By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Newark, CA: The United Muslims of America (UMA) held a forum on the Clash of Civilizations on April 13, 2004 at the Chandni Restaurant in Newark CA. Enver Masud, the founder president of The Wisdom Fund was the main speaker at the forum attended by a large number of Bay Area Muslim community leaders and activists.
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Enver Masud speaks on ‘Clash of Civilizations’. UMA President, Shafi Refai, is on his left.
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In his speech on the Clash of Civilizations, Masud provided a historical background to how Muslims have affected the world and how the world has reacted to the Muslim presence during the course of history.
He pointed out that after the Second World War, America’s economy was directed toward the “cold war”. We were trying to be in readiness for possible attack by the Soviet Union. Everyone was working and we were enjoying an abundance of good living, but then the Soviet Union fell. There was no place to direct the war effort nor any need to produce war material anymore.
“Obviously, a new ‘enemy’ needed to be defined. At this time the choice was labeled as between the ‘green peril’ and the ‘yellow peril’. The handy choice was now the ‘green peril’ fundamentalist Islamic doctrine being established after the breakup of the Soviet Union. There had to be a new direction to direct the war effort.
“Fortunately, the Kuwait problem developed and we learned about the Gulf War. Tanks were being lined up to invade Saudi Arabia according to the satellite photos as presented to the public. Americans were then easily distracted from their home problems by the Iraq/Kuwait war. Finally the 9/11 attack occurred. An enemy was apparent and patriotism ran high. It was easy to get into Afghanistan and build up the pressure to attack Iraq.
“The question still remains if there is a clash between civilizations or is it greed and power within nations. Further, are our leaders simply out to grab the power and grab the limelight, or what.”
In Masud’s opinion it is not a clash of civilization but the greed for resources and power.
Enver Masud argued that the question about the role of Muslim responsibility centers on bringing people together to talk about problems. In this context, he elaborated on how to utilize the role of the media and to provide information that is different rather than simply responding to political changes and negative world events focusing on the Muslim community.
He pointed out that most people don’t have the time or interest to read about events not politically involved or disaster profiled and there needs to be a way to get a person’s attention before one can provide solutions to popularize Islam.
“Muslims do not have the common thread on which to agree, and we recognize that conflicts exist within the well known religions, not just between religions. This negates the notion of ‘clash of civilizations.” It puts the burden of peace on the ability of people to communicate and work with each other, Enver Masud concluded.
After his speech Enver Masud responded to some questions about the title of his book and what Muslims could do to counter the negative stereotype. Masud said that Muslims have to be innovative in their approach. He gave an example of the Discover Islam brochure that he developed was published in the Teacher’s Magazine at a relatively low cost. The magazine reaches thousands of teachers across USA who utilize the material from the brochure to teach to the children in school about Islam.
Syed Rifat Mahmood, a prominent community leader and former congressional candidate, thanked all participants and pointed out that their interest in the forum indicates that the community is alive to problems and issues it is facing at the present moment. He urged the community to be more proactive.
Mertze Dahlin contributed to this report.