Wooing Hearts and Minds

The article “State Dept to Launch ‘Charm Offensive’ in Mideast” (July 22) failed to convince me that the US was at last seeking to woo my heart as an Arab and a Muslim. The appointment of Karen Hughes as the new undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and Egyptian-born Dina Habib Powell as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs to improve the Bush administration’s image abroad, especially among Arabs and Muslims, I am afraid, is not going to win “hearts and minds”.

The Washington insiders who question whether the Hughes-Powell team will be able to overturn America’s tarnished image abroad have a more realistic view of the situation. I agree that despite exchange programs, foreign language media, including what one called “the useless” Radio Al-Sawa, this administration’s public diplomacy campaign to promote American values of democracy, tolerance and pluralism abroad while combating negative images propagated in many parts of the world has largely been a failure.

The PR appointments are bound to fail since they are a continuation of the US policies based on propagating US ideologies without making the least effort to understand Muslim and Arab views and the real reasons why people of the region have come to despise the Americans so much.

This approach is futile since the US administration is not considering the root cause of the hate drive against the country. It is trying to change Arab and Muslim values in order to make them sympathize with US atrocities and injustices in the Middle East.

What the Americans destroyed of their image in decades of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim Middle East policy cannot be rebuilt by empty gestures or hollow PR media programs like the ones the Bush administration is pursuing at the moment.

Nizam Addien B. Yagoub, Dhahran, published 28 July 2005

Need to Apologize

This refers to Khaled Almaeena’s article “I’m Not Going to Apologize” (July 27).

We all need to apologize when the societies of which we are members perpetrate misdeeds. I feel horrible that Bush lied to go to war in Iraq and worse still that many Americans still support him. I remember the day Sharon dropped a one-ton bomb on an apartment building to kill one Hamas leader, killing about 14 or so others, including children. That was horribly wrong, and I remember apologizing to my Muslim hairstylist.

In the same vein, there is a violent extremist trend in Islam today that did not exist even a few years ago, and as we are all responsible for our own societies, only Islam can reign in its own extremism. When someone goes to a mosque and hears incitement and does nothing, that person is complicit (not legally complicit, but complicit nonetheless) in today’s violence.

My overriding wish is that there not be a clash of civilizations, for we shall all surely lose in that case.

Stuart Hoffman, United States, published 28 July 2005

Islamic Conference

An “Islamic conference” is being planned to be held in London. Charles Clarke has hinted that he would consider banning people like Dr. Qaradawi from such a conference. So, Mufti Clarke believes that Qaradawi is not fit or qualified enough to take part in the “conference”.

Are we having a conference about Islam or are we going to allow non-Muslim governments tell Muslims what is good for them? Since when has Charles Clarke become an expert on Islamic scholars? There is no point in having a conference of “yes men”.

When Muslims wanted a ban on Salman Rushdie’s book, there was uproar. Now we have Western governments telling us to stop thinking and writing about Islam especially “radical” Islam whatever that means. The “conference” has already lost its credibility. Any conference of the kind proposed should be held in a country that really has the interests of Islam at heart.

Sohaib Sandhu, London, published 28 July 2005

Life’s Value

I agree with Geoffrey Pounder’s remarks in his letter “Where Is the Outrage?” (July 20). I guess the reason for the West’s insensitivity to the atrocities they committed against Arabs Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan is the belief that their (Westerner’s) life is more valuable than the others — exactly what Hitler felt about Jews and their lives. These Western people believe that Arab and Muslims don’t cry and don’t experience pain when they lose loved ones. That is the simple and painful truth.

Unless these people begin to look at others also as human beings like themselves and realize that they too have the same feelings, the Westerners will never understand.

Yusuf Germino, Jeddah, published 28 July 2005

American Payback

From the report “Turkish Govt, Kurdish Rebels Exchange Threats” (July 21) it is clear that Turkey wants its cake and eat it too. In 2002-03, the United States approached Turkey to allow the 4th Armored Division access from Turkey into northern Iraq. The Turks played it to the wire, holding off the US, and the US would not allow Turkish forces to enter northern Iraq. Long before Turkey was a country, Kurdistan lived — 3,500 years ago. I have no sympathy for the Turks. They have a record of brutality going back hundreds of years. Just ask the Greeks and the Armenians.

