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Students tour Muslim world
A group of Americans sought dialogue in nine countries, hoping to improve Western-Islamic relations.
from the April 19, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 4
Asked to identify their current role models, young people in the four Arab countries overwhelmingly chose Amr Khaled, a popular Egyptian TV preacher who presents a more modern but "proper image" of Islam. (An appendix in "Journey into Islam" elaborates on the historical and contemporary role models young people identified in each country.)
While role models varied by region, youths in most countries often chose conservative leaders who, they said, "stand up for Islam" against the West – such as Islamic scholar Yusuf Qaradawi and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr. Hayden recalls a class of 50 young women in Indonesia, in which 65 percent listed names like Osama bin Laden, Ayatollah Khomenei, and Mr. Ahmadinejad among their heroes, yet also said they were in favor of dialogue with America.
"There is a large group of people right on the edge," Hayden adds. "They want dialogue but feel they are under attack. The question is which way they are going to lean in the future."
To the travelers, it seemed clear that the answer depends on improving communication between Americans and ordinary Muslims to counter the many misperceptions on both sides.
Although they have access to US media, Muslim youths they met often knew little about Islam in America. Some 500 students at a mosque in India were stunned and overwhelmed when they met Ms. Mubarak, who wears the hijab.
"They had this perception there were no Muslims in America, and I could tell them I'm able to cover my hair, that I go to mosque, and there are millions of Muslims like me," she says.
Students may be best ambassadors
Such experiences have led Ahmed to tell the State Department that young Americans, including Muslims, are the best ambassadors the US could have in the Muslim world. Not only do they make friends readily, he says, but they are also willing to listen.
Sessions with students might begin in an icy or even hostile tone. "But when they saw we wanted to listen, they were surprised and thrilled, and you saw a change in tone," Mubarak says. "It made an impact wherever we went."
"Journey into Islam" describes interactions in several countries that were meaningful to both sides. The most intense and consequential, however, was a visit to Deoband University in India, the most orthodox Islamic school in South Asia. (Deoband is a strict movement promoting assertive action to defend Islamic identity.)
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