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The Domestic Dimension A plot to blow up
a mosque and the offices of a Muslim political action committee and the office of a
California Congressman of Arab origin by a Jewish group has highlighted the domestic
dimension of the Arab-Israeli conflict. For decades
pro-Israeli lobbyists have operated under the assumption that Islam and Israel are locked
up in a zero-sum-game. They see the growth of Islam and growth of Islamic consciousness as
a threat to the very existence of Israel. Based on this operating premise, pro-Israeli
forces have sought to undermine the spread of Islam in the US and stem the increasing
political significance of Muslim organizations. It is easy to
understand the fears of the friends of Israel. In order to sustain Israels military
advantage over Arabs, they have to sustain the asymmetrical balance of power between
American Jewish lobby and the American Muslim lobby. In the post Sept.
11th politics, this domestic and not so visible dimension of the Arab-Israeli
conflict has become more and more hectic. While pro-Israeli Jewish organizations are
flooding American media with information allegedly linking Muslim organizations with
terrorists (often the tips come in the form of oral and written records of careless
statements by Muslim leaders), Muslim organizations and activists are working feverishly
to argue that terrorism is a consequence of Israeli atrocities against Palestinians and US
foreign policy in the Middle East. Some Muslims have even tried to plant the idea that
Israelis may have committed the attacks of 911. This
Muslim-Jewish byplay is not good for the social health of America and already
long-standing Muslim-Jewish dialogues have suffered because of this rise in Muslim-Jewish
tension. While Muslims definitely share responsibility for this state of affairs, a
disproportionate amount of attacks are coming from the Jewish side. American Muslims are
already besieged by the administrations treatment of American Muslims as suspects
and the additional attacks from their cousins (Jews and Muslims are biblical cousins from
the two sons of Prophet Abraham) are making things worse. Perhaps the Bush administration already senses this as can be seen by Mrs. Cheneys comments at the Anti-defamation League dinner in Chicago (Nov 12). She said, Muslims should not be blamed "for the actions of a fanatic few." President Bush himself has condemned anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic xenophobia. The attacks on
Islam however have continued and it seems that there is a method behind this madness. The
attacks seem to be systematic and at many levels. 1. The first
major strike was launched by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), which published a study
estimating American Muslim population to about 2.6 million. The general opinion is that
there are between 6-7 million Muslims in America. AJC is concerned that over estimation of
Muslim population is making American politicians and American media more sensitive to
American Muslim concerns. The study is actually not even a real survey but a review
article that merely studies other estimates and then advances its own guestimate. The timing of the
report, after Sept. 11th, when the American Muslim community was already
battered verbally and even in some cases physically by rising anti-Muslim sentiment, is
indicative of the strategic animus behind the study. Imagine any other
religious community, Catholics, Baptists, or Muslims conducting a survey of how many Jews
really live in America. This would be immediately construed as anti-Semitic and there
would be a huge uproar against such bigotry. But AJC has suffered no backlash from anyone
in the media or the government. 2. Then there are
attacks against American Muslim organizations and their leaders. Prominent spokespersons
are Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum in Philadelphia, an openly pro-Israeli think
tank and Steve Emerson a documentarian of Muslim organizations; who have been trying to
paint prominent Muslim organizations as terrorist organizations and Muslim leaders as
sympathizers and supporters of terrorism. The objective is clear. By labeling prominent
Muslim organizations as connected with terror and Muslim leaders as supportive
of terrorism, Pipes et al are trying to disarm the community in its struggle against
Islamophoebia. By undermining Muslim organizations, they also hope to reduce Muslim access
to the Congress and the White House. In spite of
several articles in the media and accusations on TV against American Muslim organizations
and American Muslim leaders by Pipes and Emerson, and repeated investigations by the FBI,
none has been indicted or arrested. American Muslim leaders and organizations only
failing is that they have not fully learned to play American
political games skillfully. Sometimes their naivete and even sincerity leads them to
make strategic errors as they seek to balance their loyalties to America and to Muslims
worldwide. Riding two horses is never too
easy and sometimes, Muslim leaders do look ungainly. But that does not make them
terrorists or traitors. If it is ok to be loyal to America and Israel, then it is ok to be
loyal to America and the Ummah. Only American Muslims have to learn to be so with as much
skill and finesse as displayed by pro-Israeli lobbies. 3. The most
sophisticated version of the attack on Islam is the attempt to besmirch the reputation of
prominent American scholars of Islam and the Middle East who advance different analysis of
Islam and Islamic resurgence from that maintained by Israel. A recent book, Ivory
Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies in America authored by an
Israeli scholar, Martin Kramer, and published after Sept. 11th by a pro-Israel
think tank, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, criticizes the entire academy.
Interestingly this book is just an expanded version of an article written by (no prizes
for guessing) Daniel Pipes and De Atkine, Middle Eastern Studies: What went Wrong? in the
Winter 1995-1996 issue of Academic Questions. All these attacks
by the Israeli lobby are designed to undermine and even rollback the growing influence of
American Muslims. But this is not
the time for political intramurals. I call upon
American leaders, American media, American Muslims and Jews, and all other Americans to
rise above sectarian and special interests in order to help America recover from the
aftermath of Sept. 11, and devote their energies to guarantee American security, protect
American freedoms, and revive American economy. Once we have the boat on an even keel, we
can return to partisanship and bickering, after all they are also a quintessential part of
the American way. |