President Woodrow Wilson in 1915, how could it think of fast-forwarding democratic reforms in the Arab world?

Dr. Keith Rowe, professor of comparative religions from New Zealand, said the Arabs should not think that it is all “gloom and doom in the West.” There were some fairminded Westerners, too, who were ready to support the cause of Islam and debunk the myth surrounding it. He proposed an alliance with the saner elements from the West in the joint task of meeting the challenge head on. Omar A. Bahalaiwa, secretary-general of the Saudi Committee for the Development of International Trade, told Arab News later that it was time to do some stock-taking and discover our own shortcomings. “Islam is a religion of peace. What message are we conveying when there are acts of terrorism?” he asked.

On the subject of the image of Muslim women in the Arab world, Dr. Mohammed Al-Hawari, an Egyptian scholar, said the West had some preconceived notions about Muslim woman — oppressed, procreator of children, always in hijab so that she does not tempt evil eyes on the street. He quoted a Western convert to Islam who explained how the wearing of hijab endowed her with a sense of privacy and freedom from prying eyes.

Dr. Al-Hawari said that while such misconceptions stemmed more out of myth than reality, leaders of the Arab world could call the shots by embarking on reforms in areas regarded as weak spots by critics.

Dr. Syed S. Al-Shenkaty of Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh argued that the only way to counter their opponents was to smack at their Achilles’ heel by exposing the weaknesses in Western society. He said there was no need to feel apologetic about Islam in view of its inherent strength and its resilience to cope with challenges.

Dr. Safran Al-Magati, associate professor of Ummul Qura University (Makkah), referred to the Zionist-inspired media campaign in the US targeting Saudi Arabia as a source of funding for terror. Pointing out how the perceptions of the media and their governments had influenced their thinking, he referred to a survey of 516 pilgrims from Western countries who showed the same mindset. The survey, conducted in English, French and Spanish, disclosed that a majority of Western pilgrims mistakenly believed the Kingdom to be funding the terror campaign. The Kingdom’s support for the Palestinians, he said, was the root cause of the anti-Saudi campaign.

In this context, Mustafa Jalali (not Jalahi as reported erroneously in yesterday’s edition) explained how Saudi Aramco has been trying to correct some misconceptions about the Kingdom by producing documentaries and 3D films in several languages. It also handed out publicity material to 10,000 teachers in the US through the National Council for Arab-American Relations, besides lending its support to non-governmental organizations.