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Mandela Separates Muslims from Terrorists
By Ayesha Ahmad
COLLEGE PARK, Md., Nov. 15 (IslamOnline) - Former South African President Nelson Mandela on Wednesday called the terrorists who attacked America on September 11 "hypocrites" against Islam, and raised murmurs in the audience for his praise of Arab nations in talking about their role in "the long road to freedom," both in the fight against terrorism and in the Middle East peace process.
"The Arabs are doing far better than the West" in "certain respects" of how they serve their people, Mandela said, sparking one "boo" and some uncomfortable murmurs from the largely student audience at the University of Maryland.
Mandela was speaking at the fourth annual Sadat Lecture for Peace; the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, established in 1997, is held at the university in College Park, Maryland, and presents a number of lectures, forums and conferences on international issues related to peace and development.
The renowned 83-year-old statesman said firmly that Muslims and Arabs "were not the ones who launched the attack" on September 11, but that "the people who said they did this in the name of the Muslim religion are hypocrites" going against the command of Islam's "holy prophet" to establish respect between humans in their relationships and negotiations.
He also spoke about the necessity of justice being met in the Middle East peace process, and told the gathered crowd of nearly 10,000 students, staff, faculty and other guests that he had earlier expressed "reservations" to U.S. President George W. Bush about his refusal to invite Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to Washington after inviting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"That confirms a perception that the United States is the friend of Israel and is therefore not an impartial negotiator," he said. "I have never doubted the integrity [of U.S. presidents George Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush], but this is the perception, and the failure to see Arafat strengthens that perception."
Mandela reiterated three conditions that he said he stipulated to the international community after visiting the Middle East in late 1999. First, he said, there must be "a withdrawal of Israel from all occupied Arab territories."
"[Second], an unequivocal commitment by the Arab countries to the right of Israel to exist within secure borders. [Third], an international commission acceptable to both parties to oversee the implementation of this agreement."
He stressed the importance of an internationally reached solution, specifically marking the U.S., Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as the most important partners for a lasting just peace in the Middle East, and extended the global partnership model to a path for peace in the rest of the world as well.
"Ultimately, the world must take global responsibility for social and economic development all over the world," he said.
He said that international, multilateral bodies should become more effective in the management, resolution and prevention of conflict and in the fight against terrorism, adding that the immediate response of countries around the world to condemn the September 11 attacks provided a model for that action.
Mandela expressed his hope for democracy to be established worldwide, but cautioned against being "arrogant" in thinking that the one type of democracy practiced in America would be effective for all other countries.
"We allow fertile breeding ground for discontent and extremism and terrorism," he said, adding that recent events should serve as a wake-up call "to address the underlying causes."
"Our fight for peace is… also a war against poverty and deprivation."
Mandela reiterated that he had already expressed his support to Bush for the military campaign in Afghanistan, saying that "the Taliban brought the war on the country and are the ones responsible for the suffering" of civilians.
But he expressed sorrow and regret for the suffering and deaths of civilians, and said, "We must wish that military actions… will be concluded in the shortest time possible."
Earlier, speaking on Monday after a White House meeting with Bush, Mandela had expressed his support for the campaign, saying it would be "disastrous" for U.S. forces to withdraw before succeeding in their goal of flushing out the al-Qaeda network of terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden.
Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, just three years after being released from a 27-year imprisonment during which he continued to campaign against the racist South African system of apartheid.
He was elected in May 1994 as the first black, democratically elected president of South Africa, and retired from public life in 1999, but he told the Maryland audience that his work is far from done, that "the long walk for freedom" never reaches an end.
Mandela is currently the chief negotiator in the peace process of the central African nation Burundi, where eight years of strife has cost 250,000 lives.
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