American Official: Muslims in India are Not Terrorists
The United States of America is not a popular nation among the Muslim community in the world. This unpopularity is a major problem for America. The future of America, particularly from an economic standpoint is closely tied to Asian economies. Most of these Asian economies including India, China, Indonesia and Malaysia have significant Muslim populations that are at odds with the United States.
The Obama Administration is trying to change this perception. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July 2009 appointed Farah Pandith (immigrant from India) as the first ever US envoy to the Muslim community. In the first nine months Farah has traveled to more than 25 countries. In a recent web chat about Muslims in India Farah made a few comments that are not only controversial but are not based on facts.
During the interview Farah is quoted as saying “I talk about the bloggers that I meet in India who are tired of Muslims being defined as terrorists”. First of all bloggers in India do not accurately represent Indian public opinion. Less than 10% of Indians have access to the internet and blogging is not nearly as popular in India as it is in the United States. An average Indian today is very dependent on radio, television and print media to gather information.
How can Farah Pandith make the claim that Muslims are defined as terrorists by talking to a few Indian bloggers? I am not aware of a single mainstream Indian media, media person, public or political figure or organization that has made such statements in recent memory. Even the nationalist BJP party is extremely careful when it comes to its views about Muslims. The vast majority of Indians do not support the statement that Muslims are terrorists.
Of course there are a few religious fundamentalists in India (like there are in almost all Western nations) who try to simplify the issue of terrorism and try to associate Muslims with terrorism. But that is not the majority view. She then went on to add “They’re (bloggers) getting out there and talking about what’s happening in India, with 160 million Muslims in India – all of whom, by the way, are not terrorists, excuse me”. This statement is condescending and an insult to every Indian. Who in India said that 160 million of its own citizens are terrorists?
When it comes to dealing with Muslims the word “narrative” is now used a lot. Many “thinkers” now believe that the West has to counter the Muslim narrative as it relates to the West. Maajid Nawaz (former extremist and co-founder of the Quilliam Foundation who is a strong proponent of countering the narrative) explains that “In a nutshell, it’s that the West is waging a war against Islam and Muslims to destroy Islam. And that the only way to stop this war is for Muslims to start fighting back on all fronts against the West”.
Farah Pandith obviously believes in countering this narrative. She said responding to a question that “The “narrative” has to change by the conversations that we are having, and not to put everything in one big bucket, just because, obviously, somebody maybe of one faith that does something bad does not mean that everybody of that faith is in that same bucket”. Did America improve race relationship internally from the fifties onwards by changing the narrative or did it do so by changing existing laws and enforcing existing anti-discriminatory laws?
America is not just a very powerful economy and a military power but it also the country where some of the most brilliant minds in the world reside. How can such a country fool itself into believing that changing or challenging the existing narrative (if there is one) or making some feel good statements in a web chat is going to change the perceptions of billions of Muslims on this planet?
If the United States wants to change the hearts and minds of Muslims in India and all around the world then it should be willing to change its foreign policy. United States has to minimize its troop presence in the Middle East, it has to stop supporting the totalitarian regimes in the Middle East for the sake of oil and most importantly be an honest and fair broker of peace between Israel and Palestine. Be the leader that you claim to be.
Muslims in India will understand if United States is unwilling to change its current foreign policy because it is in its national interests. But meanwhile please do not treat us like school children. We clearly understand what America stands for and we do have the intelligence to separate reality from propaganda by some radical Islamic groups.
Farah Pandith then stated these words of wisdom “It’s not us versus them. It’s not the West versus the East. It’s not America versus Islam. The president has talked very clearly about the fact that Islam is part of America”. She was talking about the very same President who during his election campaign did his best to separate himself as much as possible from his Muslim roots.
To protect American interests and in an attempt to improve the relationship with the 160 million Indian Muslims the US envoy is willing to throw the rest of us Indians under the bus. Maybe in the future there will be an attempt to change the narrative with the Hindus and Buddhists in India!!
Related posts:
- Halal Internet Search Engine For Muslims
- Terrorists Have No Caste, Creed or Religion?
- Conspiracy in India to Diminish Muslims Economically?
- India and the American Empire
- Is India or America Better At Tackling Terrorism?
Category: Culture & Religion