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American
Muslims React to Bush's Statements on Middle East
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US Muslim Leaders |
By
Neveen A. Salem, IslamOnline staff writer, Washington D.C.
WASHINGTON,
March 4 (IslamOnline) - American Muslim and Arab organizations lauded
Thursday U.S. President George W. Bush's statements calling on Israel
to comply with UN resolutions and withdraw from all illegally occupied
Palestinian territories, including towns recently invaded in the West
Bank, and with the dispatch of U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to
the region next week.
The
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) stated that it
"welcomed today's statement by Bush urging Israel to end its
military offensive against the Palestinians, dispatching Powell to the
region to oversee steps, including the implementation of U.N. Security
Council Resolution 1402, to defuse the dangerous situation."
The
Washington D.C.- based organization also continued that it was pleased
to note that the President called for an end to the Israeli occupation
based on U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, based on the
"inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war."
Bush also called for "a politically and economically viable
Palestinian state."
ADC
President Ziad Asali, stated that "since the beginning of the
crisis, ADC called for an end to attacks on civilians of both sides,
the implementation of an enforceable ceasefire and a return to the
negotiating table to bring the occupation to a swift and complete end.
We are delighted to see the Administration finally focusing on the
fundamental issues."
The
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based
Islamic group, announced today that it supported Bush's statements
that Israel must end both its settlement activity and its ongoing
assaults on Palestinian towns and villages.
In
a statement issued following the president's speech, CAIR Governmental
Affairs Director Jason Erb said, "The operative aspects of
today's remarks by President Bush, despite being couched in standard
pro-Israel rhetoric, are a clear departure from the Administration's
one-sided support for that nation's brutal and illegal policies. The
President accurately identified the real sources of conflict in the
Holy Land; the settlements, the occupation and the 'daily humiliation'
suffered by ordinary Palestinians.”
Erb
continued, "It is also encouraging that the president decided to
send Secretary of State Colin Powell to the region. Such high-level
intervention is essential to end the cycle of violence and the mutual
hatred it generates.
"These
constructive statements must now be followed by concrete and sustained
diplomatic action," CAIR, whose executive director, Nihad Awad.
American
Muslims for Global Peace and Justice (Global Peace) also welcomed
Bush's decision to send Powell to the Middle East to implement U.N.
Security Council resolution 1402, and halt Israel's military raids on
the West Bank.
"The
president's remarks today were somewhat of a surprise, and overall a
welcome. However, the president is still blaming the Palestinian
people and the Palestinian Authority, without blaming Israel for the
conditions it forced Palestinians to live under, not just now, but for
the past 54 years," said Yousef al-Yousef, chairman of Global
Peace.
"We
pray that Powell's mission will end Israel's brutal occupation, which
is the ultimate form of terrorism, where the lives and livelihood of
an entire people are suppressed by the fourth largest army in the
world."
Global
Peace also called on Bush “not to wait until next week, and to
immediately dispatch Secretary Powell to the region, before Israel
kills more innocent Palestinians. The sooner he is dispatched, the
better."
The
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) also criticized Bush for his tone
regarding the conflict.
Mahdi
Bray, the organization's government relations director, told
IslamOnline that he thinks Bush's tone still "reflects the
disparity or the lack of even handedness in addressing the issue
between the Palestinians and the Israelis.
"Once
again the U.S. seems to make incredible demands on the Palestinians
while marginalizing the realities of their day-to-day living situation
and hedging and sometimes bolstering the inappropriate conduct of
Israelis through our [U.S.] political rhetoric,” Bray concluded. 
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