Well, I didn’t plan this on purpose, but there was a presentation given about Muslims and U.S. relations last week after I posted Islamic Misconceptions. The article is below and I linked the title to the Kansas State Collegian.
John Esposito gave a much better presentation than the previous one given by Shiekh Alani on 11 April 2008 at Kansas State. Mr. Esposito actually gave statistics and presented the Muslim perception of Americans and the United States. He has published a number of books, over 30, and he’s a professor Religion and International Affairs at Georgetown. The man knows what he’s talking about.
This time, the speaker actually had some facts to back up his statements. He has the credentials to actually speak about Muslim perceptions and the U.S. in a more objective manner. I’m really glad that the International Activities Council at K-State brought Mr. Esposito here.
He talked about how anti-Americanism has increased as a result of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) and how most Muslims see GWOT as a war on Islam, not just terrorism. I can see how they might feel that way, but if that were truly the case, would we not also be trying to advance Christianity as well? And that is obviously not a very good separation of Church and State. Yes, the U.S. is primarily Christian, but all other religions have a chance here as well, and it is national policy not to advance one particular religion over others.
He mentioned one fact/statistic that I thought was extremely important and should be on the front page of every newspaper. Ninety to ninety-three percent (90-93%) of Muslims say that the attacks on 11 September 2001 were not justified. Seriously, 90-93%, not justified. And his statistics are from a poll by Gallop of over 50,000 Muslims in over 35 countries. Even if it isn’t actually 90-93 percent, it is at least above 75 percent and more likely even above 85 percent.
So, if you are a person that thinks that all Muslims were involved with 9/11, you are wrong. It was one extremist group making it seem like they were speaking for all Muslims. We, as Americans, have to change our perception of the rest of the world. We can’t afford to be the ‘ugly Americans’ any longer. It is time to actually stop this hatred, or at least subdue it and keep it restricted to the small extremist groups. Education is the key and that is why I’m writing about this. Americans need to understand more about the statistics that Mr. Esposito presented.
One thing that we can all do is admonish the media when they present only the violence of extremist groups. Media needs to change to help change our impressions. As educated Americans, we have to be choosy in our news sources and the amount of truth we take from the news. Main stream media (MSM) reports on drama and drama is what sells. Unfortunately, that same drama leaves the wrong impression most of the time.
Kansas State Collegian
Jelani Yancey
Published: Friday, September 26, 2008
Updated: Friday, September 26, 2008
John Esposito, professor of religion and international affairs at Georgetown University, presented a speech on relationships and conflicts between the United States and Muslim countries on Thursday afternoon in the K-State Student Union’s Forum Hall.
“We’re not talking about a clash of religions or cultures. It’s a clash of interests. It’s a clash that has to do with policy,” Esposito said.
Esposito serves as a senior adviser with the Gallup Organization, a national and global polling organization. As part of an annual global poll, Gallop surveyed 50,000 people in 35 Muslim countries about their attitudes toward America.
In his presentation, entitled “The U.S. and the Muslim World: Letter to the Next President,” Esposito shared the results of the poll with the audience.
“Much of the data goes against conventional wisdom,” he said.
He explained that the news media often gives undue face time to extremists and Islamic radicals, which gives Americans a false view of the beliefs of a majority of Muslims.
“The problem is ‘Who gets the attention?’ ‘What does the media cover?’ The latest explosion comes to represent what Muslims are,” Esposito said.
In giving undeserved air time to extremists, the news media creates a false perception of the real views of a majority of Muslims, he said.
“Bin Laden will not say ‘I represent a minority of what Muslims think,’” Esposito said.
Islamic extremists hate America, but for most Muslims — just like for most citizens in Europe, South America and other areas of the world — anti-American sentiment results from American foreign policy, he said.
Other countries admire America’s culture and values, but feel America is “neocolonial” and that America holds a double standard with regard to the promotion of democracy.
While the U.S. claims to support democracy, it often also supports authoritarian regimes with leaders who are “America-friendly,” he said.
“The primary driver [of conflict] is not religion. It’s political grievances,” he said.
“Those are things no one ever hears about,” said Tomes Toyama, U.S. Army captain who attended Esposito’s presentation. “All we ever see is Bin Laden.”
Once more, people realize that our conflicts are a clash of interests, not civilizations, policy makers can start coming up with real solutions, Toyama said, who also has a master’s degree in Islamic studies.
Many Americans falsely believe that most Muslims blindly carry an anti-American outlook, Esposito said.
When asked about what they like about the United States, a majority of Muslims reported admiring American technology, economic development, work ethics, democracy and freedom of expression, Esposito said.
By contrast, when Americans were polled on what they admire in Muslim culture, 57 percent reported “nothing,” Esposito said. This statistic epitomizes the denigration many Muslims feel is at the heart of American attitudes toward Islam, he said.
“This shows that 57 percent of Americans don’t know what the Muslim world and culture is,” said Nikmohd Izham, graduate student in plant pathology. “That attitude will affect policy.”
Esposito also said our next president must address the growing fear of Islam in America, or we will be facing a problem with the civil liberties of mainstream Muslim citizens.
Esposito’s speech was the first presented by K-State’s International Activities Council Lecture Series.
