Indian Clerics Decline to Host U.S. Speaker on Islam

Here's a problem: You want to convince someone that they have the wrong idea about something you're doing, but they won't even give you a chance to make your case. What can you do?

One option is to get a respected third party to make your point for you -- but to be effective, the third party has to be perceived as genuinely independent. That can be a problem for U.S.-sponsored speakers. The very fact that their tour or appearance is being made with the help of the U.S. government is enough for some people to write them off. You can wind up not only failing to get your message of the moment through, but also damaging the third party's standing with the intended audience.

This dynamic has often been a problem in U.S. democracy promotion, too. The very fact of accepting grants or other support from the U.S. government can undermine the local credibility of a pro-democracy activist or group.

"U.S.-Backed Imam Gets Cool Reception in India," by Shaikh Azizur Rahman (in Kolkata/Calcutta) - the Washington Times, 15 March 2007

A speaking tour by the Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University has exposed a conundrum for the State Department's public diplomacy program: The mere fact that the visit was sponsored by the Bush administration left many Indian Muslims unreceptive to the message.

The chaplain, Imam Yahya Hendi, was in India for three days late last week to debunk myths about the status and treatment of Muslims in America, much as he has done in State Department-sponsored trips to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

The visit, arranged by Karen Hughes' two-year-old public diplomacy office at the State Department, did produce successes. Imam Hendi was welcomed at a few schools and mosques, and led a mass prayer attended by 15,000 worshippers at a Calcutta mosque.

But several Muslim leaders contacted in advance by U.S. diplomats refused to have anything to do with the visit.

"At our mosque the imam wanted to lead a mass prayer and interact with the people," said Hyder Ali, a spokesman for the Baitul Aman Mosque, the largest in West Bengal. "But we turned down the request ... because he was acting on behalf of a government which for long years has been responsible for killings and sufferings of innocent Muslims in many countries including Iraq, Palestine and Afghanistan. We did not want to betray our brothers and sisters in those countries by extending him hospitality in our mosque."...

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[sjc]

Our reputations do preceed us in the world. Just because American media has turned a blind eye to our actions against other people, does not mean the victims of aggression are not wounded by our policies toward other nations of people.

There is a actual "Brotherhood of Man" in the world. People really do feel a kinship with others who share their central beliefs, and an aversion to people who are or have been aggressive to basic human values of security, cooperation, and peace. America, not Americans, has chosen to abandon the path that leads to cooperation.

In a 'Global Village' connected through immediate images and blogs from real people around the world, actions speak louder than words, to use a cliche.

If we want to spread cooperation and friendliness between us and other people in the 'flat world', we first have to be cooperative, and truly supportive of people who live over resources we covet, and diplomacy must replace aggression.

American backed energy companies and the government have deeply wounded populations around the world. Just because we are not aware of the extent of the injuries, does not mean they are not suffering from them.

Its possible to have cooperative commerce, but that would take a radical shift in paradigms here in America. We would have to start thinking like the rest of the world ! And, first, we would have to begin to understand the affect we have had on other nations and people.

[Rima]

This is an issue that has been problematic for other civil society/pro-democracy groups around the world.

An interesting blog post from a few years ago on US financing of youth groups:
http://apostatewindbag.blogspot.com/2004_12_01_archive.html

As the blogger points out, the issue is especially delicate/challenging for youth movements who cannot afford to lose credibility in their home countries just because of their associations to the US, et al.

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