U.S. Joins U.N. Initiative Whose Stated Goal Is to Bridge Islam-West Divide

The U.S. has signed on to a U.N. project whose stated aim is to build bridges between Islam and the West, but critics worry it is linked to an agenda that restricts free expression, especially when it comes to media coverage viewed as critical towards Islam.

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley announced Thursday that the U.S. has joined 119 countries and organizations in a “Group of Friends” supporting the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC), and as such will take part in the AoC’s third global forum in Brazil in late May.

…Among factors identified as contributing to difficulties between Islam and the West, the report highlighted “Israel’s continuing occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territories and the unresolved status of Jerusalem.”

The report acknowledged that terrorism, “committed by radical groups on the fringes of Muslim societies,” was a factor, but attributed it to Western policies and repression in the Islamic world, not to Islamist ideology.

“In evaluating the relations between Western and Muslim societies it is important to note that Islamist activism does not necessarily produce Islamist militancy within societies and the latter does not automatically lead to violent confrontation with the West,” it said.

“It is the invasion of certain Muslim countries by Western military forces and their continued presence in these countries, combined with the suppression of political movements in the Muslim world, that are among the reasons for violent manifestations.”

Because of terrorism, the report said, Islam was perceived by some as a violent religion, a view that was “at best manifestly incorrect and at worst maliciously motivated.”