Ideological War in Muslim Countries - Essay Example

In the first part, panelists present their points of view. Anas Altikriti said this war’s ideological because Western politics used to contrapose Western civilization to Islam. He pointed to Americans and Western armed troops in Muslim countries. Feisal Abdul Rauf gave a definition of terrorism as targeting civilians in order to achieve a political goal. He stressed the necessity to separate Islam from the Prophet Mohammad which never teaches terror from Islam Kharijites. Mustafa Ceric said the war against terrorism implies a war against Islam because terrorists proclaimed they were acting on behalf of Muslims. Tim Sebastian asked Mustafa Ceric if there too much hatred preached within the Muslim tradition. Mustafa Ceric answered that hatred should be stopped both from Muslims and non-Muslims sides. Ramzi E. Khoury said the war was about oil, therefore it’s “a godless war”. He doubted that current Western authorities are religious persons.

The second part basically specified panelists’ opinions while answering the audience’s questions. Anas Altikriti pointed, that 9/11 changed the situation and it’s no more only geopolitical, like The Gulf War was. Feisal Abdul Rauf spoke about the fear the West has of Islam. Anas Altikriti retorted, it confirmed that war was religious. Feisal Abdul Rauf disagreed because Western people were just afraid of losing control on own lands. Both panelists highlighted the role of media in the negative image of Islam. The second question brought a thesis, though Muslims themselves shouldn’t allow terrorists to speak on behalf of all Muslims, the US government and media oppose the positive image of Islam. Mustafa Ceric specified, US had enough power to change this image, therefore Muslims should stay open for dialog. Feisal Abdul Rauf specified, Muslims should “de-link” Islam and help Western people to understand Muslims. The audience asked if a background of war change the oppression of Muslims in the West.