The
US-Islamic World Forum, under the theme “Leaders effect
Change”, concluded on Monday 20 February 2006 its works,
after three days of dialogue and discussions on a host
of major issues and topics of mutual interest to the
United States and the Islamic World.
Discussions covered issues related to visions and view
points about the situation in the region, as well as
matters of interest to leaders, relations between the
Islamic World and the United States, the Great Middle
East project, five years after the September 11 attacks,
and how the region will be like during the next five
years.
During the Forum, many task forces were held discussing
issues on security, youth and development, governance
and reforms. Round tables were also held on issues such
as “Women lead change” and “Politics, religion and
change in the globalisation era.”
Seminars were also organised during this three-day
event, and were focused on the role of media and press
in the Islamic World and the United States,
technological, artistic and cultural partnerships, in
addition to other topics of mutual interest such as the
situation in Iraq and Palestine, especially after the
Hamas movement won elections and took hold of the
Palestinian Authority. The crisis of the blasphemous
cartoons on the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was also
discussed, in addition to a host of issues related to
the role of education, sciences and new technologies in
the developing societies and disseminating knowledge,
given their important role in communication between the
nations of the World.
Participants in the Forum expressed in their speeches
thanks to the State of Qatar for having hosted this
venue, where a large number of politicians, scholars,
academicians, businessmen and media professionals were
able to gather and exchange points of view and opinions
about issues considered of vital importance in the
relations between the Islamic World and the United
States.
The
three-day Third US-Islamic World Forum 2006, hosted by
Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which opened at Ritz
Carlton Doha on Saturday 18 February 2006, was organised
under the patronage of HH Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al
Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
H.E.
the First Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Sheikh
Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al-Thani opened the forum
with a speech in which he asked to define the visions in
different fields for the upcoming years in terms of US
Islamic World relations.
H.E.
reviewed what happened in the Middle East in the last
past years talking about democracy, reform,
comprehensive development, and activities to combat
terrorism and the events that took place in Iraq and
Afghanistan. He added that chronic conflicts remained in
the area in their places far from final settlements,
calling for taking serious and effective attitudes to
cure the diseases of the region even with relative
reasonable degree.
H.E.
the first deputy premier noted that the logic dictates
to confess the results to which democracy practice is
leading to, noting that in this respect the government
of Qatar welcomed the responsible spirit expressed by
the Palestinian people during the continuation of
legislative elections process and called the world
community to deal with this elections results and
respect the will of the Palestinian people which they
have clearly and democratically expressed in the polls.
Qatar also has called Hamas to continue the work of and
proceeding in peace and reform process for realizing
security good living and stability for the Palestinian
people.
H.H.
the first deputy premier stressed on the importance of
confronting the challenges in the region which shall
remain unless utmost efforts are exerted to encourage
more positive relations and provide the solutions to all
related parties based on studying policies built on
widest possible range of dialogue and consultations.
H.E.
the first deputy premier noted that the general feeling
in the Islamic World is not personified in hostility
against the United States for mere hostility, pointing
out that Islam is well known for its adopting the
principle of communication, intermediation and
moderation. He added that it is incorrect that the
Islamic world is targeted due to the attitude taken by
some groups for political reasons.
In
this regard H.E. said that “we must exert our best to
prevent the provocation and provide the respect for all
beliefs and religious sacred symbols without
discrimination and not to use double standards as we
have recently witnessed regarding the publishing of
caricatures insulting Prophet Mohamed (Pbuh). The
general feeling in the Islamic world holds the sense of
injustice towards the interests of the Islamic world and
its major issues. In the first place comes the
settlement of the Palestinian issue which took long time
despite the international legal resolutions and
references globally accepted.
The
State of Qatar hosts in the period of 18 to 20 February
2006 the US-Islamic World Forum for the third time. The
Forum seeks to serve as both a convening body and a
catalyst for positive action. Therefore, its focus is
not to maintain dialogue for dialogue's sake, but on
developing actionable programmes for government, civil
society, and the private sector.
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani First Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs will open
the forum with a welcome address. The inaugural session
will be addressed by a number of participants including
foreign minister of Bahrain Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin
Mohamed Al Khalifa, Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu secretary
general of the Organization of Islamic conference,
Martin Indyk director of Saban center for Middle East
Policy at the Brookings institute in the United States,
Syed Hamid Albar Minster of foreign Affairs of Malaysia
and finally under US undersecretary of state for public
diplomacy and public affairs.
Discussions at the opening session will focus on the
relation between US and the Muslim world 5 years since
the 9/11 attacks and the major challenges to be solved,
looking forward to visions of where US-Muslim world
relations should be 5 year from now.
In a
press conference on Friday 17 February 2006, H.E. Sheikh
Mohamed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi Assistant Foreign
Minister for Follow Up Affairs reviewed the themes and
the goals of the forum and its future visions concerning
US and Islamic World relations with Peter Singer
Director of Project on U.S Policy Towards the Islamic
World at Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the
Brookings Institution.
H.E.