Does Turkey actually believe the US would allow it to carry out military excursions into northern Iraq? It won’t happen, and the Kurds know it. American Special Ops are well entrenched in the region. And who do you think is training the Kurds? It’s what we Americans call payback.

Chris Biller, United States, published 28 July 2005

Turkey’s Role

In his article “Turkey Can Play a Stabilizing Role” (July 22) Hassan Tahsin wrote: “Arab and other Middle Eastern countries want a united Iraq and are opposed to the establishment of a separate Kurdish state.”

In the same way, Russia and Germany were opposed to the existence of a separate Polish state. It was a mistake. The best strategy for Turkey would be to strongly encourage the development of an independent, democratic Kurdish state, as an ally of a democratic Turkey. That includes giving the new state part of Turkish territory. Germany has benefited, not lost, from the establishment of Poland. Can Turkey make a good long-term move without being forced by some horrible war?

Don Cox, Jeddah, published 28 July 2005

Imams Against Driving

I find it strange that anyone can speak in one moment about “the great role of women” in one breath and then go on to cite some of the most ridiculous reasons for not allowing women to drive. I agree that, as a Muslim society, we have an obligation to “close all the doors leading to corruption”. I am just a bit confused as how putting a strange man in the driver’s seat is less dangerous than putting a woman behind the wheel of her own car. Hiring any driver only means putting your women and children at his mercy. He has control of the car, where it goes, and what he does to whom ever is in the car when he gets there. The deserts are a big and private place.

Speaking of closing the door on corruption I ask you: What door is there between the foreigner or the Saudi shabab you hired to drive the car, and your wife and daughters?

It was mentioned that it would be a financial burden on a family to purchase a car for just one person. When families are faced with the purchase of a car for any male in the family, they often have to choose a used car for economic reasons. They are confronted with the decision of either a used car or no car. What makes you so sure that a woman is less capable of understanding finances? Perhaps because it is their view of women in general which is dictating their opinions regarding what a woman should or shouldn’t be allowed to do. Or perhaps they are judging all women by what they know of the women in their own families. However I assure you, not all women insist on “shiny, new and pretty”. Many women are actually capable of making practical, financial decisions. Since Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him.) first wife, Sayeda Khadija, was in fact a very successful and savvy businesswoman, I think that proves women have the capabilities to deal with finances.

I’d also like to remind readers that many women actually have jobs and their own money. So the purchase of a new or used car would be a burden they would be responsible for themselves.

“The burden of the government having to open special female sections in all traffic departments” was also cited as a reason for women to be denied this choice. To the best of my knowledge, all traffic departments have a counter and more than one person assisting drivers. Therefore, just designate one lane or window for females accompanied by a “’mahram” if need be — the same way they designate the reception/appointment counters in government hospitals, one for women.

If they can figure this out at the local bufiya, why can’t we figure it out for government buildings — unless the men in Saudi Arabia are afraid they would be unable to control their lust if a woman, wearing all black were to enter the room?

The symbol of a bird with a broken wing brings to mind a very powerful picture of what it is like to be denied natural movement. As it is natural for a bird to fly it is also natural for all human beings to have some choices in life. If any woman views her home as a prison, and either her father or husband as its warden, then it stands to reason that she feels like a prisoner. Prisoners are people whose choices and freedoms have been taken away as a punishment for some crime. Since when is it a punishable thing to be a woman?

Some people say that denying a woman a driver’s license is for her own protection. How do you protect a woman from the man in the driver’s seat while you are not there?

Let us look at the whole Muslim world in general. The statement cited that “no Islamic scholar or good figure in society has called for women to drive and that all those who have been calling for them to drive are people who tend to damage the image of Islamic women.” Every other Muslim country in the world has allowed women to drive. Does that mean that every Muslim scholar and Muslim academic in every other country besides Saudi Arabia is not good? That they are bad?

When it comes right down to it, it is not a matter of Islamic jurisprudence or academics. I think it is just a simple matter of control. Those who have it want to keep it. Those who don’t — well, you get the picture.

Zainab Priest, Dhahran, published 28 July 2005