By Sara Elghobashy
November 12, 2009
When the sheer existence of statistics on one of the world’s largest civilizations becomes hard news, it makes you want to pause. This is what happened a few weeks ago with the release of the PEW Forum’s report on Muslim populations worldwide. Coupled with a recently released documentary film entitled Inside Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think,based on a Gallup research led by Dalia Mogahed, who was selected by President Obama for the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, everyone from the country’s President to Muslims themselves want to know - well, who are we?
It seems to me that the majority of these statistics are aimed at showcasing that Muslims are not terrorists and/or societal outsiders. Shocker, right? While the Bill O’Reilly followers are no doubt reeling over this news, many experts are focusing in on how these new numbers can help. Muslim communities worldwide are notoriously lacking in hard statistics, a problem that although may seem minor, actually effects every aspect of a functioning society, from business to politics.
Take US foreign policy for example. As we’ve heard time and again since he took office, Obama has vowed to expand outreach to “the Muslim world.” However, some analysts believe that the President’s efforts have been narrowly focused on the Middle East, which further leads the American public to think that the region has the highest percentage of Muslims in the world. As the PEW report demonstrates though, most Muslims live in South and Southeast Asia.
“We should be clear that the Middle East is not the Muslim world, and it does the Muslim world a disservice by associating it with the most paralyzed regimes of a small minority of its population,” said Haroon Moghul, Executive Director of The Maydan Institute, a communications and consulting company devoted to improving relationships and increasing understanding between Muslims and the West.
“There are strong democratic cultures, movements or even governance in a number of major Muslim countries, with promising economic, cultural and social indicators: Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, and Indonesia. If we include South Asia, for all its problems, the majority of the world’s Muslims live in democracies,” Moghul explained in an interview with elan.
But even so, Moghul believes that “the future viability of America as a political power in the Muslim world” rests upon three issues: Palestine and Israel, Iran, and Afghanistan and Pakistan - all issues that are at the forefront of the Obama administration’s foreign policy.
Another key factor for progress is development. So why aren’t we doing more of this? Once again, let’s look at the figures. We do have the 2009 Human Development Index, which indicates the top five countries with the largest Muslim populations don’t place so high when it comes to development. Out of 184 countries, Indonesia comes in at 111, Pakistan at 141, India at 134, Bangladesh at 146, and Egypt at 123.
That said, there is a growing movement of people who believe that developing the economies of countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan is a better alternative to supporting a “War on Terror” and further alienating parts of the world that are crucial allies to U.S. policies. In a recent op-ed, Nicholas Kristof called for the construction of 40,000 schools instead of deploying an additional 40,000 troops, especially as Afghans grow more worried with the U.S. presence in their country. Moghul stresses that the troops and security are an essential part of the formula for stability in Afghanistan, adding, “Of course, building schools is a far more productive decision than sending troops. But you have to have a hospitable environment in order to do that.”
Reaching out to “the Muslim world” may be the goal, but that starts with establishing trust, and, maybe more importantly, knowing who your audience is. To understand ourselves, we have to know where we are, who we are and what we believe. While the PEW Report, “Inside Islam” film, and Human Development Index are a good start, research is one area where we definitely have room to improve.
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