Should US export Islamic clerics?

Doutdes · #1 06-19-2006, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Most American mosques import their clerics from overseas — some who preach extremism, some who cannot speak English, and most who cannot begin to speak to young American Muslims growing up on hip-hop and in mixed-sex chat rooms. Mr. Yusuf, 48, and Mr. Shakir, 50, are using their clout to create the first Islamic seminary in the United States, where they hope to train a new generation of imams and scholars who can reconcile Islam and American culture.

The seminary is still in its fledgling stages, but Mr. Yusuf and Mr. Shakir have gained a large following by being equally at home in Islamic tradition and modern American culture. Mr. Yusuf dazzles his audiences by weaving into one of his typical half-hour talks quotations from St. Augustine, Patton, Eric Erikson, Jung, Solzhenitsyn, Auden, Robert Bly, Gen. William C. Westmoreland and the Bible. He is the host of a TV reality show that is popular in the Middle East, in which he takes a vanload of Arabs on a road trip across the United States to visit people who might challenge Arab stereotypes about Americans, like the antiwar protesters demonstrating outside the Republican National Convention.

The United States is an exporter of culture. We sell movies, music, fashion and etc. throughout the world. We also do the same with Christianity, sending missionaries across the globe. The same isn't true with Islam. We do not export moderate or liberal Islamic beliefs, instead we seem to only import muslim beliefs from countries that often have anti-US sentiments. Should we work on changing that?

mike · #2 06-19-2006, 06:16 PM

interesting topic.

I think we have a counter TV station to al Jazeera in the Middle East. I would assume it focuses on Iraq vice prompting the US in the Middle East.

I think the Bush Administration is terrible a public affairs within the U.S. and in the Middle East. We need to do better!

As far as your question, I think it would be impossible to get U.S. born, moderate/liberal Muslims into positions of influence in the Middle East. It is no secret the in the main areas of concern for the U.S. (Saudi Arabia and Western Pakistan) clerics are embedded by the government or local leaders. I don't think we could penetrate those areas.

This is our weakness and I talked about this with Bob. Saudi Arabia is not tolerant and does not allow outside influence. In America we allow just about anything. Forget about getting a moderate U.S. born cleric into the mosques of Saudi Arabia or madrases in Pakistan.

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