Better relations with Muslims would yield better intelligence

Our policy-makers need to look at the Muslim world as both a region and as separate localities.

Intelligence failures in Washington are not limited to the Iraq crisis and alleged weapons of mass destruction programs. Based on my organization's work with government officials and their staff members in Washington, D.C., I believe that the lapses in credible information-gathering and judgment will grow unless we change the style and approach within the decision-making process.

There is a deficiency in our government of sound cultural, religious and political analysis of trends and attitudes about the Muslim world. Developing sound intelligence in the U.S. government requires three steps: understanding the interconnectedness of events in the Muslim world; strengthening partnerships between the U.S. government and Muslim communities; and developing American Muslim participation in policymaking.

One region, many nations

First, our policymakers need to look at the Muslim world as both a region and as separate localities. While each country has distinct problems and different demographics, the development of an Islamic civilization in the past has defined the history and politics of the region in a unique manner.

No other region in the world is defined by a religion. This orientation will help our analysts see how actions in one part of the region affect others.

Lack of support from Muslim countries for U.S. efforts in Iraq, for example, could be a result of U.S. actions in other Gulf countries and indifference to Palestinians and Kashmiris.

If the United States is not applying its resources to resolve international conflicts Muslims consider priorities, then it cannot expect to receive broad support from the Muslim peoples when American interests are at stake.

Trust and respect

Second, partnership requires a relationship of mutual trust and respect. Indeed, America is the superpower -- all the more the reason to utilize this leverage on the rest of the world in diplomacy rather than military endeavors only. Then others will appreciate our values of freedom and human rights rather than regarding them as instruments of colonialism in the region.

More dialogue is needed among leaders on an array of issues, from resolving disputes politically rather than militarily to dealing with illiteracy and communicable disease and population control.

American Muslims

Third, the American Muslim community remains an untapped resource as a partner with analysts and decision-makers. It's unfortunate that to this day, 30 months after 9/11, there remains a terrifying absence of Muslims in policymaking positions at the departments of State, Defense and Justice. It is a form of anemia that stalls efforts in the law-enforcement and foreign-policy community. To this day, we suffer from a shortage of Arabic and Farsi interpreters in our system of government.

But more important, our government lacks a credible level of understanding of Islam and Muslims. With such a body of knowledge, our policymakers could filter the irrelevant and nonsensical from critical information. Is it possible that the exclusion of American Muslims from the decision-making process is driven by the racist premise that we cannot be loyal to our country and faithful to Islam at the same time?

Forget about the civil-liberties crisis for a moment. Just think of the way our goals for effective counter-terrorism policy and global diplomacy are shortchanged. It is a case of negligence when considering the interests of our future generations. At the very least, our national leadership must admit a need to utilize human resources more than before, and hopefully we can learn from the lapse of judgment from previous mistakes.

Salam Al-Marayati is executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, D.C.