Many ways to communicate
Since 9/11, Arabs have faced no end of problems resulting from their negative image internationally. Aicha Abdel-Ghaffar talks to a man who's trying to turn things around
The need to remedy the harm done to the image of Arabs and Arab culture in the wake of the 11 September attacks and during the subsequent wave of anti-Arab sentiment that swept the West, is an issue on the agenda of many think-tanks, governments and intellectuals in the Arab world.
"This is a very serious matter. We have to work to project to the entire world the true image of Arabs and their culture, which I would say is a positive one. We face a serious offensive from the media and other quarters that aims to tarnish our image, but we should not ignore this attack," said Ali Maher, secretary-general of the Beirut-based Arab Thought Foundation.
Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly a few days ago, just before he left for Lebanon to assume his new post, Maher -- Egypt's former ambassador to France -- could not have been more emphatic in stressing the need for improving cross-cultural dialogue and the presentation of Arab culture. "This is the way ahead. There is no other way." The alternative, he says, is for the Arab image to be further tarnished and for the Arabs to become even angrier over the attacks to which they are subjected.
According to Maher, if the Arabs' only action is to nurse their wounds by looking for solace in their impressive cultural heritage, then the offensive against them is bound to continue and the damage to their image will only worsen.
Initiated by Saudi Prince Khaled Al-Faisal in May 2000 as a forum for Arab-Arab dialogue, the Arab Thought Foundation has taken up the challenge of Arab-non-Arab dialogue in view of the international and regional developments that followed 11 September. In October 2001, the foundation set up shop in Lebanon as an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) with a board that included a large number of Arab intellectuals and businessmen charged with the task of spending Arab money on promoting Arab culture. Since then, the Arab Thought Foundation has held a number of events that allowed for exchange of views among Arabs and non-Arabs on several cultural, political and economic issues.
With its secretariat now officially in Beirut, the Arab Thought Foundation is a hive of activity. "We [Arabs] have so much work to do. We are faced with very serious challenges. We have to deal with these challenges, contain them and make sure that our voice is heard," said the secretary-general of the foundation. He added, "We have to communicate. There are so many ways for us to communicate."
And, in Maher's view, the Arab Thought Foundation "has an important and useful role to play on this front". Suggesting that his organisation is considering plans for cooperation and coordination with several international, regional and even national organisations, he stresses that the job of his organisation is to inspire collective Arab work. Such endeavours, he argues, are essential in the Arab effort to deal with the current offensive directed at "all Arabs and our collective culture".
In confronting the offensive, Maher says he has ideas to cooperate with the Arab League. "The plans are in the works now. We are exploring every single potential for cooperation and are talking to many different organisations." By the time Maher officially opens his recently established Beirut office, the foundation's activities should be in full swing.
The biggest event planned by the Arab Thought Foundation for the year 2003 is the convocation of the Second Arab Thinking Conference under the auspices of Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. Along the lines of the foundation's conference in Cairo late last year, the Beirut conference will host a group of Arab and foreign intellectuals to engage in a debate on all manner of political, cultural and even economic issues. At the top of the Beirut conference's agenda is the need for inter-Arab tolerance and cooperation. Other issues, like cross- cultural and cross-religion dialogue, are also slated for discussion. "We have to be open to all ideas, we need to be willing to listen to the views reflecting diverse trends. This is what dialogue is about, after all."
Dialogue, Maher says, has to have a clear objective. For the interactions sponsored by the foundation, the goal is better understanding among the peoples of various cultures. "Better rapport among all peoples is what we are talking about here. Take, for example, the Egyptian-French relationship. There is no denying that the close cultural rapport between the French and Egyptians played an important role in stimulating strong relations between the two countries."
This rapport, Maher argues, is the best recipe to peacefully negotiate such turbulent times during which many of the tools of international relations falter and when war, rather than respect for international law, is promoted by some as the solution to regional and international conflicts. He added, "International relations cannot be compartamentalised. If you want to have good political and economic relations, you need to have good cultural rapport, and for this to happen we have to engage in dialogue and communicate."
