I watched in horror, shock and disgust along with much of America as the likes of Libyan President Muammar Khaddafi and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad descended on New York to spread their anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and anti-American vitriol throughout the halls of the UN and on our news talk shows.
The likes of these characters and others are unfortunately what many people throughout the world have come to identify as typical Muslims. Some believe that behavior such as that exemplified by Khaddafi and Ahmadinejad goes hand in hand with being a Muslim, a part of who a Muslim is.
There are those who believe Islam is inherently counter to modern or Western values and political processes. There are even some who believe the West must fight Islam before Muslims take over and forge a worldwide Caliphate.
It is true that a portion of the “Muslim World” adheres to arcane laws that allow beheadings, the mutilation of women, murder of women, the chopping off of thieves’ hands, etc.
It is also true that a portion of the “Muslim World” actively supports and promotes and participates in terrorism worldwide that murders innocent people in the thousands each year.
Ah, but what is the “Muslim World?” Is the “Muslim World” the Gulf States? Is it North Africa? What is a Muslim nation, for that matter? Is Indonesia a Muslim nation? It happens to have the largest Muslim population in the world. Is the U.S.? The U.S. is home to roughly 6 million Muslims representing a diversity of backgrounds and ethnicities.
Indeed, both Indonesia and the U.S. are part of the “Muslim World.”
The term “Muslim World” needs defining and discussion, as all nations with a population or majority population of Muslim citizens are not alike.
All of the “Muslim World” is not obsessed with wiping Israel off the map or attacking the U.S. and its allies. All Muslims are not concerned with killing the infidel.
Many nations in Africa that are majority Muslim are concerned with water far more than with Israel or Palestinians. The majority Muslim nations on the Eastern shore of the Caspian Sea – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – are far more concerned with using their oil and gas wealth to build their young nations than to finance terrorism.
Case in point is a joint briefing I recently attended given by the consuls general of the State of Israel and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Consul General Jacob Dayan of Israel and Consul General Elin Suleymanov of Azerbaijan, a majority-Muslim nation, came to the briefing held at the Jewish Federation and hosted by Stanley Gold and John Fishel, the chairman and president, respectively, not to debate Jewish and Muslim politics but to express support for one another’s nation.
The two ranking diplomats discussed the close bilateral relations that exist between the Muslim nation and the Jewish state. They discussed the many joint business ventures between Israeli businesses and Azerbaijani businesses. Stanley Gold even shared that he traveled to Azerbaijan to discuss joint ventures.
They discussed Israeli president Shimon Peres’s recent state visit to Azerbaijan, a visit Dayan recognized was very difficult for Azerbaijan, given pressure from Iran.
Dayan thanked Azerbaijan for the conscious decision to supply about 24 percent of Israel’s oil – another decision that causes much grief for Azerbaijan with Iran and others. The diplomats showed genuine admiration and respect for each other and for their respective nations.
Azerbaijan is a majority-Muslim nation located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea and borders Russia, Iran, and Turkey. It is a parliamentary democracy, the first in the “Muslim World” and is home to some 35,000 Jews who tell anyone who will listen that they have been there since the Babylonian exile. They also add that they have never experienced persecution of any sort.
Walking along the wide streets and boulevards of Baku, the capital city, one can’t help but take note that the women have no head coverings; indeed, the women in Azerbaijan dress in a most cosmopolitan way.
The “Muslim World” is not monolithic. It is not universally Jew hating or Israel hating or America hating. There are “regular folks” out there.
Perhaps we as Jews and Americans, while paying no less attention to the anti-Semitic rantings and actions of haters like the Khaddafis and Ahmadinejads of the world, should acknowledge and learn more about modern Muslims in Azerbaijan and many other countries who are just “regular folks.”