56 Islamic Nations Avoid Condemning U.S. Attacks, but Warn on Civilian Casualties

[Doug Millison]

I guess these 56 countries are just too shy to speak up and tell Bush the
many ways they love him.  They've also got another pesky concern, which the
reporter notes:  "self-preservation".  Even if the leaders of these
countries do love Bush they can't say so publicly because their citizens --
who don't like what Bush is doing -- are likely to throw them out of power.
This is consistent with the reporting coming out of Muslim countries that
is available in the British papers, especially the Guardian and the
Independent.

We have a large Muslim community here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and
many in that community are deeply conflicted.  As much as they love the
U.S., they also hate to see how Bush is helping bin Laden by marshaling
outrage against this stupid military adventure.



http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/11/international/11ISLA.html

October 11, 2001

THE MUSLIM WORLD



56 Islamic Nations Avoid Condemning U.S. Attacks, but Warn on Civilian
Casualties


By JOHN KIFNER


OHA, Qatar, Oct. 10 - Fifty-six Islamic nations holding an emergency
meeting here issued a statement today that avoided directly condemning the
United States' attacks against the Taliban in Afghanistan, while warning
against inflicting civilian casualties or striking against other Arab
states.

If the statement's language seemed murky, Washington policy makers could
still breathe a deep sigh of relief at moving past a first test of their
bombing raids. The emergency gathering of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference had been called by Iran. Evidence of significant opposition
could have shredded American efforts to build an alliance that included
Arabs and Muslims against Osama bin Laden and other terrorists.

Still, the communiqué clearly and succinctly expressed the various Islamic
governments' central concern - self-preservation, saying, "The conference
rejected the targeting of any Islamic or Arab state under the pretext of
fighting terrorism."

The careful wording reflected the complex pressures and fears that weigh on
Arab and Muslim governments, whose own legitimacy is often precarious. The
conference, representing 1.2 billion Muslims from Africa and Asia, as well
as the Middle East, dedicated one sentence to finding fault with the
attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which cost more than
5,000 lives.
Agence France-Presse
Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia conferred with his Algerian
counterpart, Abdelaziz Belkhadim, on Wednesday at the emergency gathering
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

Cairo: Report Says Egypt Plot With Pilots Was Blocked (October 11, 2001)
Baghdad: Experts Doubt Iraq Had Role in Latest Terror Attacks (October 11,
2001)


"These terrorist acts contradict the teaching of all religions and human
and moral values," the statement said.

In perhaps the closest expression of outright support for America, the
spokesman for the conference, the Qatar foreign minister, Sheik Hamad bin
Jasim bin Jabir al-Thani, said the raids into Afghanistan were
understandable. "We don't blame the United States, because what happened in
the United States is a big tragedy," he told a news conference at the end
of the meeting. "Six thousand people were killed in one day, and they were
killed by terrorist action.

"We don't generally support military action. But then again, we don't
support terrorism either, and we also have to identify terrorism and see
its causes, which is why we asked for it to be discussed at the United
Nations in the future."

Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal of Saudi Arabia told reporters that Muslim
states wanted to help "eradicate terrorism, which harms the Islamic world
and Islamic causes and has never served the Palestinian cause."

The tepid statements reflected the fears of some governments, including
those of Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the gulf sheikdoms,
that further American actions could inflame their populations and
destabilize their governments.

There were also more immediate fears. Officials in Iraq, particularly, but
also in Iran, Libya, Sudan, Syria and the Bekaa in central Lebanon worry
that their areas could be potential targets of American strikes.

Syria, Iraq and Iran have openly criticized the American raids. At the
meeting today, they were said to have pressed for criticism of the United
States but were rebuffed by more moderate states led by Egypt and Saudi
Arabia.

The emir of Qatar, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, current president of
the Islamic conference, welcomed the delegates with an acknowledgment of
the horror of the attacks on Sept. 11, coupled with a cautionary note to
the United States.

"We assert our utter rejection of these attacks and assert that those
confronting them must not touch innocent civilians and must not extend
beyond those who carried out those attacks," he said. "This requires the
existence of irrefutable evidence against the perpetrators and that
military operations, after announcing the evidence, be limited to them
alone."

But, like the other Arab leaders here, the emir swiftly tried to draw a
distinction between the kind of terrorism attributed to Mr. bin Laden and
what they call the "resistance to occupation" on the part of Palestinians.
At the same time, the Arab leaders tried to link the Palestinian cause to
efforts to eliminate the roots of terrorism.

Emir al-Thani accused Israel of practicing "state terrorism" against
Palestinians, who, he said, "have no choice but to struggle.

"The only way to put an end to this vicious circle is to enable the
Palestinian people to practice their legitimate rights, notably their right
to self-determination, and to allow the establishment of an independent
state with its capital Jerusalem."

The Palestinian leader, Yasir Arafat, addressed the conference, accusing
Israel of taking advantage of the attention and outrage focused on the
attacks on America. "While the world is busy with the American tragedy,"
Mr. Arafat said, "the Israeli government is using its military might to
escalate its aggression against our people and to reoccupy our land."

There were also calls among the delegates that the United Nations, rather
than the United States, handle the matter.

"We would like to see an internationally led campaign," said Amr Moussa,
secretary general of the Arab League, whose foreign ministers held a
preliminary meeting here on Tuesday night. "Terrorism is a global
phenomenon, and any action against it is best addressed through the United
Nations."



Doug Millison - Writer/Editor/Web Editorial Consultant
millison at online-journalist.com
www.Online-Journalist.com