Hillary Clinton and the key to the Muslim world

During her first foreign visit as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton reinforced a major priority for the Obama Administration: improved relations with the Islamic world. After an hour-long meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda, Clinton praised Indonesia as a model of how “Islam, democracy and modernity not only can coexist, but thrive together.”

Within minutes of his becoming President, Barack Obama began his official outreach to the Islamic world. In his inaugural address, President Obama stated, “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect … we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

In his first interview after becoming president, Obama stated to Al-Arabiya Arab TV Network: “My job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect… My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect …”

President Obama has taken great strides in his first days in the Oval Office to reach out to the Islamic world. But as the President suggested, actions will speak louder than words. Even President George W. Bush understood the importance of such acts, and it is from President Bush that President Obama can take a lesson: appoint a Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Such a move would demonstrate President Obama’s strong commitment to dialogue and to engage the Islamic World in a direct and holistic manner.

American influence in the Muslim world is questioned regularly thanks in large part to a growing misperception of American interests. That influence is further challenged by the lack of direct engagement on our part--until now. President Obama represents a shift and change toward the Islamic world, but his Administration and the United States need to do more. They need a direct voice and interlocutor with the Islamic world’s political elements that can appropriately represent the United States’ outstanding commitment to dialogue while also proactively engaging with the OIC’s 57 Member States and Secretariat itself. Issues such as human rights, freedom of religion, international development, cultural dialogue, poverty—and most importantly, the situation in the Middle East--require the multilateral engagement that can only be found at the OIC. The United States can play a distinctive role “to safeguard the interest and ensure the progress and well-being of their peoples and those of other Muslims in the world over,” which is the core mission of the OIC and a stated priority of President Obama.

President Obama must recognize the importance of such a role and follow his remarks to the Islamic world with strong action, through the appointment of this Special Envoy within his first 100 days.

If approached with the right mindset, this position will provide the United States with the opportunity to work with the Islamic world towards our common goals and shared initiatives. Together we can eradicate terrorism and Islamophobia while making efforts to improve human rights and religious freedom; development and micro-credit financing; Islamic banking; education; and agriculture.

Current diplomatic, intelligence and security sharing and cooperation between the United States and predominantly-Muslim countries more than satisfy the “hard” issues between them. This post, if executed appropriately, allows the United States to move forward in a positive, effective “smart power” approach to the Islamic world.

A U.S. Envoy to the OIC makes for a great case study on the bonds of trust and collaboration between Americans and Muslims built on the core values of shared diplomacy. This envoyship is not a “politically correct” appointment to fulfill public relations goals. Instead, the post must improve relations on the most substantive concerns to Muslims and Islamic states and provide an alternative to the UNESCO approach to diplomacy.

As Secretary Clinton has said, “the State Department will be firing on all cylinders to provide forward-thinking, sustained diplomacy in every part of the world…There will be thousands of separate interactions, all strategically linked and coordinated to defend American security and prosperity. Diplomacy is hard work; but when we work hard, diplomacy can work, and not just to defuse tensions, but to achieve results that advance our security, interests and values.” There is no question that the immediate appointment of an envoy to the OIC will “advance our security, interests and values.”

President Obama commented to Al-Arabiya that, “people are going to judge me not by my words but by my actions and my administration's actions.” The appointment of an envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference is one of the clearest and simplest actions the new Administration can take.

Joseph Grieboski writes for The Cutting Edge News and is President of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy and Secretary General, Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom.