March 3, 2002


Wall of Ideas

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN   
    
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've spent the last six weeks traveling around the Arab-Muslim world, talking 
with people about Sept. 11 and U.S.-Muslim relations. So I didn't know 
whether to laugh or cry when I got home and read that the Pentagon was 
considering putting out false stories that might advance America's 
antiterrorism campaign. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry because if you 
spend five minutes in the Arab-Muslim world these days, you'll instantly 
discover that people there don't believe us when we tell the truth! The idea 
that they might believe our lies is ludicrous. (Fortunately, the Pentagon has 
dropped this idea.)

Ladies and gentlemen, in 1989 the Berlin Wall came down, and on the other 
side we found millions of people receptive to U.S. ideals and perceptions. 
Well, there is another wall in the world today. It's not on the ground — it's 
in people's heads — and it divides America from the Arab-Muslim world. Unlike 
the Berlin Wall, though, this wall was built by both sides and it can be 
taken down only by both.

Just go anywhere — Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan — and you'll hit your head 
against this wall. You say the problem is Islamist terrorism; they will say 
it is Israeli brutality to Palestinians. You say America liberated Afghans 
from the Taliban; they will say we bombed innocent Afghan civilians. You say 
Saddam Hussein is evil; they will say Ariel Sharon is worse. You say America 
is a democracy; they will say it's a country whose media and politics are 
controlled by Jews. You say President Bill Clinton devoted the end of his 
presidency to creating a Palestinian state; they will tell you that America 
never showed them the plans. You say the problem is their lack of democracy; 
they will say that must be what America prefers — given the sorts of 
Arab-Muslim regimes it backs.

From my own experience, the only thing surprising about last week's Gallup 
poll from nine Muslim countries — which showed that 61 percent of Muslims 
believe that Arabs were not involved in the 9/11 attack and 53 percent view 
the U.S. unfavorably — is that the numbers aren't worse.

How was this iron wall of ideas built? By many hands. Let's start with ours. 
We've been pathetic at telling Arabs and Muslims who we are. Have U.S. 
diplomats pointed out in any sustained way how, for the last decade, America 
has fought to save Muslims in Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia and Kuwait? Has America 
ever told the world exactly how the Clinton peace plan, which Yasir Arafat 
rejected, would have produced a Palestinian state on close to 100 percent of 
the land sought by Palestinians?

U.S. officials rightly say that Israel is our friend because it is a 
democracy. But for 30 years, these same officials have failed to speak out 
against Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, even though they 
know those settlements, if unrestrained, are going to destroy Israel as a 
Jewish, democratic state and deprive Palestinians of any potential homeland. 
Do we ever press our values — democracy, freedom, women's rights — in the 
Arab-Muslim world? No. We talk about them only for China or North Korea, 
never for countries whose oil or bases we may need. Is there any wonder some 
people there see us as hypocrites?

But our Arab-Muslim allies also helped erect this wall. Their leaders have 
encouraged their press to print the worst lies about America, as well as 
blatant anti-Jewish and Holocaust- denial articles, as a way of deflecting 
their people's anger away from them. That's why these regimes can now 
cooperate with us only in secret. And they have let their conspiracy theories 
about America and Israel become easy excuses for why they never have to look 
at themselves — why they never have to ask, How is it that we had this 
incredible windfall of oil wealth and have done so poorly at building 
societies that can tap the vast potential of our people?

Next week a key Arab-Muslim leader, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, will 
meet here with President Bush. No doubt he will whisper all the great things 
Egypt is doing in secret to help us in the war on terrorism. And we will 
whisper back. But that's not what we need.

We need Mr. Mubarak to articulate publicly a progressive, modern- looking, 
Arab-Muslim vision to counter bin Ladenism. We need him to get Egypt's act 
together, to stop riding on its past and start leading the Arab world into 
the future. And we need Mr. Bush to talk to the Egyptian people, and to Arab 
societies — not just to their rulers — about how that future can also be 
theirs.

Hosni Mubarak, George Bush, tear down this wall.  


    
    

 

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