President Bush sent a powerful message when he went to Washington DC’s Islamic Centre last month, exactly 50 years after Dwight Eisenhower dedicated the building. The message wasn’t about Islam; it was about us. We’re a pluralistic society, founded on liberty and the belief that men and women have the right to worship their Creator in any manner they choose. These principles guide our domestic lives as well as our foreign policy.
To be sure, the President used the occasion to announce specific initiatives that make clear this administration remains focused on US relations with Muslim communities. Importantly, President Bush announced the creation of a Special Envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
But symbolism itself is important. Symbols send powerful messages; they can inspire men and women to reach inside and do better. When President George Washington refused honours others wanted to bestow on him, and retired to the quiet life in Mount Vernon after his second term, he set the standard of humility after leaving office that has now been observed by his 42 successors. When Teddy Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washington to the White House for dinner, that meal meant much more than a speech.
President Eisenhower set the standard for our nation’s respect for Islam when he opened the Islamic Centre on 27 June 1957. “Civilization owes to the Islamic world some of its most important tools and achievements,” said the 34th President. He then spoke about Islam’s role inside the United States:
“It is fitting that we re-dedicate ourselves to the peaceful progress of all men under one God,” said President Eisenhower. “And I should like to assure you, my Islamic friends, that under the American Constitution, under American tradition, and in American hearts, this Centre, this place of worship, is just as welcome as could be a similar edifice of any other religion. Indeed, America would fight with her whole strength for your right to have here your own church and worship according to your own conscience. This concept is indeed a part of America, and without that concept we would be something else than what we are.”
It is important to take public stands such as these now, a time of turmoil in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Darfur. Often lost in the fog of television reports is the fact that, since its inception more than 1,400 years ago, Islam has been a font of learning. Exchanges among Christians, Jews and Muslims have enriched all three peoples.
Only by constantly reminding ourselves of Islam’s real history can we defeat Islam’s true enemies, those who pretend to solve the problems of the future by creating an obscurantist past that never existed. We must frustrate their attempt to manipulate events around the world and corrupt the religion for their own barbarous ends.
This is not just an American responsibility. As President Bush said, “Men and women of conscience have a duty to speak out and condemn this murderous movement before it finds its path to power. We must help millions of Muslims as they rescue a proud and historic religion from murderers and beheaders who seek to soil the name of Islam.”
The success that millions of American Muslims have met in this country is a daily rebuke to those who try to drive a wedge between my country and my religion. Many Muslim Americans have been here for generations and are completely immersed in the American way of life. We’re just like the millions of previous immigrants – Irish, Italians, Chinese or those who came in the Mayflower. We hold bake sales at mosques, go to PTA meetings and try to balance our chequebook. We are also teachers, doctors, computer scientists, artists and athletes.
As President Bush said at the Islamic Centre: “We live in a time when there are questions about America and her intentions. For those who seek a true understanding of our country, they need look no farther than here. This Muslim centre sits quietly down the road from a synagogue... a Lutheran church... a Catholic parish... a Greek Orthodox chapel... and a Buddhist temple – each with faithful followers who practise their deeply held beliefs and live side by side in peace.”
With the Special Envoy to the OIC, President Bush has created a position that will serve as another avenue of dialogue and will be a stand alone representative of our country to the OIC. The Jeddah-based OIC is a forum where its 57 Muslim-majority member States discuss issues of importance to Muslims around the world.
The decision to create a Special Envoy to the OIC is guided by America’s principles. Our relations with the world are dictated by the behaviour of countries’ governments, not the religions of their people.
The US government is hard at work trying to solve crises in Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Sudan. It has brought democracy to Afghanistan, Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina and will make sure it is not defeated in Iraq. It has brought relief to Muslim areas in Asia stricken by tsunamis and earthquakes. It approaches Islam with respect, as the President’s actions last month made clear in both symbolism and deed.
Ms Pandith is Senior Advisor for Muslim Engagement in Europe at the United States Department of State.