A standing-room-only audience marked the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, at a panel discussion Wednesday. The University of Denver chapter of Americans for Informed Democracy sponsored the event as part of the Hope not Hate Town Hall meeting series.
The panel consisted of DU professors of religious studies, Liyakat Takim and Carl Raschke, Colorado College political science professor Robert D. Lee and Lt. Col. Joe Rice of the U.S. Army Reserves, who has served two tours of duty in Iraq.
Wednesday’s discussion focused on how Americans perceive the Muslim world and offered suggestions for improving U.S. – Muslim relations.
The event drew people from all aspects of the social-political spectrum as the diverse audience filled the Arthur Gilbert Cyber CafCB) to capacity.
“I think the turnout was encouraging. Evidently people care enough about these issues to show up,” said graduate student Josh Leighton. “I served in the Muslim country of Mali and have always been worried about the kind of press that Muslims get in this part of the world.”
Panelist Lee addressed the portrayal of Muslims in the U.S. media. Lee criticized a recent article in the Colorado Springs The Gazette Telegraph, as evidence that Muslims are still subjected to the ‘jihadist’ label, which he believes has harmful consequences in the public’s understanding of Islam.
“There is not one single Muslim world. Muslims differ individually, within groups and within nations,” said Lee. “It is hard to show that Islam is essentially peaceful or democratic, much like it is with any other religion.”
“Just as Jerry Falwell doesn’t represent all of Christianity, Osama bin Laden does not represent all of Islam,” said Takim. “The voices of the silent Muslim majority have been drowned out by the violent voices of the Muslim minority.”
Lee and Takim urged a rededication to diplomacy on the part of the U.S. and the pursuit of peace between Israel and Palestine as the principle way to improve U.S. – Muslim relations.
A first-hand account of the issues of U.S. diplomatic policy and tactical military strategy was provided by Rice from his experiences as a U.S. Army advisor to the first Baghdad City Council in the post-Saddam Hussein era. Rice believes the U.S. is learning slowly the tactical lessons of the struggle against counter-insurgency.
Ultimately, he sees “person-to-person” contact as the best method for progress.
Rice discussed the Iraqi civilians’ desire for exposure to new ideas in basic organizational leadership.
He recalled a project to establish a women’s shelter in Baghdad as an indication of their inexperience in management.
Rice saw the chance for a possible partnership between similar organizations in Denver which could offer advice and expertise, and would serve as an important step toward increased cultural understanding.
As a result, he was instrumented in establishing a sister-city partnership program called the Baghdad-Denver Coalition.
As a result of 9/11 attacks the academic world was forced to take religion more seriously.
Raschke stressed that there must be continued recognition of the importance of religion and one cannot make the mistake of “looking at history through the lens of contemporary prejudices.”
A brief round of questions and answers followed the panelists’ comments. Some members of the audience expressed frustration over what should be done to deal with the radical terrorist elements that threaten American society in light of the increasing accessibility of weapons of mass destruction.
While recognizing this threat, Lee cautioned that fears of such a threat must not prevent Americans from improving their understanding of Islam and stated that “generalizations are not useful” in reference to the ‘terrorist’ label given to radical Muslims.
“I don’t view radical religious movements like this as the kind of threat that could actually destroy the United States or any other democratic state and resent the fact that certain elements in the U.S. use it to their advantage, but it is a serious threat.B A multi-faceted approach like the one Lt. Col. Rice suggested, incorporating NGO’s [non-governmental organizations], other religious organizations, informed diplomacy and, of course, the military at times would be much better than our current policy of arbitrarily invading Middle Eastern nations,” said Leighton.
The mission of the “Hope not Hate” series is to promote consciousness of global issues and to provide a network for students, scholars, the public, and policymakers to engage in dialogue that discusses the role of the U.S. in various circumstances.
The “Hope not Hate” series is the first of regular quarterly events sponsored by the DU chapter of AID.
