The most pressing question we must ask in changing the West’s distorted image of Islam and Muslims is “What must we do?”
It is first necessary to respond to those who see no benefit to be gained by the change. We must remind Westerners of their own responsibility — that they shoulder some of the burden in correcting the mistakes of the past centuries. It is also necessary to point to opportunities for making changes so that we will not sink into despair or play into the hands of those who, for whatever reasons, wish there never to be harmony between us and the West.
The task is large indeed. The current tendency to use only “painkillers” to confront the anti-Islamic campaigns will not do. We have tried them; they were weak and trifling and proved woefully ineffective. What we mean by “painkillers” is paid ads in foreign newspapers and multimillion-dollar PR campaigns which lead to our being mocked. In many cases, these simply have the opposite effect from what was intended and we continue to be mocked and laughed at for our naivete and belief that money will solve the problem. We are today in need of “popular diplomacy” — building bridges with nations and not governments.
We must not think that we can change our image by means of the media alone. More than that is required; we must reach the Western mind using means and methods suited to that mind. Westerners themselves believe that there has been a deficiency in defining Islam in the West. In fact, 71 percent of Americans said that there was a deficiency; in Britain and Germany 55 percent and in France 47 percent had the same opinion. Who is responsible for this deficiency? We ourselves are to blame.
What are we required to do? Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais recently said in a Friday sermon in Al-Haram Al-Sharif that what is required is to adopt what he called “the cultural Islamic project”. It is a project that seeks to “move the cause forward, correct the image, coordinate efforts and stands and propagate good will, kindness and mercy as well as building a spirit of cooperation, honesty and understanding thereby promoting humanity.” It is a project to be adopted by all the Ummah because its objective is a broad and all-inclusive one and not specific to one country or group.
What we must first realize is that changing our image in the West must be based on “producing an alternative image” rather than by reacting to, and patching up, existing image. Rather than drown in refuting lies and misinformation, we must present accurate information in a full and complete form. We must embark upon a long-range plan rather than a short-term action.
The second thing is for these efforts to be aimed at the grass roots of Western society rather than at politicians and decision-makers. There is no difficulty in reaching these people because of advances in technology, telecommunications, media and the Internet. Thirdly, the action must be multipronged: working in the media, working on the cultural and diplomatic front, personal contacts in addition to all possibilities found in the West. Despite the importance of the media and its effect, there are other means such as universities, educational institutions and religious organizations. The role of these cannot be ignored in our quest.
Fourthly, fellow Muslims living in the West and Muslims who are natives of those countries must be in the forefront of this project. They have more knowledge of the reality and they also have more credibility with their fellow citizens. We in the Muslim world must encourage Western Muslims to integrate fully into the society they live in, thereby becoming effective in influencing it. We must support and aid them and make every effort to help so that they feel secure and so that Western governments will know that they are not unprotected and that behind them stands an Ummah (people) of weight and consequence.
Finally, we must once again say that the West will never listen to us if we continue our present approach. Our efforts will be wasted if we use the “apologist” approach that strips Islam of its values so that it fits what the West wants from us. Our efforts will also be wasted if we use a hostile extremist approach that presents Islam as aggressive and antagonistic toward the West, seeking to destroy it and build an Islamic civilization on its ruins.
We must instead present Islam as a message of guidance and mercy to all people and one that will bring them peace and blessings. We should describe it as a philosophy and system that would contribute to finding workable solutions for many problems of the modern world. It opens the possibility of a new way of life calling for understanding between nations and dialogue between civilizations that establishes the basis of understanding, cooperation, and coexistence regardless of race or religion. We are in no doubt that if we present Islam in this light, the true light as God wished, then we would gain much both now and in the future.
