LONDON: The West has to “show greater respect” for Muslims if it wants to rebuild relations with the Islamic world, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said on Thursday.
In a speech delivered in Oxford, Miliband listed the Iraq war alongside the medieval Crusades and colonial-era division and subjugation of the Middle East as drivers of “bitterness, distrust and resentment” in the region. He also said relations had been damaged by the use of “lazy stereotypes” by Western officials, and conceded that his own use of the labels “moderate” and “extremist” showed a lack of understanding that risked “undermining the force of our own argument,” according to an early text of the remarks released by the Foreign Office.
The speech, at the Oxford Center for Islamic Studies, was intended to build on an address delivered in Mumbai in January in which the foreign secretary conceded that the idea of a “war on terror” had done more harm than good by uniting otherwise disparate groups in common antipathy to the West.
“Organizations with different aims, values and tactics were lumped together. Little or sometimes no distinction was drawn between those engaged in national territorial struggles and those pursuing global or pan-Islamic objectives; between those that could be drawn into domestic political processes and those who are essentially anti-political and violent,” he said.
“If we want to rebuild relations — to forge broader coalitions — we need to show greater respect. That means rejecting the lazy stereotypes and moving beyond the binary division between moderates and extremists,” he added.
He appeared to pave the way for a more conciliatory policy toward militant Muslim groups, arguing: “That means being prepared to encourage reconciliation with organizations whose values we may not share but who are prepared to pursue common interests.”
However, Foreign Office officials said Miliband was not signaling a change in policy toward the Hamas movement in Gaza. They said Britain remained committed to the “Quartet principles” which dictate that the international community will not talk directly to Hamas about the Middle East peace process until the Palestinian movement renounces violence and accepts Israel’s right to exist.
