I asked Mr.Burns about anti-Americanism as this issue is highly crucial not only for the United States but also in terms of the world balances. There are views that anti-Americanism is on the rise in the Muslim world. Polls and surveys covered by the media also confirm this rise. (Pew, June 2006, Ankara Global Research Center, November 2006).The US media often asks: “Why do they hate us?” Newsweek devoted a cover story to this question. Indeed, this is an important question: Why is the Muslim world enmity against America growing and spreading? I would like to say in the first place that the US does not spark reaction from the Muslim world only; American policies spark reaction all over the world. Several states, particularly in Europe, find the US policies quite disturbing.
Mr. Burns tells the group of reporters that Americans have no problem with Islam, and they have given a helping hand to Muslims, setting Bosnia and Kosovo as an example. As a matter of fact, there was a widespread admiration in the Muslim world for the US before the 9/11 attacks. However, Muslims think they have been unjustly treated since then because they believe the crushing majority does not give support to fundamentalist groups but they are punished together with those groups with an attitude of discrimination and enmity against them. There are also some events to confirm this opinion. The attitude towards Cat Stevens can be an example of this. Stevens, a famed singer who converted to Islam and became a devout Muslim keeping his distance from extremist groups, was subject to maltreatment at the airport and was sent back to his country. Does this event have a logical explanation?
You can say “this maltreatment against Cat Stevens is an isolated individual mistake.” However, the Muslim society regards this event and other similar cases as a sign of the prejudice and double standard against Muslims. Contrary to the common belief, Saddam Hussein was not an adored leader in Muslim countries. His massacres had sparked anger among Muslims. However, his execution was rather a lynching and was displayed to the whole world as if “giving a lesson to Muslims.” Moreover, this lynching was held on Eid al-Adha, one of Islam’s two most holiest days. Does that make sense? The judge was a Kurd and the executioners were Shiites, a choice reinforced the thesis that it was intended to trigger ethnic and sectarian clashes in the Muslim world. The fact is that America’s annoying behavior in its foreign relations worries not only Muslims, but also everybody who has concerns over the thesis of clash among religions, because it is pulling humanity into the darkest Judgment Day scenario possible. What is the purpose of inciting religious enmity? Does the US army not know about religious holidays?
We should not also forget that the Arab-Israeli conflict has been going on for years. Having a sense of justice and fairness and undertaking a role of an arbitrator are the conditions of being a superpower. The US does not look convincing at this point. A superpower has the responsibility of making both sides join the negotiation table whereas the US uses strategies that can be regarded as double standards. Lacking credibility, it fails to contribute to a solution.
Who derives benefit from a growing anti-Americanism? Nobody. In fact, many Muslims do not hate America: they just react to its policies and have concerns over them. Despite all these concerns, more and more students flow from the Muslim world to America, as Mr. Burns also mentioned. Why would people be sending their children to a country they hate? The US lately has made many mistakes to offend Muslims. Certain actions said to be directed towards “radical Islam” offended innocent, moderate, and peace-loving Muslims. Repairing these mistakes would be a key to the success of not only the US, but also world peace.
