After The Detroit Convention

Rashid Khashana     Al-Hayat     2003/10/13

As the number of Arab business executives, high-ranking civil servants and university cadres increases, the distance separating them from the decision-making center narrows down day after day. This situation is not specific to Arabs only, as Muslims, who represent a significant force if allied to the Arabs, now enjoy an increasing social and economic weight, leading the CEO of Hewlett Packard, speaking at the Detroit convention, to say that Muslim citizens in the U.S. are getting relatively higher salaries than their American counterparts, that they own fancier houses and get a better education.    

Regardless of how accurate this information is, what really matters is that the right conditions for forming a force that could compete with the Jewish lobby are now available, more than ever before. Nevertheless, the disagreements that have paralyzed the Arab and Muslim organizations for decades need to be settled, and this supposes putting an end to all the efforts made to use them in Arab-Arab conflicts. In order to become effective players on the American scene, these associations need to relate to their surroundings. This has probably become systematic, with the new generations nowadays, because all they know really is the environment in which they were raised. At the same time, there is no reason to fear that these generations may drift apart from the environment of their parents and forefathers, or from the Arab and Muslim causes. Indeed, one of the important studies that was presented at the Detroit convention maintained that the young Arab-American generation is more attached to its patrimony and identity than in the past; this conclusion is particularly important considering the media campaigns that assailed the Arab and Muslim civilization following 9/11.

It is worth mentioning that the forum, which was organized by the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, as well as the location choice of Detroit, which gathers the largest number of Arabs outside the Arab world, are two clever measures. However, they require an agreement over a plan that would unify efforts towards determined goals. There are countless Jewish organizations in the U.S., and the disagreements between them are well known; but the main organizations have managed to settle on clear, joint policies revolving around the defense of Israel with all means available. The Arab-American organizations for instance, could hold luncheons or dinners for senior Arab officials visiting the U.S., the way the Jewish lobby does with visiting Israeli Prime Ministers or Foreign Affairs Ministers, before the latter meet with U.S. officials. These gatherings serve to enlighten the visitors on ways to affect the U.S. administration. We are still far from such a state, but the imminent American elections should drive the Arab states to tone down their efforts to control the Arab-Americans organizations, in order to allow them to agree on a plan designed to affect the course of elections, in coordination with extremely influential Islamic associations, because they are working for one cause and the Zionist lobby is fighting both together.

This involves securing sources of Arab-Islamic funding to the campaigns of American candidates running for both the Congress and Senate, as well as for presidency. The organizations should also try to buy stocks in the major media companies and formulate a new discourse that would address the American mind, starting with its obsessions, instead of our own wishes and demands.