Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue

<strong>Islam</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>: <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on <strong>the</strong> State of Dialogue
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International Politics
Holocaust fur<strong>the</strong>r soured relations. “A president
that questions Israel's right to exist, a president
that denies <strong>the</strong> Holocaust, cannot expect to
receive any tolerance from Germany,” Merkel
underscored.
European frustration culminated in <strong>the</strong> 2006
Paris Statement setting out strict conditions
on inspections <strong>and</strong> transparency that must be
met before diplomatic ties between <strong>the</strong> EU <strong>and</strong>
Iran could resume. Among European leaders,
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has been
less critical of Iran’s nuclear programme, while
at <strong>the</strong> same time insisting on curbing any military
applications. At an October 2007 meeting on
<strong>the</strong> topic in Rome, he emphasized “dialogue
as <strong>the</strong> only tool” for calming tensions between
<strong>the</strong> Iran <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>.
As official dialogue with Iran was faltering,
parliamentarians <strong>and</strong> members of civil society
in both Europe <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> United States promoted
open lines of communication. A first inter-
parliamentary meeting took place in Brussels
in October 2006 between members of <strong>the</strong>
European Parliament <strong>and</strong> a delegation of <strong>the</strong>ir
Iranian counterparts. Topics of discussion
ranged broadly, including <strong>the</strong> war in Iraq, trade
relations, human rights, <strong>the</strong> fight against terrorism
<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> status of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Ahighprofilereligiousdelegationfrom<strong>the</strong>US
sought out <strong>the</strong> Iranian leadership for dialogue
in February 2007. The group, which included
representatives from <strong>the</strong> Mennonite, Quaker,
Episcopal, Catholic <strong>and</strong> United Methodist
communities, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> National Council of
Churches, met with Ahmadinejad, former President
Mohammad Khatami <strong>and</strong> with Iranian Muslim
<strong>and</strong> Christian leaders. The delegation called
for direct, face-to-face talks, an ab<strong>and</strong>onment
of “enemy” images in descriptions of <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r,
<strong>and</strong> more people-to-people exchanges at <strong>the</strong>
level of civil society. The trip had a modest press
echo, however, <strong>and</strong> was not coordinated in any
way with <strong>the</strong> US administration. Khatami’s visit
to <strong>the</strong> US <strong>and</strong> address at <strong>the</strong> National Ca<strong>the</strong>dral
in September 2007 also had no appreciable
impact on <strong>the</strong> tense bilateral relationship.
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The same mixture of official deadlock <strong>and</strong> non-
governmental activism was evident around <strong>the</strong>
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The January 2006
victory of Hamas in contested democratic
elections in <strong>the</strong> Palestinian Authority <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
Israeli refusal to recognize <strong>the</strong> new government
that emerged effectively ruled out progress
towards a territorial settlement.
“Our analysis of <strong>the</strong> current
world crisis needs to move from
discourse about <strong>Islam</strong> versus
<strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> to an analysis of
power <strong>and</strong> knowledge <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
interrelationship between <strong>the</strong>m.
Religious discourse, particularly,
has been used to obscure <strong>the</strong>
‘greater business of plunder.’”
HH Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned
The Israeli war in sou<strong>the</strong>rn Lebanon in July <strong>and</strong>
August 2006, justified as an effort to liberate
captured Israeli soldiers <strong>and</strong> disarm Hezbollah
guerrillas, was viewed by Lebanese <strong>and</strong> throughout
<strong>the</strong> Arab <strong>and</strong> Muslim world as an attack on
Lebanon itself. A fur<strong>the</strong>r blow to <strong>the</strong> peace
process was <strong>the</strong> conflict between Hamas <strong>and</strong>
Fatah that broke out after <strong>the</strong> Israeli withdrawal
from Gaza, <strong>and</strong> culminated in Hamas taking
full control of Gaza <strong>and</strong> Fatah seizing back
control of <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong> Bank.