I was recently a guest at the US-Islamic World Forum, which was held
from February 17th to the 19th in Doha, Qatar.  This annual conference
is organized by the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle
East Policy, with support from Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and
the government of Qatar.  Each year the event is attended by more than
200 participants, including high-ranking government officials and
heads of state, ambassadors, religious leaders, NGO representatives
and other notables.  The ostensible goal is to foster dialogue between
United States and Muslim world leaders on issues of shared and central
importance in the world today.

I must say that I was extremely disappointed that an issue of extreme
urgency, which should be a primary concern of Muslim leaders around
the world, as well as the government of the United States, was sorely
neglected during this three-day event.  The genocide in Darfur, which
is ongoing even as I write this, barely received any mention at all.

Perhaps it is not surprising that the topic that received the most
attention at this meeting between American and Islamic notables was
the war in Iraq, along with the conflicts in Afghanistan, Israel,
Palestine and Lebanon.  But shouldn't it come as a surprise that on
the agenda of a conference whose tagline was "Confronting What Divides
Us," nowhere was there included a conflict which has claimed the lives
of at least 400,000 Muslims in a few short years?

In his opening remarks, Sheikh Al-Thani failed to mention Darfur.
Likewise, during the opening plenary session, Darfur went unaddressed
by Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, as
well as Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi of Qatar.  Mr. Moussa asserted that
the primary problem America should be concerned with is its
involvement with Israel and Palestine.  He cited the negative impacts
American involvement has had over the years on Palestinian Arabs.
Likewise, Sheikh al-Qaradawi gave his "advice" to the United States:
to play a positive role in the Muslim world, he said, you must stop
supporting Israel, and you must end the war in Iraq.  Both men seem to
think that the Muslim world starts and ends with Arabs.  Neither would
be willing to consider the role that United States has played in
attempting to end the genocide in Darfur, a role that is still found
wanting, but is positive nonetheless.

The closest thing to a forum provided for discussion of Darfur was the
leaders' roundtable entitled "Injustice Within: Holding Up a Mirror to
Own Societies."  It was during this session that Darfur was mentioned
by former Ambassador Martin Indyk, a co-convener of the conference.
But no one else in the room was willing to engage in a discussion of
Darfur.

On the final day on the conference, when the floor was opened for
comments from attendees, I finally had a chance to express the
frustration that had been building inside me.  I thanked the
organizers of the event, but expressed my extreme disappointment over
the fact that Darfur was not included on the agenda.  How could the
first genocide of the 21st century be ignored at such a conference, I
asked, when the perpetrators of the genocide are Arabs and Muslims?
One must concede this fact, even if one denies (wrongly) that the
Sudanese government has been complicit in attacks on Darfurian
civilians.  If the intent of this conference was to discuss the issues
between the United States and the Arab World, then the Forum was
misnamed, I told the crowd.  But if the goal was truly to consider the
key issues concerning the United States and the Islamic World, then
Darfur must surely be addressed.  I closed by saying that Arab leaders
direct plenty of blame at the United States for killing Muslims in
Iraq and Afghanistan, and at the state of Israel for their oppression
of Arabs in Palestine and Lebanon.  But these same leaders are
unwilling to look within their own community, at fellow Arab leaders
in the government of Sudan, who are killing innocent Muslims within
their own lands.  In fact, I told the crowd, it is the United States
and members of the Jewish community across the world who have done
more to help Darfur than anyone else.  This is beyond shameful- it is
a crime for the leaders of the Arab nations to turn a blind eye to
Darfur at such a critical time, while they claim to represent the
interests of the entire Islamic World.

My comments received applause, and many people came up to me after the
session concluded to shake my hand and offer words of support.  These
gestures were greatly appreciated, but they are not enough.
Responsible leaders of Muslim nations and leaders of conscience from
the United States and other Western nations must be willing to speak
openly and publicly about Darfur.  Such discussion is essential, not
just for the sake of the people of Darfur, whose needs must be
immediately addressed.  Ultimately, the rifts between the United
States and the Islamic World will only be widened by denial and silent
complicity on issues such as Darfur.  In the 20/20 hindsight of
history, it will only be remembered that innocent people died while
people with the power to change their fates ignored them.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my reflections.  Please see
the link below for a press article about the conference, and please
see our website at www.damanga.org for the latest press releases and
human rights reports from Darfur.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&...

Sincerely,

Mohamed Yahya
Executive Director
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy