REACHING OUT IS A TWO-WAY STREET

Nicholas Christof’s thoughtful Op-Ed piece in the NY Times reflects the uneasiness of American liberals about the current epidemic of anti-Islam anger. The fact that everyone should have known about the Muslim Community Centre (please – not a “mosque”) near ground zero, because it had been written about many months ago in the Times, seems not to matter. The “issue” became a flashpoint for anger only after the “journalists” at Fox decided to make it an issue. On board came all the Fox-followers; the believers in Glen Beck; the Tea-Party “intellectuals,” and a host of other rabble waiting to be roused.

I agree that the nutbar Florida clergyman, who suddenly became headline news, should not have threatened to burn the Quran. But we made him into a national figure when he was at best, a neighbourhood freak. We reacted, not to his idiocy, but to the rising tide of Muslim anger against America, complete with street riots in Afghanistan.

Christoff wants to reach out. Obama has already reached out, starting with the futile and fruitless olive branch held out to the Iranians. That was early in his presidency and it made the same impression on the Iranians as his overture to the Republicans for bi-partisanship.

Like many other people of sane mind (I hope) I have a problem with the apparent silence of many Muslims on the whole issue of Jihad. Chrstoff, selecting from a group of moderates, sees it otherwise.

I don’t want to quibble. I do believe fervently that entente is a two-way street. While we must continue to hold out a hand of friendship (which so far has been rejected) I believe it is high time that the Muslim world came forward with their offers of mediation and entente. It is time the Imams and Ayatollahs and Emirs came forward and offered to meet and discuss. Why must we continue to be the petitioners? They get to be the victims while we get to be the villains. And our bigotry does reinforce that attitude.

Having said that I insist that negotiation has to include a positive move, a mediating move from the Muslim world; a gesture that they are willing to talk and that perhaps they might be willing, as we seem to be, to assume just a little bit of the guilt that should be associated with the actions of some of their people.