Conflict reveals common ground
As another July Fourth approaches, it’s time for a declaration of interdependence.
The United States is not looking to break with a distant king or empire, as it was in 1776. Economically, culturally and religiously, Americans are tied more than ever to the rest of the world. But our country is trusted less and respected less and understood less than at virtually any other time in history.
At the same time, there is an alarming belief that the United States is the source of the world’s problems and an inspiration for terrorism by Muslims.
Forty-six percent of Nigerian Muslims believe suicide bombings are legitimate ways to protect Islam, according to the annual Pew Global Attitudes poll. And majorities of Muslims in Britain, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey and Jordan said they do not believe that Arabs carried out the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
The sense of grievance toward the West is palpable throughout the poll, which makes it easier to understand how entire countries have been hijacked for the murderous purposes of Islamic extremists.
Pew found a single sliver of hope: In Europe, where Muslims and non-Muslims have the most day-to-day contact, there is less mistrust and division.
Yet the chasm is so wide that two prominent ex-U.N. ambassadors from the United States — former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and former Republican Sen. John Danforth — are convinced that bridging the gap must be done mostly outside political systems and among moderate religious leaders.
Albright, who has published a book about religion and politics, and Danforth, who is about to, are urging moderate Jews, Christians and Muslims to engage in high-level and perpetual dialogues. They criticized leaders of all three religions for not seizing moments of conflict — such as the global flap over anti-Muslim cartoons that ran in Danish newspapers last year — to teach tolerance and forgiveness and co-existence.
One starting point they think could unite Christians, Jews and Muslims: a shared belief in the protection of innocents in wartime.
That topic has become increasingly combustible as terrorists purposely target civilians to spread fear and undermine governments — and as American soldiers are prosecuted for civilian deaths in Iraq.
“I think it would be a very important thing and very constructive to have not just a one-shot meeting, but a persistent inter-religious dialogue,” Danforth, an ordained Episcopal minister, said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast. “And I think one of the subjects that would be an interesting … starting point of such a dialogue would be the principle of non-combatant immunity. (That is) a basic principle of Islam, and it historically has been a principle of Christianity. It is central in the just-war doctrine.”
Pew’s latest annual survey of global attitudes was based on interviews in April of more than 14,000 people in 15 countries. It concludes that the understanding gap between Westerners and Muslims is built on each side’s most extreme caricatures of the other side’s religion and culture.
“Many in the West see Muslims as fanatical, violent and as lacking tolerance,” said Pew Director Andrew Kohut. “Meanwhile, Muslims in the Middle East and Asia generally see Westerners as selfish, immoral and greedy — as well as violent and fanatical.”
Albright blames a particular American export.
“Whether I am in Turkey or Jordan or someplace, and I see some of what comes over on American television, I just cringe that they all think that we all run around with our midriffs bare. I personally don’t do that,” Albright said. “Or, it’s nothing but violence and horror. So I think that there does need to be a very sustained public message so that in the battle of ideas, we put out what we are for.”