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Staff Reporter
THE 2006 US-Islamic World Forum opens in Doha today with
the participation of more than 170 top American and
Muslim experts on economy, politics, culture and
technology, as well as current and former presidents.
The three-day forum will be inaugurated by First Deputy
Premier and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim
bin Jabor al-Thani at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.
The forum aims at being a catalyst for promoting more
positive relations between the US and Muslim states,
Peter Singer, of the Brookings Institution, one of the
organisers, said.
At a joint news conference with Assistant to the Foreign
Minister Mohammed al-Rumaihi, Singer said yesterday that
the forum would offer a chance to ease ties between the
US and the Islamic world in the wake of the recent
tensions.
Four of the seven sessions of the forum will be held
behind closed doors. Also, there will be a video
conference on the social role of the youth.
Al-Rumaihi stressed the positive aspects of such
meetings, and praised the American media for refraining
from republishing the cartoons offending Prophet
Muhammad which had been printed by a Danish newspaper.
When asked about the absence of Hamas representatives at
the forum, especially after their victory in the
Palestinian elections, Singer said most of them were
busy with the opening session of the parliament.
However, two senior Palestinians, including an expert on
Hamas’s affairs, would attend the discussions.
It is really interesting that the US has welcomed the
victory of the Islamists in the Iraqi elections but not
of Hamas in Palestine, he said.
A lot of progress has taken place since September 11,
2001, but “we want to decide where we want to be within
the next five years”.
In addition to the two most burning issues of Iraq and
Palestine, the forum will discuss the Kashmiri, Nigerian
and Syrian issues.
When asked about the recent photos showing the torture
of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Singer said they were
“horrible” and the perpetrators of such crimes should be
court-martialled.
“Those images will be on the agenda of the forum. It is
true they were taken in 2003 and not last week, and they
were aired before — but that doesn’t mean the culprits
could escape punishment.”
Asked about the inauguration of the Al Jazeera
International channel in English, Singer said it was an
interesting development which would enable the Americans
“to see and hear the other side” in their language.
Rumaihi said Al Jazeera International should be “more
responsible as its message would reach the other side of
the ocean and it could affect relations between
countries”. |
