NEW
DELHI, October 31 (IslamOnline) - Indian Muslim circles have
questioned the U.S. policy towards the Islamic world. The visiting
director of the policy planning staff in the U.S. state department,
Richard Haass, had to face embarrassing moments when Muslim leaders in
the national capital asked him pointed questions. Haass was at a loss
as to how to best explain his government's stand over the issue.
Mr.
Haass interacted with prominent Muslims at a meeting organized at the
residence of the U.S. ambassador to India Robert Blackwill, reported
the popular newspaper Asian Age Thursday, October 31. An
exhaustive discussion on issues ranging from U.S. foreign policy to
terrorism took place, the paper said.
The
U.S. policy towards the Islamic world was sharply questioned by those
invited for interaction with Mr. Haass. However, nearly all the
invitees were unanimous in making it abundantly clear that it is the
U.S. alone which fostered terrorism in the past.
Osama
Bin Laden and Saddam Hussain were projected as examples of the U.S.
follies and the subsequent torture which Muslims are facing worldwide
because of derisive U.S. policies. Muslim leaders pointed out to Haass
that even today the U.S. was a strong supporter of dictatorships and
authoritarian regimes in many countries of the world.
Those
invited for the meeting by the U.S. embassy included former federal
minister Arif Mohammad Khan, editors Shahid Siddiqui and M. Afzal,
Chancellor of Jamia Hamdard Saiyid Hamid, member of Parliament K.
Rehman Khan, columnist Zafar Agha and others.
On
one occasion the U.S. ambassador had to express his deep resentment
over the remarks of a prominent invitee who remarked, "Your
President [George W. Bush] combines the attitudes of 'pride' and
'prejudice' [referring to Jane Austen's novel], although in his case
pride has taken the shape of arrogance and prejudice the shape of
rancor." He also condemned the present role of U.S. in the
Islamic world.
"We
are an open society, but we are not used to the kind of language used
against my President here. I deeply resent it," said Mr.
Blackwill.
However,
other invitees said that the person in question had put forth his
remarks honestly as he was invited to do so, and that no apology
whatsoever should be expected on his part.
When
it was pointed out that the Sufi influence was largely responsible for
keeping Indian Muslims away from terrorism, one of the invitee
contradicted the view. "Terror has no place in Islam," he
asserted. At the same time, he regretted, however, that the argument
overstating the role of the Sufi movement gave the impression that
other forms of Islam sanction terrorism. Indian Muslims were very
supportive of the war against terrorism as they too were the victims
like others, he said.
"Autocratic
regimes in the world survive because of you. Rulers who deny their
people basic human rights, we find them standing by your side,"
the speaker said, in a covered reference to some of the oppressive
regimes in the world which whole-heartedly find U.S. support.
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Richard N. Haass
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Some
participants also effectively dispelled the notion that U.S. policies
were casting their favorable influence on Indian Muslims.
One
of the participants said, "Not as Muslims, although we were
invited on the basis of our religious identity, but as Indians."
"The
U.S. had been very supportive of Muslim interests in Bosnia, Palestine
and other parts of the world," Mr. Haass painstakingly tried to
explain along with Mr. Blackwill.
The
invitees were prodded to explain their viewpoints on why Indian
Muslims were not enamored of terrorism, what they felt about U.S.
foreign policy, what was their reaction to the war against terrorism,
their views about the government's policies on Gujarat and other
issues. They were, however, not enlightened about the motives of the
interaction with Mr. Haass.
All
invitees were asked not to speak of the meeting with the U.S. embassy.
They refused to confirm or deny the event, the Asian Age
reported. Till the time of reporting, the Indian foreign office
maintained a studied silence.
Ever
since the United States battered Afghanistan in its fight against
international terrorism, the entire Muslim world had shown its
distaste for U.S. foreign policy. Rage among Muslims is being seen as
resentment to what they think is a "Crusade" by the United
States. In fact the U.S. president had used the word
"crusade" when he talked about fighting what he termed
"Islamic terrorism".
However,
to save its ties with Muslims, the United States had debunked the
theory of launching a "crusade" and claimed that its only
expressed intention was to rein in renegade Muslim outfit Al-Qaeda
which had been sheltered during the Taliban regime, and not waging a
war against Muslims.
The
recent meeting with Richard Haass is the second such American meeting
with leaders of the Indian Muslim community. On December 6, 2001, the
U.S. embassy arranged a similar interaction of Muslim editors in Delhi
with Donald Camp, deputy assistant secretary of state for South Asia.
During that meeting too Muslim editors were unambiguous about their
criticism of U.S. policies
