| TGA and other lurkers from Deutschland, Rantburg has an assignment for you. Find out why Germany has a Department for Dialogue with the Islamic World and then figger out a way to make it disappear, ideally in the Schroeder/Merkle crossfire period. You could get the Dept. to 'confess' and then call the RAB. We'll supply the abandoned warehouse, the cadre, and the shutter gun. |
"We want to find out more about the role of Islam in different Muslim societies, how Muslims see the future, and the root causes of malaise and frustration in these societies," said Dr. Gunter Mulack, commissioner for the Department for Dialogue with the Islamic World at the German Foreign Ministry during a recent visit to Jeddah and Riyadh which was his second to the Kingdom.Hey Gunter, did you meet with your Soddy counterpart, the commisioner for the Department for Dialogue with the Dar el-Harb?
No?
Hmmm. You may wish to ponder on why that is, Herr Doktor. |
The department was set up three years ago as a task force for inter-cultural dialogue with the Muslim world. "On both sides there are negative ideas which have become stronger. We see each other as threats and not as partners or friends," Dr. Mulack said. He wants to establish a German Cultural Institute in the Gulf because it would be difficult to do in Saudi Arabia. | Another item for you to ponder, Gunter. Why is it that Soddy doesn't want its purity defiled by infidel cultural institutes? Not even Aryan ones... |
He is also thinking of establishing a student advisory office concerning educational opportunities in Germany especially since meetings with officials were so positive on the topic.| "We've heard your universities in Hamburg are especially welcoming to eager Muslim students..." |
"We're interested in having a dialogue and being partners, not only with government-to-government but also with NGOs and parts of civil society such as universities and different organizations, with the requisite busy conference schedule. Good dialog happens best in Sun City, or even Lausanne," said Dr. Mulack. During its relatively short existence the department has increased the flow of German money for cultural cooperation with the Muslim world, more money for programs of the Goethe Institute by 60 percent, increased the number of scholarships for Muslim students, increased the number of partnerships with universities including the establishment of a German University in Cairo in 2002 and they are hoping to open others in Jordan and Syria. There is also the department's website, Qantara. "It is difficult to have huge exchange programs so we hold lots of conferences and workshops on specific topics such as the role of women in the Muslim world," he said. The department also proposes to have training programs for Muslim teachers in Muslim countries and training programs for young diplomats. "We have had groups of students from Afghanistan and other countries visiting Germany," he added.Where are the classes flowing in the other direction, taking young Moose limbs and teaching them about the role of wimmin in the Western world? What?
Oh. |
In Afghanistan the department is involved in reestablishing schools and universities and reviving intellectual and scientific life there. It is not enough, said Dr. Mulack, to reach out to the Muslim world without involving the rest of the Western world, especially Europe. He explained, "We should not only have official contact but people-to-people so we can know each other better. Dialogue should be with all political groups and not only those considered favorable to Westerners such as secular groups — provided the groups are peaceful and not terrorist." Dr. Mulack admitted that these efforts were late but not too late. He explained that in Germany people were more concerned with the country's unification and in Europe in general was preoccupied with the issue of eastern Europe. "There was neglect," said Dr. Mulack about Muslims in Europe. "There was not a growing problem between Muslims and Europeans because they were like parallel societies, no real mixing or integration and assimilation."| It takes two to un-tango. |
He said the shock of 9/11 was that "we found out that some of the hijackers were living and studying in our country. We had never discovered them and we had to try to understand what had gone wrong and why they were angry with us."| Hint: you are asking the wrong questions. |
Life for Muslims in Europe is difficult, says Dr. Mulack, especially since many of them are from poor uneducated families. As a result they isloate themselves from society. "We have to do more. Islam has become a European religion. We have 50 million Muslims living in the European Union, which is roughly 12 percent of the population and the numbers are increasing. We have to live with Islam and engage in dialogue and cooperation with Muslims and help them adjust." At the same time, in the Muslim governments need to improve the educational systems and develop their human resources, including women. "There is a total lack of research, development, ingenuity and good standards and these are all mentioned in the human development reports. This is bad for us too because the unequal distribution of wealth creates resentment and hatred. With no social justice, people try to wage war against their own rulers and there are many indications of this. We are concerned since we are all in the same neighborhood," said Dr. Mulack. "It is important that we work together to develop education, economy and create jobs, develop facilities and research. We need world citizens," he added. As for future plans for the Department for Dialogue, he said it was planning to have a conference or workshop on Muslim youth. "We want to know how they are thinking, what their plans are and how they see the Western world. We conduct studies but here it is difficult to know the mindset. Are they really condemning terrorists? Why are they frustrated and what do they want to achieve? These are big issues and we are all affected. We are talking about youth, women and Islam, but we are not talking with them so we don't know their agenda and their ways of thinking." |