Obama, Obama, we are all Osama” the crowd chanted outsidethe US Embassy in Cairo on September 11. The slogan also found its way toTunis, where a mob attacked the embassy as well, and the chant was taken up inQatar and other Muslim countries. Why? What happened to the liberal youth ofthe Arab world in whom we invested our hopes and support? Why are Muslims sosensitive, so easily offended; why do some so readily resort to violence?
The liberal protesters who demanded freedom and democracylast year were able to unite and overthrow dictators in Tunisia and Egypt. Buttheir failure to explain what their liberalism stands for has opened the wayfor a new, Islamist-oriented power elite that capitalises on old lies andhalf-truths to twist religion and history to manipulate the masses. There is adeeper problem that goes well beyond the popular appeal of Islamist parties: Acancerous narrative has taken hold of many Arab minds.
The United States and the West are widely seen as waging awar on Muslims. Al-Qaida videos promote this vision as a continuation of theCrusades. Many Muslims recall incidents of perceived hostility in their ownlifetime “ the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; the abuses at Abu Ghraib prisonand Guantanamo Bay; the banning of minarets in Switzerland; the outlawing offace veils in France; NATO troops burning copies of the Koran in Afghanistan.In this vein, the recent anti-Islam film confirms the belief that the West isout to destroy Islam.
In most Arab countries, citizens require governmentpermission to produce films. For many Arabs, it is inconceivable that UScitizens are not under the same controls. The attacks on US embassies after therelease of the offensive video “Innocence of Muslims” on YouTube must be seenin this context.
When I watch Al Jazeera Arabic I am stunned by unchallengedreferences in talk show interviews to the “American Zionist plan” or “theAmerican enemy” or the “ally of the Zionist entity.” Attacking the UnitedStates has become part of the political culture in much of the Middle East. Tochallenge it is to be a labeled a “sellout,” a “traitor” or a “Zionist agent”and to court social isolation.
And yet on the streets of Arab capitals, McDonald’s,Starbucks and other American brands remain hugely popular “ as are Americanclothes, technology and television shows and films. The same U.S. embassiesthat were attacked were surrounded almost daily by long lines of peopleapplying for visas to enter the United States. There are almost 50,000 Saudistudents in American universities. Tens of thousands more from across the regionare vying to do the same. Today, America’s Muslims are freer and moreprosperous than Muslims in any other part of the world. Their daily lives showthat the narrative about a US-Islam war is a myth.
The Arab world is at an important crossroads. It is time toabandon this false narrative. Not enough has been done to educate Arab andMuslim religious leaders in the Middle East about the reality of religiousfreedom in America. Their misunderstanding of liberty leads to their silence “or worse, incitement. A US invitation to Ali Gomaa, Egypt’s grand mufti, SheikAhmed al-Tayyib, grand imam of Al-Azhar, or Saudi Arabia’s popular Sheik Salmanal-Awdah as guests of the American people at the president’s State of the Unionaddress in Congress would help demonstrate a different America to young, religiousArabs. These clerics, and others like them, command the support of millions. Wecan create a new narrative.
The United States can also help by being seen to be a fairarbitrator of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Better relations with some 300 millionArabs strengthens US influence, and helps more than 7 million Israelis, too. Nocountry has as much soft power at its disposal in the Arab world as does theUnited States. A new generation of Arabs deserve a better future than followingthe madness of those who shout “Obama, Obama, we are all Osama.”
Ed Husain is a senior fellow for Middle EasternStudies at the Council on Foreign Relations
