Summit on U.S. and Muslim relations

A summit was held September 8 - 10, 2006 in Washington to examine United States - Muslim relations five years after 9/11, sponsored by Americans for Informed Democracy (AID).

Americans for Informed Democracy, according to their website and Wikipedia, 'is a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization working to raise global awareness on more than 500 U.S. university campuses and in more than 10 countries; was established in September of 2002 by Marshall and Rhodes scholars at Oxford University who sought a new vehicle to bring the world home to Americans; and is supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Open Society Institute, DarMac Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Connect US and its many participating universities'.

Five years after 9-11, U.S.-Islamic relations continue to deteriorate at a rapid pace. Recent polls reveal that 90 percent of residents in predominantly Muslim countries view the U.S. as the primary threat to their country. To examine this relationship, 300 young leaders from around the Muslim world and the U.S. came together to develop a blueprint for long-term engagement between the U.S. and the Muslim world. The summit, called "9-11 Plus 5," took place in Washington, D.C., from Sept. 8 - 10. ...

The summit was hosted by Americans for Informed Democracy, The Elliott School of International Affairs, and The Saban Center at the Brookings Institution in conjunction with The Families of 9-11. It featured a wide variety of speakers and topics. Over the three days, young leaders heard from the relatives of 9-11 victims, 9-11 Commission members, Ambassadors from the U.S. and the Muslim world, leading scholars of Islam, news correspondents, and even a Pakistani rock star, who has sold over 25 million albums and is a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador renowned for his humanitarian efforts. source

I won't bore you with the entire article, you can go read it yourself, but here are some of the conclusions in the article:

Our battle is not against Islam or Muslims. It is not a fight against Islamic fundamentalism, or "Islamo-fascism," . . .

What have we accomplished in the five years since 9/11? The entire world was horrified by those attacks, and although it is hard to remember now, the outpouring of grief and sympathy that Americans received was unprecedented. . . .

Instead, our government chose to go to war in Afghanistan alone, oddly ignoring the offers of assistance from sympathetic nations the world over. . . .

Before that campaign was even complete, the government would again demonstrate its disdain for the world's sympathy by starting an internationally condemned war in Iraq. . . .

Anti-Americanism in nations all over the world has surged, and the suspicion and hostility of average Americans toward Islam and Muslims is likewise higher than ever. . . .

Instead of being suspicious of and hostile to Muslims, let us empower the 8 million Muslims living in America so that they can serve as our global ambassadors to the Muslim world, . . .

It is our actions as individuals that will decide what the world will look like on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. . . .

Time for some debunkification, if that is a word. Yes, we ARE at war with Islam and Muslims and Islamic fundamentalism and Islamo-fascism. WE, the United States did not declare this war, Muslims declared this war, Osama bin Laden declared this war. So if you don't like the label, go talk to the ones who began this conflict.

What have we accomplished in five years since 9/11? According to this summit and AID, we have only made the world hate us. Well, guess what? They hated us BEFORE 9/11 and that is the reason THEY ATTACKED US. And the declaration of war on the United States and the West came long before 9/11, we just didn't engage in the battle until that date.

If the war in Iraq is 'internationally condemned', why did we have a coalition of countries joining us? The United States did not go this battle in Afghanistan or Iraq ALONE. The other countries who have been so faithful in this war should be mad as hell at people who say America went it alone. These other countries have fought bravely, lost soldiers to the terrorists, and have stood strong.

Yes, by all means, let's 'empower the 8 million Muslims living in America' as AID suggests. Isn't that what CAIR and similar groups would just love? Isn't that what the Umma would love? Wouldn't this further the expansion of the world wide caliphate?

AID is right about one thing, 'it is our actions as individuals that will decide what the world will look like on the tenth anniversary of 9/11'. Will we stand strong against the enemy around the world in spite of sympathizers like this? Will we see who the enemy is, how they fight, what they want, and will we meet the challenge? Groups like AID need to realize that America wants to protect her freedoms. We didn't ASK to be in this war. We didn't ASK to be hated, or attacked and nothing we DID was reason for the brutal deaths of 2,996 people on 9/11. So don't put BLAME on the U.S., AID, put blame where it belongs. Islamic terrorists, Islamo-fascists, Islamic fundamentalists, whatever label you want, they are still fueled by their beliefs.

Comments

[Rastaman]

AID. Boy, I can sure think of a lot of appropriate words for those initials. Three guesses on what the A stands for.

Just exactly *who* compiled the "conclusions" reached in that article? I hardly think that those specious conclusions were the feelings of the 9/11 victims relatives or many others who took part in that farce. The article implies that there was agreement between all those people that Islam is peaceful and not our enemy, which tells us that the article was written by a muslim.

By "non-partisan", AID must mean not politically allied to either of our two main parties. Otherwise they're partisan as hell. They appear to be a sidekick of CAIR.

Excellent post. The only thing I don't get is why so many people of note allowed themselves to get sucked into attending this affair.

Rastaman
www.islamanazi.com

[James Biga]

This article ensures that I will have a bad day. There is so much bunk here I don't know where to start. Things don't look good for the hometeam.

[Gayle Miller]

Great post! Filled with solid information and a great "debunking" (that has to be anointed as a word if it isn't already)of this conference's conclusions.