Boycott Israel [IslamCity] Political Islam: An Exercise In Mutual Listening -- http://www.ikhwanweb.com/ ( please read from www.conflictsforum.com. )

[S A Hannan]

Political Islam: An Exercise In Mutual Listening Ahmed El-Gasir, Ikhwanweb, USA Monday, October 16, 2006 In a very well written series of five articles, the authors Alastair Crooke and Mark Perry argue for the need for the West to engage in direct dialogue, or what they preferred to call an exercise in mutual listening, with the main Islamic Revivalists Movements in the Middle East.   The first two parts of the series deal with their engagement with the main Islamic movements in the region and the reaction to this engagement in political circles in the US and Europe. The meetings were with representatives from the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, Pakistan's Jamaat e-Islami, Hezbollah and Hamas. The last three parts are the most interesting parts; they deal with the religious, philosophical and intellectual concepts, which explain the inability of the western political class to engage with the Islamic revivalists movements. The historical material which the authors so eloquently discuss is very important for readers in the Middle East to recognize.   The views of the authors are not unique in the west, i.e. not rare, many progressive organizations and individuals, recognize the disastrous policies of their governments and have been calling for redeeming actions of these policies, but sadly these voices so far have no effect on the policies of their governments. Mainly blocked by the propaganda campaigns and influence of the major lobbies, be it the energy, the military-industrial complex or the Zionist lobbies. But also hindered by the almost Zero role of the civil society and the public opinion in defining the policies in the region, and thus prolonging this agonizing situation. And I say almost Zero role, because on rare occasions we saw the effect of public opinion on the policies of the region's governments; an example of this is the response of Cairo, Riyadh and Amman to the outrage of the Arab street at the immoral US diplomacy on this summer's Israeli aggression on Lebanon, when after implicitly supported the aggression by blaming Hezbollah they changed tact and distanced themselves from the Americans, and most significantly Beirut's refusal to receive Ms Rice in the wake of the Qana massacre.   What is needed to affect the policies in the region is for the voice of the people to be heard clear and loud, not only concerning atrocities and injustices affecting the region or parts of it, but also concerning atrocities and injustices anywhere in the world. It was very sad to see that on the day millions throughout the world, some estimated it to be 30 million, came out on that historic day, 15th February 2003 to say no to war, the Arab streets were empty, with very few exceptions. We live in a small world, a world that needs Cooperation not Confrontation to co-exist.   Having said that, I commend the authors for their work and their carriage to take such an endeavor, for "speaking with the enemy" had adversely affected the carriers of many intellectuals and politicians who did so in the past. The articles are available in English and Arabic at www.conflictsforum.com.   Alastair Crooke and Mark Perry are the co-directors of Conflicts Forum, a London-based group dedicated to providing an opening to political Islam. Crooke is the former Middle East adviser to European Union High Representative Javier Solana and served as a staff member of the Mitchell Commission investigating the causes of the second intifada. Perry is a Washington, DC-based political consultant, author of six books on US history, and a former personal adviser to Yasser Arafat. Other Topics:   __._,_.___ *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recommended: http://www.ikhwanweb.com http://www.islamonline.net http://www.islam-guide.com http://www.prophetmuhammadforall.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured Visit Your Group | Yahoo! 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