by Li Tang

Created on: March 19, 2007   Last Updated: April 19, 2007

This is a particularly interesting topic to comment on in as much as it brings back all sorts of ideas that are found in Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations theory. We have two protagonist, namely the West and the Islamic World getting ready for a huge bun-fight that will determine the fate of the rest of the world and writers on both sides are getting worked up over this wonderful drama.

Unfortunately there is a bigger story out there - namely the story of a huge misunderstanding on both sides. Neither the West nor the Islamic World are huge monolithic blocks ready to have a go at each other for the sake of, well the fate of the world. America alone, is not one country but a collection of many different cultures united by shared ideals. Likewise with the Islamic World. We've already heard about the differences between Sunni's and Shia's, but there are many more divions in the Islamic World than between those two.

Must America win the heart of the Muslims? I think the real question is - "Must America regain the world's trust in its moral authority?" America was respected in the world not just because of her military and economic power but because of her ideals and moral authority. The USA saved the "Known World" from the twin evils of "Fascism" and "Communism" in the 1940s and for much of the rest of the decade created great prosperity. Say what you like about American foreign policy - but the USA used to be where the good guys were and when September 11 took place,the world shared America's suffering.

What went wrong? I believe the problem lies on two fronts. The Invasion of Iraq. Saddam Hussein was no angel but the USA went to war based on lies and showed an arrogant side to it. The results of the war are well known. America, the land of the good guys was caught torturing people and to make matters worse tried to justify it - "We're doing it to save the wider world" (an argument less savory countries have used.)

The other area in which the USA has hurt itself has been in its blind support of anti-Semitic policies of Israel. Did the USA try and broker a deal with Hamas, Hezbollah to get them to make peace? The answer is no - in fact the USA allowed the blatant theft of taxes due to the Palestinian government by Israel and it wrote off the senseless slaughter of Lebanese civilians by the Israeli army as Israel purging the world of terrorist. American Christians proclaimed that "God's People" were doing "God's Work" while the rest of the world saw children at the wrong end of artillery shelling.

America is not "Anti-Muslim." America was the most generous donor to Indonesia during the 2004 Tsunami. The USA needs to show the world its benevolence as it did then if it plans to win the war on terrorism.

Many Americans have argued that playing by the rules of civil liberties is pointless when terrorist don't give a damn about such niceties like due process. But that's precisely the point - the world supported America because America stood for those things and if America wants the world's support in dealing with terrorism - it need to be seen to be better than the terrorist.

Does America need a new policy towards the Middle East? The answer is a plain yes. Israel has a right to defend itself. It does not have the right to trample on the hopes of others. Rushing over cluster bombs to Israel as it invades Lebanon won't stop terrorsim and anti-American hatred - it will increase it.

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