US Muslims criticise Bush over Israel
Tuesday 18 July 2006, 6:18 Makka Time, 3:18 GMT
US Muslims want Bush to 'forcefully' condemn Israeli
actions
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American Muslims have criticised the US government for
its reluctance to condemn Israel, as they worry about
countless relatives and friends trapped in Lebanon.
US officials have said Israel "has the right to defend
itself," since its incursion into Gaza three weeks ago
and air raids on Lebanon; but president Bush's stance
is offending Americans who are Muslims or of Arab
descent.
Early last week, a coalition of 11 major Muslim
organisations publicly called on Bush to forcefully
condemn the attacks on Gaza and to designate as "war
crimes" the destruction of Palestine's civilian
infrastructure.
After the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, the appeals for
denouncing Israel have multiplied.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest US
Muslim rights group, said: "Once again, America's
image and interests worldwide are being harmed by
one-sided support for Israeli actions.
"We're urging Muslims in America and other people of
conscience to contact their elected officials to tell
them that we have to have balanced foreign policy for
the Middle East, one that is driven by American
interests, not Israeli interests."
US must lobby
Zainab Al-Suwaij, the director of the American Islamic
Congress, had an even more immediate goal, urging the
US to actively lobby for an end to the current
violence.
"The policy for the US should be stopping the
violence, period, and starting to solve the problem
through negotiations."
"We're urging Muslims in America and other people of
conscience to contact their elected officials to tell
them that we have to have balanced foreign policy for
the Middle East, one that is driven by American
interests, not Israeli interests."
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on
American-Islamic Relations
The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
announced at a rally outside the White House on
Tuesday to "protest Israeli military action in Lebanon
and Gaza."
The committee, founded in 1980 by James Abourezk,
former US senator of Arab descent, calls itself the
largest Arab civil rights group in the United States.
Leaders of Arab-American communities around the United
States plan to meet in Washington on Wednesday to
discuss the crisis in the Mideast.
Dual nationals
The plight of an estimated 25,000 US citizens in
Lebanon, many of whom are dual nationals, has injected
a sense of urgency to the gathering.
The Arab American Institute, which says it represents
the policy and community interests of US Arab
Americans, said 40 per cent of the 3.5 million
Arab-Americans are of Lebanese descent.
The institute has posted on its website photographs of
Arab-American vacationers, children and visitors
trapped in Lebanon by the fighting.
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute,
said: "In many cases (there is) no way for them to
leave, even if a plan were to be developed, they can't
go from one part of the country to the other to get
out."
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