Organisers ‘restricted talks at Islamic forum’

“THE deliberations at the US-Islamic World Forum in Doha were arranged in a manner that allowed the organisers to conduct dialogue amongst themselves and only with those who listened to their views. They do not wish to listen to viewpoints that could make them uneasy. However, such dialogue is a welcome move and something is better than nothing,” said Rashed al-Ghannoushi, head of the banned Islamic Renaissance Movement of Tunisia.
The forum concluded its deliberations in Doha yesterday.
Asked by a local Arabic daily, whether the forum could lead to any change, he said that there could be some intangible change. The United States is eager to foster democracy in all parts of the world, especially in the Arab world. But the Zionist lobby is a big stumbling block because there is a strong apprehension that the emergence of democracy will create more enemies for the US than friends. Consequently the US is seen to be wavering. It has taken contradictory positions on the emergence of Hamas in the elections in Palestine.
On Muslim-US relations five years from now, he said five years was too short a period to bring about any major change. One can only visualise escalation of tension mainly due to interference by the Zionist lobby.
On the role of Muslim minorities in the West, he said that their presence there has a positive effect.
“Muslims there help in building bridges between the two civilizations. Similarly the Christian minorities in the Arab World play a positive role.”
Asked on how Islamists will deal with autocratic and corrupt regimes, he said that a time will come when there will be mass outbursts against these regimes.