While I was studying in the United Kingdom in the 1980s, I happened to read a supplement on Saudi Arabia in The Times. The articles focused on the Arab cafes with photos of customers deeply engrossed in smoking the hubbly-bubbly. The supplement did not highlight any positive features of the Saudi society.
I brought the matter to the attention of my friend Abdul Aziz Al-Turki, a senior official at the Saudi Embassy in Britain, and stressed the need for government-supported efforts in the West to highlight the positive aspects of Arab societies.
In sharp contrast to this, the Jewish establishments have been highly successful in presenting a good image of their culture and religion in Europe and America.
The Jewish Board of Deputies and Jewish National Fund are the leading organizations that make sustained efforts to influence the British public opinion. On the other hand, the only organization for the promotion of the Arab voice in Britain is the Council For the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, which was established with the cooperation of sympathetic British people shortly after the Six Day War in 1967.
More of such organizations, particularly with active participation of Arab intellectuals living in the West in collaboration with Western intellectuals sympathetic to the Arab and Islamic causes are needed to remove the misunderstandings among Western intellectuals about Arabs and Muslims.
The painful events of denigrating the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Danish media and the recent abuses in the Swedish press point to an organized campaign against Muslims, particularly the Prophet. On the other hand, the people in the West are unaware of the fact that Muslims respect and love Moses, Jesus, and all other prophets (peace be upon them) as part of their faith. The Muslims had, for instance, joined several demonstrations protesting the release of films distorting the image of Jesus in various parts of the world.
As a result of the efforts made by OIC Secretary— General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Swedish Ambassador to Saudi Arabia recently offered an apology to the Muslims on behalf of his government.
We should not ignore, at the same time, the reaction of the Western societies to the abhorrent activities of some Muslim jihadi movements. Their violent actions, undoubtedly, spoil the image of Islam. The OIC and other Muslim organizations have been condemning the activities of the jihadi outfits that violate the Islamic principles of the middle path, moderation and tolerance. The core of the call of Islam, as advocated by Prophet Muhammad is mercy, security and peace.
The Jewish organizations have been successful in their attempt to label all those who disagree with Israel’s policies as anti-Semitic. What is more, the Jewish propaganda has succeeded in portraying the anti-Semites as the worst criminals — a group of people to be shunned by the entire civilized world.
Muslims of the world hope that the political and intellectual establishments in the West would condemn any kind of attack, including by the media, on the religion of Islam, its symbols and leaders. Muslims expect a treatment identical to the one Judaism, Buddhism or other religions receive in the West. Muslims wonder why no one in the West dares to criticize the religious practices of the Jews while Muslims, their religion and their Prophet could be attacked with impunity. The West practices double standard when it says that it stands for freedom and fairness. Unfortunately, no element of justice could be detected in West’s attitude to Muslims, Arabs and their religion, culture and customs. Worse still, no freedom is allowed to anyone who wants to point out the failures of the Jews.
