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Can Muslims Spare One Day's Oil Income to Promote Islam?
By Mohamed Khodr
01/11/2001
The U.S. and Britain, the bombers of Baghdad and Kabul, under intense public pressure to respond with force for the September 11 terrorist attacks are finding out that when the going gets tough, the tough get confused.
Conflicting messages between U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair as to the end game, the post-Taliban government, the future bombardment of Arab or Muslim states such as Iraq, Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as their tepid attempt to comfort Arabs that they will work toward a "Palestinian" state, is surely the "weakest link" in this war on terrorism.
The final attitude to problems as they arise seems to be we can always bomb them away. The problem is more acute for Bush. Within his own administration there seems to be tremendous conflict between Secretary of State Colin Powell and the war loving pro-Israeli camp represented by Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and their leader Paul Wolfowitz, the number two man at the Pentagon, and Richard Perle, director of a defense advisory group.
Bush is also hampered with overwhelming pressure from media editorials and columnists strongly pressing for an expanded war against Israel's Arab enemies and Islam. The Israeli and Jewish lobby could care less if Americans die fighting Israel's wars against weak Arab nations and Palestinians unable to defend themselves. They could care less if America is subjected to more terrorist acts or by bio-terror weapons. As long as Israel's interest is served, damn the poor Americans, Arabs, or Christians of Bethlehem.
Americans should ask themselves the right questions: "Why do Israeli's and their Jewish American lobby hate us?", "Why are they desperate for a Christian-Muslim war?", "Who will benefit from such a world war?"
The media is not only the most important source of information and opinions for the American public; it is the single most effective influence on America's government and policies. It's sad to see congressmen ignorant of Islam and the Middle East simply parrot what they hear or read in the media or repeat "talking points" they receive from powerful interest groups, especially America's most powerful, dominant, and intimidating Jewish group, AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, whose sole reason for existence is Israel's interest above all else.
Through AIPAC's use of millions of dollars in campaign donations (carrot) for intimidating support in funding congressional candidates and blacklisting congressmen who dare vote against Israel, even once, (stick), through its working relationship with a pro-Israel media, the organization can make or break a politician's career. Without a strong American/Arab/Muslim lobbying group to oppose Israel's domination of Congress, hapless congressmen have no choice but to follow the money.
This hijacking of America's democracy and government underlies the foundation of the biased, double standard, and hypocritical foreign policy that supports, rewards, protects, and absolves Israel of any international responsibility for its brutal illegal occupation and freelance murder of Palestinians.
The Muslim world needs to understand that there are two America's. The America of Washington D.C. with its White House, Congress, Think Tanks, and Media all promoting the interest of Israel above all other American interests in the Middle East or the Muslim world, and the America of the American people, a people naive and disinterested in politics but whose sole source of information about the outside world is the media (the very same media that paints Israel in white sinless democratic colors, and the Arabs in inferior, violent, uncivilized colors driven by a terroristic intolerant faith - Islam).
The American people are some of the most gentle, generous, caring, and peaceful people in the world, with a tolerance of other faiths and nationalities in the world. But they are entirely disconnected from their government, allowing special interest groups from Jewish groups to business lobbyists dictate domestic and international policies. They distrust their government and hold the media in low esteem but have no other alternative source of information. Their educational system is lacking in teaching their own history much less the world's. They are impatient, individualistic, and want answers spoon-fed to them rather than doing their own research. But when they are informed, and moved to stand up to injustice, they are a force for good in this world. Americans are truly beautiful, but their government is not.
Hence the enormous power of the media in presenting Islam in negative and inaccurate stereotypical caricature of truth. The tragic terrorist attacks of September 11 present an enormous opportunity for Muslims to present Islam and their world in a positive, comprehensive and media savvy public relations campaign in both the U.S. and Europe.
The impotent and failed strategy of sending a few Muslim and Arab leaders to speak to U.S. government officials has not worked for 53 years and won't work now. The government responds to money, votes, and media pressure. Muslims must for once be intelligent enough to understand the culture and language of the American people if they ever expect a chance to counteract the negative perception of Islam, Arabs, and their culture. Hey, Muslims, don't go to Washington DC, go to Madison Avenue.
Israel, however, knows the power of public relations and thus hires public relations firms in New York to package and advertise the murder of Palestinians as forced self-defense. And for its part, the U.S. is hiring public relations firms to advertise its case of killing Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Lebanon, Libya, and Sudan, as forced self-defense that will ultimately benefit Muslims, and that present hostilities are not a war against Islam.
What do Americans see on television? They see an Arab ambassador in Washington D.C. rationalize that its "okay" for his government to steal $50 billion if it then spends $350 billion on its people. In other words, corruption is okay in an Islamic nation. They see a billionaire Arab showcase his mansion, four black-veiled women, his beautiful Western secretary, and common people lining up to kiss his hand and present their requests for handouts, all the while his money is in Western banks, not Islamic banks.
They see 57 Islamic leaders (the OIC) and 22 Arab leaders constantly "meeting" to discuss the "issues" without any courage, unity, or plan of action, except to "meet" again. They see Arab and Muslims leaders proud of their "secular" governments that fight "Islamic fundamentalists" and kill their fellow Muslims. They see a world of "Islam" that only preaches violence in our mosques. In other words, the definition of "Globalization" for the West and its Muslim puppet leaders is the "subjugation or eradication of Islam".
Didn't Allah (SWT) order us to perform jihad (struggle) against our own weaknesses and against injustices committed against Muslims by internal or external enemies with "our wealth and bodies"? Can the 57 Muslim nations spare
one day's income from oil, expenditure on cigarettes and alcohol, on Western videos, on satellite dishes, Western fashions and shoes, hamburgers, Pepsi and so much more, to promote
Islam in the West in its true picture?
That money could easily amount to hundreds of millions of dollars that an organized Islamic effort could utilize to hire professional public relations firm to promote Islam in the Western media: from television, movies, newspaper advertisements, radio commercials, magazine ads, Islamic video distribution and materials to libraries, schools, churches, and synagogues.
Can we spare one day of wealth for Allah's (SWT) Islam? Most Americans are NOT the enemies of Islam. In fact, despite the horror committed against the country, a large majority reached out to American Muslims with love, peace, understanding, protection, and assistance. In fact, they were more active in protecting and helping American Muslims than American Muslims or Muslim nations themselves did. Americans are searching for answers, for understanding, for explanations from the Islamic world. They are sincere, genuine, and good hearted.
How will the Muslim world react to such a peaceful outreach for understanding may determine future relationships for centuries. Please stop listening to our hypocritical leaders and their media lies and reach out in peace to America. Forget about foreign policy and the biased American media and launch a
people to people campaign to foster understanding. Don't miss this opportunity to miss an opportunity. All of humanity are God's people deserving of love and respect. That's what the Holy Qur'an teaches us. Let's put it in practice.
If our weak governments won't work toward this public relations fostering of interfaith dialogue and a people-to-people outreach, then I recommend that Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi launch this grassroots effort by asking Muslims around the world to donate money to a worldwide
dawah (religious teaching) of Islam in the West. Americans and Europeans are demonstrating in the street against the Afghan war more than Muslims are. They deserve an explanation on Islam and our culture. Let's be strangers no more.
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