NDSU Muslims get their voices heard
Three weeks ago, I wrote a column about the war in Iraq, and I asked NDSU Muslims to join in the dialogue about what the U.S. can do in the Middle East.
That column generated the most responses of any column I’ve written this year, even though only one letter to the editor appeared in this paper.
Outside the pages of The Spectrum, I had an opportunity to speak with three Muslim PhD students extensively.
In this article, I want to reiterate the things they told me, since I think their perspective is worth hearing.
While we didn’t come up with many specific solutions to Iraq, the points they bring up deserve consideration.
All of the Muslims I spoke with wanted to make one thing clear: that most Muslims love Americans and everything our country stands for.
However, they hate our government, especially our foreign policy, especially with Israel.
Despite what it looks like on television, Muslims don’t have an overwhelming hatred for Jews. The Muslims respect the Jews.
However, they believe that the Middle East is meant for Arabs and Hebrews, both of which are ethnic classifications.
The Muslims were fine with the Hebrews living in the Middle East, until the country of Israel was created after WWII and non-Hebrew Jews flooded Palestine.
What upsets the Muslims is how strongly the U.S. backs Israel.
The Muslims see the non-Hebrew Jews as oppressors of the Palestinian people, and they can’t understand why the U.S. supports this behavior when we champion human rights elsewhere.
And this double-standard happens all around the Middle East. The NDSU Muslims don’t like how the U.S. supports corrupt and oppressive regimes in the Middle East, like in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.
The Muslims feel the U.S. involvement in the Middle East is geared entirely to support Israel and gain oil, and to reach these goals, they feel the U.S. is willing to set aside our beliefs in freedom and human rights.
Another double standard Muslims hate is how the U.S. strongly opposes weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East but is willing to support Israel’s attainment of weapons of mass destruction.
When I offered the possibility that Israel needed WMDs to survive in the Middle East, one responded by saying that was Jewish propaganda.
Their solutions to the problems in the Middle East?
Some support the U.S. leaving Iraq, but more importantly, the NDSU Muslims I spoke with want the U.S. to stop supporting corrupt regimes in the Middle East.
They feel the U.S. can still have oil from the Middle East if there are democracies in the area, but they believe the U.S. is reluctant to do this because changing government could threaten the supply of oil in the short-term.
And more than corrupt governments, the Muslims want the U.S. to stop supporting Israel and the human rights abuses they commit against the Palestinians.
They also want NDSU students to know they are trying to spark dialogue with Americans.
The Muslim Student Association frequently has events for others. I’ve attended a couple before, but the turnout was always very low (once I was the only one).
So if NDSU students are serious about the Middle East, they should take advantage of the attempts by the MSA to have a dialogue.
I’ve tried to be unbiased in presenting the opinions of the three Muslims I talked to. I hope others will take advantage of the opportunities to interact with the Muslims on campus.
Dennis is a senior studying management communications
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum