Pandith’s appointment is an opportunity, not a panacea – Anja Manuel
WASHINGTON, DC: In July 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named Farah Pandith the Special Representative to Muslim Communities. It is a historic step. Pandith’s experience – and the new responsibility she is taking on with this role – signals that US President Barack Obama’s administration is serious about a nuanced approach to engaging Muslim communities around the world.
I had the privilege of working with Pandith at the State Department for the past several years. Her views cannot be reduced to a simplistic “winning hearts and minds approach based on the faulty assumption that if only the United States could explain to Muslim communities how great our system of government is, misunderstandings would dissipate. Neither will her activities assume that failed US policy is the only cause of disaffection, and if we only had a “sensible Middle East policy there would be no religious radicalization.
Pandith understands that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Certainly a neutral US foreign policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a US-brokered peace deal between Syria and Israel, and a successful US withdrawal from Iraq, for example, would have a positive impact on the regional environment, and on Muslim views of the United States in general.
But, as the vitriol aimed at the United States and Europe by the Iranian authorities after the recent elections has shown, no matter how careful and subtle US government pronouncements are, many regimes use the United States and the “West as a convenient lightning rod to redirect their citizens’ anger away from their own failure to provide a stable, open political climate and economic opportunities.
Projections do not give many reasons for optimism. Demographic imbalances (where the under-25-year-olds make up over 50 percent of the population), unemployment, lack of economic opportunity and lack of political freedom will continue to shape many Muslim-majority countries in the near term. The more the focus is placed on religion rather than politics to explain Muslims’ discontent, the more the United States and Europe validate the discourse of radical ideologues – that it is religion that separates us from them.
Instead, our message should be that a common search for peace, stability and economic opportunity unites all cultures and religions against extremism on all sides.
With Pandith’s personal background as an Indian Muslim and her experience engaging European Muslims during the Bush administration, she brings a wealth of knowledge and some inter-administration continuity to this new role. Her appointment is an important opportunity to create an honest, two-way dialogue with Muslim communities around the world. Her respect, engagement to resolve misunderstandings, and keen sense that one solution does not fit all will serve her well.
Pandith’s appointment is not a panacea that will resolve all US conflict with the Muslim world, but an important step in the right direction.
Pandith must mix democratic principles with humility – Ahmed Charai
CASABLANCA: The appointment of Farah Pandith as “Special Representative to Muslim Communities at the US Department of State has been hailed as a sign of the new American administration’s determination to make its peace with Muslim populations worldwide.
For this intention to translate into reality, however, a number of steps should be taken. First, Pandith should end the prevailing tendency to equate Islam with Muslim extremism. US President Barack Obama’s July 4 Cairo address is a step in that direction, but further efforts are needed to educate the American political class to avoid such semantic misrepresentations.
In addition, the Israel-Palestine conflict remains one of the major concerns of the Muslim world. The “Muslim street – from Casablanca to Jakarta – expects the US administration to follow a more pragmatic and fairer approach to the conflict: the “two peoples and two states approach. Needless to say, any solution must include, on one side, the honest and unambiguous acceptance of the right of Israel to exist within recognized borders together with a guarantee of total security and, on the other side, the establishment of a democratic and viable Palestinian state, independent and sovereign within borders that are not imposed but rather defined through bilateral process. Pandith, in her new position, should take steps toward this solution.
It is by basing American policies in the Muslim world on democratic values that Pandith is most likely to succeed in her public diplomacy mission. At present, American assistance and support often benefit autocratic regimes.
Attempts to improve democracy, although rich in hope, are often aborted and should be more consistently supported.
The United States would probably better its image by encouraging democratic forces in the region, weak as they may still be. Pandith should therefore initiate a dialogue with the full range of political forces at work in the Muslim world.
Finally, unconditional support for women’s rights and their struggle for equality will be decisive in bringing about social change. Pandith, as a Muslim woman herself, would do well to capitalise on her own status to promote improvement of women’s position in society.
Such goals require a firm adherence to principles, tempered by a good dose of humility. In the current context of misunderstanding, there is a perception that US leaders are condescending toward the Muslim world. It should not be forgotten that in the 21st century emotions, informed by images and perceptions, broadly shape world public opinion and mass behavior.
Anja Manuel is a former Department of State official (2005-2007), international attorney and adjunct professor at Stanford University and Ahmed Charai is director of the weekly Moroccan paper L’Observateur. This article first appeared in Washington Post/Newsweek’s On Faith and was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
