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President
Obama visited Istiqlal
Grand Mosque Jakarta, Nov.
10, 2010 |
President Barack Obama's speech on
U.S. policy in the Middle East and
North Africa on Thursday, May 19th
comes in the midst of a historic
transformation in the region with
broad implications for U.S.-Muslim
world relations. The death of Osama
bin Laden and the Arab Spring offer
new challenges to the Obama
administration and the EU to restore
and strengthen U.S.-Muslim world
relations. However, it will require
an alternative framework for a
failed decades-long paradigm. The
challenge for American (and
European) policymakers will be to
move beyond equating protection of
national interests with the
stability and security of
authoritarian regimes to a policy
based on the pursuit of our national
interests within America's
principles of self-determination,
democracy and human rights.
Much has changed since the Muslim
world responded enthusiastically to
Obama's election and Cairo speech.
Initially, major polls, like that of
Gallup, reported a significant spike
in attitudes towards the U.S.
However, many soon perceived a gap
between Obama's vision and rhetoric
vs. the administration's failure to
deliver on his New Way Forward.
There seemed little difference
between Bush and Obama policies on
closing Guantanamo and introduction
of military courts, the significant
increase of troops in Afghanistan,
his backtracking and retreat from
his firm stand on an end to illegal
settlements in Palestine-Israel, and
continued support for authoritarian
regimes.
As a result, Obama faces a much more
skeptical audience this time around
that will not be easily wooed simply
by better rhetoric. Credibility and
respect requires fairness in
policies in addition to culturally
sensitive language.
Bin Laden's death symbolized the
failure of al Qaeda and
transnational terrorism to achieve
their goals of mobilization and
development of a mass movement to
topple regimes and fight the Western
presence and intervention. The Arab
Spring signaled that failure when a
diverse broad-based mass movement
that did not look to bin Laden's
model of violence and terrorism but
rather opted for a non-violent
populist uprising demanding greater
democratization.
In some ways, the Arab Spring
symbolizes the failure of both al
Qaeda and America. Ironically, both
were partially responsible/complicit
in creating the conditions for Arab
repression: the U.S. either by
supporting unpopular authoritarian
regimes and al Qaeda by providing
them with the fuel to repress their
populations through emergency laws
and fear. As a result, Arabs looked
to neither discredited parties for
their freedom. Instead, for the
first time in a generation, they
looked inward for answers.
The Obama administration, like most
experts and Arab governments, were
caught off guard by the upheaval and
rapid fall of regimes in Tunisia and
Egypt. It initially seemed hesitant,
trying to determine which way the
wind was blowing, to walk both sides
of street, expressing support for
long time allies but concern about
regime violence and human rights.
Having now responded more
effectively, it is challenged to
more clearly and forcefully set out
the principles of its policy: (1)
that in the popular struggle against
autocratic rulers the U.S. will
always stand on the side of freedom,
democracy, and human rights. Thus,
the brutality not only of Bashar
Asad and Muammar Gaddafi but also of
Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen and the
Al Khalifa in Bahrain will need to
unequivocally be condemned and (2)
that the U.S. will respect the will
of the people and not interfere in
the internal affairs of newly-formed
Arab democratic governments. This
would include acceptance of
mainstream Islamists, like Egypt's
Muslim Brotherhood and Tunisia's
Ennahada, participation in elections
and in government.
Resolution of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains
the more difficult and seemingly
intractable issue. U.S. policymakers
face newly empowered Arab publics
(and elected governments) that will
be more independent and critical of
Israel's policies and the
administration's perceived inability
to stand up to the Netanyahu
government. If, as the
administration has indicated, it
wishes to re-engage the peace
process, it will have to move from a
peace "process" to real and
substantive action and consequences.
Obama will need to return to and
fulfill his promises in Cairo
regarding illegal Israeli
settlements. If Netanyahu remains
intransigent and no progress is made
by September, Obama needs to fulfill
his promise by supporting the UN
initiative for a Palestinian state
within 1967 borders.
As Defense Secretary Robert Gates
has noted, Osama bin Laden's death
could be a "game-changer" in
Afghanistan. President Obama should
take this opportunity to meet his
political promise to begin a draw
down of troops in July, signaling
the beginning of an American
withdrawal from Afghanistan.
President Hamid Karzai and the
Pakistan government's recent
indication of a willingness to
jointly work to bring a negotiated
settlement through peace and
reconciliation talks with the
Taliban should be strongly
encouraged by the administration.
President Obama cannot be expected
to address all of the above issues
in his speech on May 19. But he will
need to effectively respond to the
question: "Where will the US go from
here?" by setting out a new US
framework for US-Muslim world
relations and announcing specific
policies and actions to achieve his
administration's goals.
*****
John L. Esposito is
University Professor, Professor of
Religion and International Affairs
and of Islamic Studies and Founding
Director of the Prince Alwaleed bin
Talal Center for Muslim-Christian
Understanding at the Walsh School of
Foreign Service, Georgetown
University. Esposito specializes in
Islam, political Islam from North
Africa to Southeast Asia, and
Religion and International Affairs.
He is editor-in-chief of the
four-volume The Oxford Encyclopedia
of the Modern Islamic World, The
Oxford History of Islam, The Oxford
Dictionary of Islam, The Islamic
World: Past and Present, and the
six-volume The Oxford Encyclopedia
of the Islamic World and Oxford
Islamic Studies Online. His more
than forty five books include The
Future of Islam, Who Speaks for
Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really
Think (with Dalia Mogahed), Unholy
War: Terror in the Name of Islam,
The Islamic Threat: Myth or
Reality?, Islam and Politics,
Political Islam: Radicalism,
Revolution or Reform?, Islam and
Democracy (with J. Voll).
Source:
Huffington Post |