Al Rumaihi stressed that the forum is held at the
initiative of H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani the
Emir of Qatar in order to build bridges in terms of US
and Islamic World relations.
H.E.
also stated that the themes of the forum include:
Perceptions and Reality: the latest from Public Opinion
Polling, the state of U.S. – Muslim World Relations now
and in the previous five years starting from 9/11, Youth
and Development, the Media Effect, technology, Arts,
Politics, Faith and change in the age of Globalization,
Youth and the future of U.S Islamic relations and
finally the status of minorities in the world.
H.E.
highlighted that a large number of leaders and decision
makers in politics, arts, culture and thought will
attend the forum.
Mr.
Singer talked about the tensions in US –Islamic World
relations, highlighting the importance of such forum in
bringing closer the view points and opinion exchange on
many issues concerning both parties in order to build
more positive relations.
He
noted that the themes of the forum will include other
topics dealing with the situation in Iraq and Palestine
after the legislative elections and the victory of Hamas
in addition to the cartoons issue which offended the
Muslims. He said that the forum will push dialogue and
relations between U.S. and the Islamic world a step
forward.
The
3 days of meetings of the forum will bring together over
150 top American and Muslim world leader, whose
backgrounds range form government ministers and CEOs to
journalists and scientist to religious leaders and rock
music stars. 38 countries will be represented at the
forum. Universities represented at the forum range from
Harvard and oxford to Dar al-Hekma College, the first
private college for women in Saudi Arabia and the
college of jurisprudence at Najaf, Iraq.
Business organizations represented range from technology
firm Cisco to the union of chambers and commodity
exchanges of Turkey. Media organization represented at
the forum range form the New York Times and al Ahram to
al Jazeera, fox, Mtv and CNN.
Participants in the forum will discuss a host of issued
related to US Muslim World relations and Muslim
gatherings in the world as this theme is one of the big
challenges in the world current policy. The forum will
also discuss the means to deal with terrorism and
extremism and support freedom by a deeper vision to
problems considered as obstacles to the US Islamic World
relation.
The
3 days of meetings will feature both plenary sessions
open to the media and private working group seminars and
task forces. Issues to be covered include security
concerns and peace processes, governance and reform, and
youth and development.
The
first meeting of the Forum was in January 2004. Over 165
leaders from the Untied States and 37 states in the
Muslim World convened for three days of discussion and
debate. Former US President Bill Clinton and the Emir of
Qatar His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
delivered the keynote addresses. The 2005 Forum sought
to build upon these foundations, bringing together 160
leaders from the US and 35 Muslim countries, from
Senegal to Indonesia.
The
forum is organized by Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in cooperation with U.S. Saban Center for Middle
East Policy at the Brookings Institution.
By
focusing on creating a diverse set of attendees, the
Forums have created a unique meeting space. The Forum is
the only venue where a Wall Street banker might end up
sitting next to an Islamist leader from Pakistan or
where a news editor from Egypt might share dinner with
an admiral from the US Navy. While the participants
always include an array of notable policymakers and
opinion-shapers, others are enthralled by the chance to
hear new voices and meet the next generation of leaders.
In
addition to dialogue and debate, among the most
heartening aspects of the meetings are the various
networks and endeavours generated by convening so many
dynamic leaders. Past outcomes of the Forum have
included the building of schools and other human
development initiatives in the region, the formation of
a Muslim American foreign policy group, and the
initiation of “Track Two” diplomatic talks for certain
conflict zones. The meetings also provide the foundation
for a range of complementary activities designed to
enhance the effectiveness of dialogue. These include a
follow-up regional conference series, which would run
parallel conferences in other Muslim regions, the
assembling of task forces of policymakers and experts,
and associated outreach, research, and publications.
Collaborative media, education, and youth-centred
programmes help expand the impact of such activities.
The
theme of the 2006 US-Islamic World Forum, “Leaders
Effect Change,” seeks to build on the previous sessions.
Past Forums have established that, in a region once
characterised by stasis and stability, immense change
has taken place in the relationship between the US and
the wider Muslim World since September 11. Importantly,
this change has mostly taken place in manners and
outcomes that few on either side find to be wholly
positive. But this status quo, regardless of how one
views it, is fleeting. Or, to put it more directly, the
status quo is change itself. Deliberate policies, both
in foreign policy and internal reform, reflect explicit
goals to be “factors of change.” At the same time,
powerful external dynamics, such as globalisation and
demographics, shake the system. The relationship is and
will remain in flux. This state of flux shapes
everything from debates about the role of religion in
politics to the interplay between arts, popular culture,
and perceptions of each other. Both the repercussions of
the past and the forces of change lying just over the
horizon must be understood.
At
the same time, past forums established the mutual
responsibilities that American and Muslim World leaders
have towards mending the relationship and working on
areas of joint concern. This leads to the question of
how will leaders react to these forces of change, and
what actions will they take to steer them towards more
positive ends? It is a fundamental underpinning of the
US-Islamic World Forum that true leaders take ownership
of problems and work to solve them. |