UNITED NATIONS (IPS) — When the administration of President Barack Obama formally abandoned the longstanding U.S. “war on terror” — perceived by some as a codeword for “war against Islam” — there were hopes of a new relationship between the United States and the Muslim world after eight long years of political friction.

Egyptian women chant as they demonstrate in front of the German embassy in Cairo, July 7, 2009. Protestors demonstrated against the killing of an Egyptian woman who was murdered inside a German court, a crime that has incensed public opinion and media in the Arab world’s most populous country. Egyptian newspapers have given broad coverage to the death of Marwa El-Sherbiny, 31, describing the veiled woman as a “martyr” and suggesting the killer was motivated by a hatred of Islam. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

A significant shift in U.S. policy was also articulated by Obama when he told a predominantly Muslim audience in Egypt last month that “America is not — and never will be — at war with Islam.”
The sentiments he expressed, including an appeal for “a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world,” were applauded globally.

But the ground realities, both in the United States and in Western Europe, have not caught up with the widespread political euphoria.

“The rhetoric of the war on terror may have been abandoned,” points out Mark Lattimer, executive director of the London-based Minority Rights Group (MRG).

“But the reality of war is still being experienced by civilians on the frontline,” he adds.

For many communities in the Muslim world, the level of threat has actually increased in recent months, according to Lattimer.

In Dresden on July 1, a pregnant Muslim woman was stabbed to death in a courtroom as her young son watched.

Marwa El-Sherbini, a 32-year-old pregnant mother-of-one was killed by a Russian-born German. He had previously been fined for calling her a “terrorist” for wearing a headscarf, and was in court to appeal his conviction. She was stabbed 18 times.

Thousands of angry mourners attended El-Sherbini’s funeral in her hometown of Alexandria in Egypt on Monday.

Asked why anti-Muslim sentiments still prevail in most of Europe, Lattimer told IPS probably the best indication of current European opinion is provided by the recent elections to the European Parliament, in which some 375 million people in 27 countries were eligible to vote.

The far right parties scored some notable successes, including parties which have been heavily critical of Muslims in society.

These included the Freedom Party in the Netherlands (led by Geert Wilders, described as vociferously anti-Muslim), the Danish People’s Party, and the British National Party (although in other countries, such as France, the far right lost support).

A good part of this support, Lattimer said, can be put down to disaffection with incumbent governments, but there is no indication that European opinion towards Muslim communities is becoming more welcoming.

In most instances, it’s quite the opposite, he added.

In France, a group of legislators plan to sponsor a law that will ban the burqa — a head-to-toe garment — worn by Muslim women. This move is being backed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who launched an attack on the burqa in parliament last week.

In 2004, France banned head scarves worn by Muslim children in public schools.

As if in anticipation of the growing Western crackdown on Islamic tradition and mores, Obama told his Cairo audience: “It is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit — for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear”.

“We can’t disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretense of liberalism,” he added.

In a report released last week, MRG said that despite changes in the U.S. approach to the Muslim world, civilian populations are at greater risk than ever before in countries at the frontline of the war against terrorism.

Launching its annual global ranking on “Peoples Under Threat,” the international human rights organization said that both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities are at growing risk, primarily in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Countries leading the table include Somalia, Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan.

In each of these countries, violence against minorities of a widespread or systematic character is ongoing, as it is in a number of other states near the top of the list, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the study.

Pakistan rose most significantly in the ranking compared to the previous years. Other countries that have shown major rises include Ethiopia, Eritrea, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Niger, Kenya, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Half the top 20 countries are African states and six are Asian. The annual ranking lists countries based on the threat to civilian life of genocide, mass killings and/or violent repression.

The study says the military response to violent extremism as promoted by the United States and allied countries has resulted in a new generation of identity conflicts that have placed whole communities in peril.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union said last month that the battle against terrorism — initiated by the administration of President George W. Bush following the September 2001 terror attacks against the United States — has devastated genuine Muslim charitable organizations, nine of which have closed up shop.

The reason: either these organizations are under investigation by U.S. law enforcement agencies or they have been designated terrorist organizations.

Mindful of this fact, Obama told his Cairo audience: “In the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation”.

“That is why I am committed to working with American Muslims (seven million in all) to ensure they can fulfill zakat (the concept of Islamic charity),” he declared.

After eight long years of the Bush administration, which was widely perceived as being anti-Muslim, the United States is awakening to a new call: not all Muslims are terrorists, nor should all Muslims be treated as terror suspects at airports around the world.

But as Obama warned: change cannot happen overnight. Or at most, it will be painfully slow.

Asked what tangible measures a politically-divided Security Council can take, Lattimer told IPS that by the time country situations are on the agenda of the Security Council, many key opportunities will already have been missed.

“By that stage, the situation will have become politicized, positions taken and the government of the country concerned will feel that its credibility is at stake,” he said.

Although the Security Council has impressive weapons — censure, sanctions and, in extreme cases, the use of force — the track record of such measures is not very impressive.

“The focus should be on early action, not just reacting to crisis,” he added.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department’s list of “terrorist states” includes mostly Muslim countries. Of the four currently on the list, three are Muslim: Iran (since 1984), Sudan (since 1993) and Syria (since 1979).

The only other country on the list, and which is non-Muslim, is Cuba (since 1982).

Libya, Iraq (both Muslim) and North Korea have graduated from the list, even though North Korea may be back because of its continued nuclear threats against its neighbors.