Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1997, Pages 89-90

Northwest News

Officials From Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Mauritania Tour U.S. to Study Role of Legislators in Democracy

By Elaine Kelley

Official visitors from Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia and Mauritania participated in a U.S. Information Agency project for Arabic-speaking countries to study "The Role of Legislators in the U.S. Democratic Process." The group visited five U.S. cities from May 31 to June 22, arriving first in Washington, DC, then traveling to New York City, Springfield (IL), Houston, and to Portland, where they were hosted by the International Visitor Program of the World Affairs Council of Oregon.

Participants in the study tour included Mohamed Gadallah El-Tawil of Egypt, deputy editor-in-chief and parliamentary affairs editor for October Magazine; Moez Boujmil of Tunisia, special adviser, Chamber of Deputies; Ahmed Al-Awadi of Yemen, director of public relations and protocol for the Yemen parliament; Ja'afar Said Basaleh, deputy speaker for the Yemen parliament; and Ahmedou Ould Hamma Khattar of Mauritania, member of parliament. USIA escort interpreters for the group were Taoufik Maged and Galal El-Nahal.

In Portland the group met with the Washington Report at the office of the World Affairs Council of Oregon and provided a review of their activities in Washington, DC, where they studied U.S. Senate procedures and observed the structure and operation of the office of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), met with Time Magazine's congressional correspondent Jay Carney, toured the Library of Congress and its Middle Eastern section, and met with William Danvers of the National Security Council. They also visited several special interest organizations in Washington, including the Arab American Institute, People for the American Way, and Toby Dershowitz and Dr. Raphael Danziger of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

Egyptian editor El-Tawil told the Washington Report that the meeting with AIPAC representatives proved to be inconsequential. He said, "What we've found out through our meetings with Democrats and Republicans is that democracy differs from one country to another. In Egypt the system is simple, and this might appeal to Americans."

El-Tawil described the democratic process in Washington, DC as "boisterous noise" involving a large number of institutions, especially lobby groups. "If there is any claim that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, I think that is a deliberate mistake," he said. He explained that the claim that there is no democracy in Egypt stems from a mistaken understanding.

"Democracy as a model cannot be imposed on all countries alike," he said. He added that the presence of Israel in the Middle East over the past 50 years has led to a great economic expansion and development for the West, particularly the U.S., but that Egypt's resources were exhausted in fighting Israel, and consequently there has been inadequate economic development.

"Israel, in the opinion of the West, is a policeman of the Middle East, but this is a mistaken belief made evident in two major events when Israel was powerless to do anything—when Saudia Arabia cut off oil in 1973 and in the Gulf war. Israel was of no use in either case," El-Tawil said. "When I asked in Congress why the U.S. supports Israel, I was told that the U.S. tries to establish equalibrium in the region, but the West has intervened for its own interest."

Ahmed Al-Awadi of Yemen addressed stalled peace talks between Palestinians and Israel, stating that the meeting of the Arab League in Egypt in response to Israel's settlement construction on Jabal Abu Ghneim happened behind closed doors. "Leaders and spies only" were involved in the discussion, he said, predicting that no Arab citizen will ever know the outcome of the meeting. "This is very dangerous for the peace, if it is not supported by the people," he said.

Ahmedou Ould Hamma Khattar, a member of parliament from Mauritania, explained that because they know that nothing can be accomplished economically or socially without peace, intellectuals in his country support the peace process. "We feel that Palestinians, Israelis and Egyptians need peace. The peace process was moving ahead in the previous Israeli administration," he said. "However there was a retreat from peace since Netanyahu, and we see that the American government always supports Israel regardless of what Israel does."

In Oregon, tour members met with Frank Afranji, a Palestinian-American board member of the Oregon Interreligious Committee for Peace in the Middle East, to discuss the organization's efforts to bring Jews, Christians and Muslims together to find common ground, and with Professor John Damis, a North African specialist at Portland State University and with Jon Mandaville, a Yemen specialist at Portland State and director of its Middle East Studies Center.

The USIA operates government overseas information and cultural programs, including the exchange of persons program. Some 4,000 of these nominees visit the United States annually to meet Americans who share common professional interests. About 500 international visitors come to Portland each year. The group from the Near East followed a visit in April by Palestine National Authority officials (see Washington Report, Aug/Sept 1997).

Muslim Educational Trust Celebrates 2nd Annual Awards

Some 200 people attended the Muslim Educational Trust of Portland's second annual awards night at Portland State University on June 13 to honor recipients for their "contributions toward education, knowledge and understanding of Islam and Muslims."

President Muhammed Naijeb told the audience that a full-time Islamic school with a $203,000 budget requires the commitment of serious Muslims and asked their help in reaching the goal of $96,000 in contributions from the awards night event.

Keynote speaker was Beirut-born Dr. Ahmad Sakr, president of the Foundation of Islamic Knowledge and director of the Islamic Education Center in California. He encouraged the audience to become more active and outspoken American Muslims. "That's the beauty of the American people," he said. "They are open-minded, they are absorbing us. We are living peacefully, but we are very passive."

He said Muslims living in the U.S. are passive because many came from countries where they did not have freedom of speech. "But we are vocal on campuses, where we are respected," he said. He noted that there are those who want to do harm, spread rumors and label Muslims as terrorists, and that more knowledge of the truth will lead to understanding and acceptance.

Between presentations by the main speakers, Sister Oroba Khan and the children from the MET Weekend School sang and did readings in Arabic from the Qur'an.

Nadira Najieb, coordinator of the MET Weekend Islamic School, told the audience that "500,000 Muslims study in the U.S. but only 10,000 attend Islamic schools." She said Muslims must take responsibility for establishing Muslim schools for their children.

Rev. Dr. Phil Harder, president of the Center for the Study of Religion at PSU, also serves as the coordinator at PSU's Campus Ministry. He said that MET shares an office with Campus Ministry, where eight Christian denominations meet. "We all share in the right word," he explained. "We bridge with other religions. The Center for the Study of Religion tries to build a bridge with these foundational planks, to develop a culture that respects and trusts, that works toward justice. Together we share in the responsibility, in this process, for a better life together."

Dr. Marvin Kaiser, dean of liberal arts and sciences at PSU, spoke about the Center for the Study of Values, which works to enhance the teaching of religious studies in public institutions and to recognize that there is a relationship between the expansion of intellect and the development of the virtues of compassion, understanding, charity and humility. "We have a responsibility to build competence with character," he said, "and we are excited with the growth of the Middle East program and the Islamic weekend school which is an example of that."

The event ended with the presentation of awards by Farid Durrani, secretary for the Islamic Society of Southwest Washington, and Dr. Nohad Toulan, dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs at PSU and founder of its Islamic Studies Program. Over 20 individuals were recognized for their contributions to Islamic education.