Under
the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani the
emir of Qatar, the three-day third 2006 U.S. - Islamic world
forum, hosted by Qatar Ministry of Foreign affairs, opened
at Ritz Carlton Doha on Saturday 18 February 2006.
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. |