Comments on: Pandith Named Special Rep. for Islamic Outreach

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:12:46 +0000

I think you’re reading too much into her appointment. I think it’s simpler: She was qualified; she was available.

I sincerely doubt that Pakistan entered into the discussion at all.

PD is always interested in new, workable ideas, or at least it used to be.

By: Solomon2

Solomon2 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:33:51 +0000

Yet doesn’t her appointment enshrine a demonstrably failed approach? Although the U.S. and Pakistan now fight a common foe, anti-American sentiment still runs so high that U.S. officials cannot show their faces to the Pakistani refugees who receive U.S. aid, while Taliban sympathizers roam free in IDP camps to preach anti-U.S. hatred to people before aid is distributed.

What other indicator is needed to suggest that the current Public Diplomacy philosophy is fundamentally flawed and ought to be changed?

By: John Burgess

John Burgess — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:56:17 +0000

I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘giving up’, rather that she was who was available, already known, and ‘pre-vetted’.

Some Arabs are certainly racist. That can rub off on religious outlook, too. They seem to create a hierarchy:

Arab Muslims
Other Muslims
Other Arabs
Non-Arab/non-Muslim ‘white people’
Other

Of course, some of the above is enshrined in Shariah law, too…

By: Solomon2

Solomon2 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:50:47 +0000

Does the appointment of an Indian rather than an Arab to this position mean the U.S. is giving up on outreach to Arab Muslims? In my experience, I recall one Arab ending a discussion with the statement, “This is our religion, and what we say is what it means.” – if the opinions of Indian Muslims, Berbers, etc., were different at best they were of no importance to him, and at worst they were met with outright hostility.