“But There Is Neither East Nor West, Border, Nor Breed Nor Birth

“When Two Strong Men Stand Face to Face

“Tho’ They Come From the Ends of the Earth!”

The apocalyptic events of Sept. 11 spawned an intensity of emotion and frustration in Muslim and non-Muslim alike. East and West, Muslim and non-Muslim, often in an uneasy relationship, were in danger of becoming permanently polarized.

One “strong man” has decided to attempt to “stand face to face” with others and start talking. The Department for Dialogue With the Islamic World, backed by the German government, is the result.

“It was important to find ways of cooperation with the Muslim world in view of the mounting stereotyping on both sides,” said Dr. Gunter Mulack, the commissioner for the department at the German Foreign Office. He recently held a meeting with Saudi academics and thinkers to share the objectives of his department.

Many of the hijackers had lived and studied in Germany. There is an increasing suspicion about Arabs living in Germany and fears that they will all be branded as terrorists.

The Department for Dialogue was to work on both learning more about the Muslim world and conveying information about German culture. To do this, the department co-opts people with dual nationality who have roots and are at home in the Muslim world.

Engaging the civil as well as official levels of society, the program accesses the cultural facilities of the Goethe Institute, the German Academic Exchange Service and research institutes.

Dr. Mulack stresses the need to analyze the political role of Islam in Muslim countries, to observe what is happening there and evaluating attitude to the West. “It is a long process,” Dr. Mulack admits. “It will take many years before we maximize cooperation.”

Dr. Mulack firmly distances himself from the war on terrorism being part of a war on Islam. “Muslims did not invent terrorism, it plagues the whole world. We want to separate the two issues; it is a war on terror not on Islam.”

Dr. Mulack believes Germans, members of Parliament and others, have to be better informed and know more about Islam and the Arab and Muslim world. Informing the West about the world of Islam and helping Muslims understand Europe is the main goal. “We want to explain to them the reasons why these events are happening in the Muslim world and the frustration behind it.”

Media, schools and universities all fall within the program’s purview. Exchange visits have already taken place between schools in Germany and Muslim countries and female schoolteachers from the Muslim world were invited to attend workshops and seminars in Germany.

During visits to the Arab world, Dr. Mulack noticed a high level of frustration in young people and found it alarming. It springs from a sense of exclusion because they see what is happening in the world and feel that they are not participating in it. “Unemployment aggravates this resentment and those young people become an easy prey to groups that want to use them against their societies and against the world.”

These disenfranchised young may turn to violence and crime; the region will suffer. “Our interest is to see the Middle East live in peace and stability. It is not in our interest to have chaos in our neighborhood; we want to have good exchange with your countries,” he said.

The West’s help is limited. It can only help to refocus the economic assistance to the Muslim world, help more in the areas of education and culture. The program can point to some successes in its short history however.

Morocco, Yemen, Jordan and Algeria are among countries opening dialogue with the West. Richer Muslim countries do not need financial assistance but cultural input is available to them if they are willing to accept.

The Arab world sees the West as a single bloc, much as the West sees Islam and this could affect the dialogue. Dr. Mulack advises against a compartmentalized view preferring to see the West and Muslim world as far too rich a fabric to be stereotyped.

Dr. Mulack’s visit to Saudi Arabia came at a time when there is huge debate on France’s ban on the headscarf in girls schools.

The official German line is that if people want to live in Germany, their religious beliefs are respected but they should live within the rules of society. In Germany there is no problem for Muslim girls who wish to wear hijab. Public servants, teaching in a mixed school where there are a variety of religions, are the only exception.

The next big project that the Department for Dialogue is preparing for is the Frankfurt Book Fair which will focus on Arabic culture and literature “to present to the world the richness of the culture of the Arab world.”