Of the many distressing items in last week’s news, one of the most upsetting
to me was the attack on our embassy in Libya and the death of a uniquely caring
and qualified ambassador, Christopher Stevens.
This young man, fluent in
Arabic, often put himself in harm’s way in an effort to be part of the culture
and readily available to the general populace in Egypt.
Although restless
youth in Egypt need little excuse to pillage and attack, the hate-mongering,
American-made, on-line video mocking the Prophet Muhammad, added instant fuel to
the fire. When such a video, almost instantaneously is translated into many
languages and disbursed around the world, one has to wonder whether freedom of
speech is being misused and there is complete unaccountability between one
individual’s actions and the results it can incur.
I recall the uproar
caused here a few years ago by an artist’s rendering of the cross in a toilet,
and, although the artist said no disrespect was intended, that he was describing
what had happened to Christian values, the museum was forced to remove the
painting because it offended so many.
Since there is already so much misunderstanding and animosity toward Western
powers on one hand, and lack of knowledge and suspicion of Muslims by us, is it
any wonder that instead of trying to comprehend why this happened and how our
foreign policy must change in order to even begin to bridge the cultural divide,
instead there was a round of finger pointing and accusations as to who should
have apologized first or not at all.
Almost unnoticed in the uproar was
the fact that in Saudi Arabia, where no protests were reported, the Grand Mufti,
one of the highest religious authorities, denounced the attacks and said, “It is
forbidden to punish the innocent for the wicked crimes of the guilty.”
In
Tunis, where protestors also attacked the U.S. Embassy, the moderate Islamist
party governing the country warned that such violence threatens the country’s
progress toward democracy after decades of dictatorship.
Professor Alon
Ben-Meir, an expert on Middle East politics who has written seven books related
to Middle East affairs and has specialized in peace negotiations between Israel
and Arab states, claims the West has supported Arab despots that oppressed
people and suppressed individual liberty and imitative. The West also for
decades exploited Arab resources.
The Arabs, says Ben-Meir, are quick to
point out Western corruption, while many of their governments are notorious for
robbing their nation’s wealth. They accuse the West of being morally decadent,
but will go to great lengths to live in Western society. But, regardless of how
each side views the other, both the Arab and Western people and governments will
need to cooperate. Globalization and national security make such cooperation
imperative.
Unfortunately, religious fanatics and ideological zealots on
both sides will fan hatreds. Ben-Meir cautions that the Arab Spring is a long,
evolutionary process punctuated with violence between domestic groups vying for
power. He feels that U.S. economic assistance must be given on condition that
they are channeled toward sustainable development projects that empower the
people and enhance the quality of life of ordinary men and women. Is it possible
for us to try to learn from tragedies like this, rather than see which American
political party can hate the most?
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