The world is in turmoil, and the continued confrontation between Muslim countries and the US and the West has reached a dangerous level. There is now more than ever a need for a healthy political environment for nations to achieve prosperity.
We must urgently come up with new initiatives to bring about peace and global security. Yet things are not as bleak as they may seem, and a little goodwill and common sense can go a long way toward breaking down the false dichotomy that has been created.
The media, academics, NGOs and businesses across the world can do much to stop the rhetoric of extremists that is fueling the flames of conflict and destroying the spirit of friendship, thereby jeopardizing global security.
Pressure groups can influence world public opinion and exercise pressure on policy makers who enforce unjust policies that escalate tensions between the West and the Muslim world. We must mobilize them in this cause.
At the same time, it is important to foster core Judeo-Christian and Islamic values, and to point out the common ground among these three great Abrahamic religions rather than polarize them by exaggerating their differences. But beyond that, there is a need to embrace the shared values of all religions and respect all faiths. Religious scholars need to speak out against hatred and bigotry, not fuel them.
Critical dialogue and constructive criticism are positive forces that can strengthen tolerance and mutual respect. We must be open to them rather than strangling them at birth, as polemicists on both sides so often do. We must not allow prejudices and stereotyping to blur our vision and destroy our sense of justice and goodwill.
The conflicts that divide us cry out for new initiatives to find just solutions. The Muslim world feels that the West is exploiting it and is motivated by greed. The West on the other hand perceives Islam as a threat and sees Muslims as enemies who are secretly plotting to kill and destroy. These extremist views need to be corrected and for the two sides to coexist and prosper.
The efforts to uproot terrorism must be underpinned by international political action ensuring justice and equality among people. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has to end. It is a source of pain and misery to the innocent people of both sides. It is a threat to peace and global security. Moreover, the situation in Iraq too must be resolved with transparent UN-led initiatives on the basis of the decisions of the Iraqi people themselves. It is not too late to recognize that extremism, violence and terrorism are a result of injustice and discrimination.
To achieve this, we need a secure political, economic and social environment through global cooperation between civil societies and institutions. It is through civil institution, not by military intervention, that the human rights and civil liberties of the underprivileged among us are safeguarded.
In this effort, business is a vital tool. International trade needs peace to flourish; it is in the interest of global business to see stable markets and progress for all. However, the negative aspects of globalization are a concern for many, and unless they are addressed and the global community as a whole is seen to benefit — rather than a few, mostly concentrated in the West — real progress cannot be made.
Extremism appeals to young people. The best investment any government can make is therefore in academic and cultural exchange programs that allows young people to grow up respecting cultural diversity and experience practical tolerance. Educational programs in the arts and sport can shape a more globally aware younger generation.
Science too can play a part. Research with a view to reducing human suffering — as opposed to technologies that increase our capacity to kill and destroy — is essential if we want to move forward. Eradicate poverty and disease, solve the water shortage problem, protect the environment — these are the true priorities of our time.
As for nation states, it is vital that they respect international law. We must all be united in recognizing the United Nations as the only international body qualified to impose sanctions and act as a world policeman. Attempts to undermine it and thereby erode its authority must stop.
The UN Program for Non-Proliferation is a subject of particular importance and needs to be addressed. Two of its most important recommendations were signed by all member states. “States must refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any other state.” And secondly, “Easing of international tensions and strengthening of trust between states in order to facilitate the cessation of the manufacturing of nuclear weapons and the liquidation of all existing stockpiles” should form the heart of foreign policy of all member states.
Sadly both the current US administration and Israel appear determined to undermine the UN and ignore its core recommendation at every opportunity, and in doing so they threaten world peace.
Muslim countries, and the Arab world in particular, see a double standard at work that has created an urge for the acquisition of nuclear weapons to safeguard their territorial integrity. As long as Israel continues to maintain its nuclear arsenal in the middle of their region, tensions in the Middle East will continue to escalate.
That is common sense. As long as these weapons exist there is no certainty they won’t be stolen, sabotaged or subject to accident, and the expanding traffic in nuclear technology is creating great concern.
According to the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency a black market in nuclear technology already exists. As long as the US and Israel keep pushing the envelope in what increasingly seems like deliberate provocation, that threat will continue to loom large.
A spirit of mutual respect can help bring about greater stability and global security. But the stress must be on “mutual”. Divided by hatred and bigotry, violent extremists on both sides will continue to terrorize and threaten our very existence.
The conflict between the Muslim and Western civilizations is politically motivated. Politicians on both sides have failed to achieve peace and as a result extremist minorities have hijacked the two worlds.
It is the weakness of Arab countries that led to the humiliation of their people, but it is also the silence and indifference of the international community in the face of the injustices against Arabs and Muslims that galvanize Islamist terror today. In order to create better understanding between the Arabs and Muslims and the US-led Western world, the international community must look impartially at all injustices, escalating tensions, discriminations, conflicts and wars that are orchestrated in the name of nations or religions.
Only with a genuine partnership between civilizations can justice and peace prevail.
(Samar Fatany is a Saudi radio journalist. She is based in Jeddah.)
