Jeddah, August 18: The recent statement by US President Barack Obama supporting the right of Muslims to establish a mosque and cultural center in lower Manhattan has stirred much debate in the United States.
But what do Arab Muslims think about the so-called “ground-zero mosque”?
“Many Muslims fear that the mosque will become a shrine for Islamists, which would remind Americans of what Muslims did on 9/11,” Dr. Gamal Abd Al-Gawad, director of Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo told The Media Line.
“Some people express concern that if the mosque will be built, it will harm Muslims and Islam in America. It’s not good for Muslims and Islam to be in the heart of such a controversy,” he added.
Abd Al-Gawad said that people in the Arab world prefer to keep their distance from the Manhattan mosque issue, viewing it primarily as an internal American matter.
“The prevalent trend is that it’s about tolerance and liberals in the US, not about Islam itself,” he said.
Abd Al-Gawad echoed the words of columnist Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed, general manager of Al-Arabiya television. In a column titled “A House of Worship or a Symbol of Destruction?” published in the Arab daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat on Sunday, Al-Rashed criticized the wisdom of building a mosque so close to the “burial site” of 9/11.
“Muslims do not aspire for a mosque next to the September 11 cemetery,” Al-Rashed wrote, doubting the motives behind the initiative to build the mosque.
“The mosque is not an issue for Muslims, and they have not heard of it until the shouting became loud between the supporters and the objectors, which is mostly an argument between non-Muslim US citizens!” he added.
Samir Al-Saadawi, editor of foreign affairs for the Arab daily Al-Hayat said Arabs and Muslims were skeptical about the initiative to build the mosque.
“This is an American issue, but Arab public opinion regards it with skepticism.” Al-Saadawi told The Media Line. “The Americans [are] running the show, i.e. the right wing and the lobbies are viewed by Arab and Muslim public opinion as biased against Islam in general.”
“The American society does not want to see a Muslim symbol near ground zero,” Al-Saadawi added. “From an American perspective this may be right, but it has not helped the American image in Arab eyes.”
Saadawi added that the involvement of President Barack Obama in the matter did not help in mitigating negative Arab sentiments.
“He was too soft in his approach. He should have defended the mosque more strongly. His position is weakening every day, and he seems to resemble his predecessor George W. Bush,” Al-Saadawi said. Some Muslims were more positive about the mosque. Shakib Bin-Makhlouf, president of the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe, lauded President Obama’s endorsement of the mosque, adding that it could improve strained American-Islamic relations in the post-9/11 era.
“This may deepen American resentment of Islam, but it could also have a good effect. There is no room for pessimism.” Bin-Makhlouf told The Media Line.
“Islam has nothing to do with the events that happened on 9/11,” Bin-Makhlouf added. “Unfortunately, the media has contributed in tying terrorism to Islam. When a non-Muslim commits an act of terror, no-one referrers to his religion.”
Unsurprisingly, the American debate surrounding the mosque has triggered some Arab self-criticism about freedom in the Arab world.
“This is the secret of their power,” an anonymous Yemeni talk-backer commented on the Al-Arabiya website, referring to the United States. “It is their tolerance and acceptance of the other despite their placement in a position of strength. What would happen if Christians asked us, the Arabs, to build a church?”
-Courtesy: Arab News