U.S. relations with Islamic world are focus of meeting

U.S. relations with Islamic world are focus of meeting: UT gathering sponsored by Hope Not Hate

by Monica Polanco
Austin American Statesman
9/29/04

The United States needs to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians and sow the seeds that will allow Iraq to determine its own path if it wants to improve its image in that corner of the world.

That viewpoint, expressed by a government professor, was one of several discussed during a town hall meeting at the University of Texas on Tuesday night.

The meeting, which drew 14 people, was part of Hope Not Hate, a series of town hall meetings held in more than 30 American universities to discuss the United States' relationship with the Islamic world.

Hope Not Hate was created in 2003 in response to anti-Muslim sentiment across the country. The series is supported by a coalition of nonprofit organizations, including Americans for Informed Democracy, the Families of September 11 and the United Nations Foundation. The series is part of a broader initiative called People Speak that is aimed at creating discussions on U.S. foreign policy.

Clement Henry, a UT government professor, talked to the Austin group from a political perspective.

"How do we regain an image of at least being a relatively honest party that, of course, has deep sympathies with Israel but also wants to work with other countries in that region and promote peace?" he asked the group.

Part of the answer is to restart talks with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and commit to the peace process, Henry said.

The United States also should focus on making the CIA more effective and on cultivating a sense of cooperation between public safety agencies rather than on solely fighting terror, a plan that only begets more fighting, he said.

Sarwat Husain, chairwoman of the Council on American Islamic Relations in San Antonio, described herself as a Pakistani-born woman and an American. She criticized the amount of greed in the United States and spoke of the importance of letting other countries determine their own course.

"There's enough in the world to go around," she said. "We just can't take everything."

The third speaker, Mercedes de Uriarte, an associate journalism professor at UT, addressed the American media's failure to remain independent of the U.S. government and its failure to educate the public about conflicts in countries such as Iraq until they reach a boiling point.

mpolanco@statesman.com; 445-3630