Letter to America

Live webcast with Rana Kabbani
10th December 2001, 15:30 (GMT).
Please click on top icon on the right "FORUM".

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In "Letter to America", Syrian born writer Rana Kabbani returns to the Middle East to find out how Muslims have come to view the United States. Her journey takes her to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Iran.

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ISLAM AND THE WEST

In Cairo, Rana Kabbani meets the Booker-nominated Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif and they discuss the different ways the crisis is being perceived by Islam and the West.

"As far as everybody is concerned here this is not Islam verses the West, this is not a clash of civilisations. It's got nothing to do with hating America or hating the West. It is all to do with foreign policy." Ahdaf Soueif

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TERRORISM IS NOT ACCEPTABLE

One of the leaders of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Essam Al Aryan, denounces the attacks of 11 September.

"There was big sympathy with victims of 11 September. Hizbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters are fighting for liberation of their land and this is "just" fighting. What happened in New York is terrorism, a terrible incident. It is against Islam and all religions." Essam Al Aryan

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CAUSES OF EXTREMISM

Hisham Kassem, the editor of Egypt's only independent publication, the Cairo Times, and himself a leading human rights activist describes factors contributing to the dissatisfaction and militancy of young Muslims.

"These boys began to feel a sense of injustice. There was no public libraries for them to read ... There was just a Sheik in a mosque talking about injustice. They joined the first voice of dissent that they heard." Hisham Kassem.

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POVERTY IS NOT THE ONLY CAUSE

Sheik Nayhan, one of the ruling elite in the United Arab Emirates is seriously questioning , for the first time, the methods of government in the Arab world.

"I think the growth of these movements is not particularly because they are poor. It is the way they are ruled, that is the source of the problem." Sheik Nayhan

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AMERICA'S SHAMEFUL PAST

The Iraqi musician and composer, Nasseer Shamma, was an eyewitness to the US bombing of the Aamirriya shelter in Baghdad during the Gulf War, burning alive more than 400 civilians.

"The shelter was made up of 3 storeys, all underground. One of the US rockets penetrated the shelter through an air vent; the second went right to the bottom and exploded, raising the temperature so dramatically that everything reached melting-point, exactly like the attack on the World Trade Center." Naseer Shamma

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LEARNING FROM THE PAST

The former US embassy in Tehran is re-opened and is now called the Museum of Arrogance, each room contains an exhibit of some American misadventure somewhere in the world.

"America doen't seem to believe in history. I'll give you three examples...When Bush was elected he did not know who the President of Pakistan was. Then he called Musharraf a dictator. And then, Musharraf is now America's sweetheart." Dr Mohajerani

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Letter to America: Sunday 9th December 2001 at 1915 on BBC Two

Reporter: Rana Kabbani
Producer: Amir Amirani
Deputy Editor: Farah Durrani
Editor: Fiona Murch

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Letter from America: Sunday 16th December 2001 at 1915 on BBC Two

Reporter: Bonnie Greer
Producer: Charlotte Metcalfe
Deputy Editor: Farah Durrani
Editor: Fiona Murch