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Advert from America fails to impress Muslims by S Donnan Advert from America fails to impress Muslims Shawn Donnan on a TV campaign that seeks to change antagonism towards the US throughout Islam Published: Financial Times, November 1 2002 21:09 | Last Looming conflict in Iraq, a second Intifada pitting Israeli forces with US-made weapons against dispossessed Palestinians, a war on terrorism many Muslims see as a war on Islam: it is no secret the Islamic world has a jaundiced view of America. But if the State Department has its way, America's poor reputation will not endure. This week it unveiled a $15m television commercial campaign designed to burnish its image in south-east Asia, the Arab world and North Africa. The series, "Common Ground", received its first screening on Friday in Indonesia - the world's most populous Muslim nation - to coincide with the start of Ramadan, the Islamic fast, next week. As a country known for practising moderate Islam, Indonesia was an ideal testing ground, US officials said. But if first impressions count, rescuing the US's reputation will call for more than a few television commercials. The campaign is part of a broader endeavour conceived by Charlotte Beers, a former Madison Avenue executive who is now undersecretary of state for public diplomacy. Soon after September 11, many Americans wondered: "Why do they hate us?" Ms Beers was tasked with finding out and banishing anti-Americanism. The one- and two-minute mini-documentaries profile Muslims living in America. Each declares his or her admiration of the US tradition of religious freedom. "I have never had any child who thought it was weird or anything like that," says Rawia Ismail, a public school teacher, talking of the head scarf she wears to school. "I have co-workers who are Jewish, Christian, Hindu even," says Farooq Muhammad, a New York paramedic featured in one spot. "We treat each other with respect. I've never gotten disrespected because I'm Muslim." But the imagery can also be clumsy. Footage of another American Muslim following an Orthodox Jew on the streets of New York was no doubt meant as proof of pluralist America, but an al-Qaeda propagandist could just as well see it as a Zionist leading on a US Muslim. Material handed out at a launch of the campaign in Jakarta seemed earnest, amateurish even. The first bullet point in a primer on "Ramadan in America" states: "Ramadan awareness events are held on college and university campuses across the United States." All very well, critics say, but it is unlikely to do much to allay suspicion of the US in in the Islamic world. Parmo is a 47-year-old Jakarta motorcycle taxi driver who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name. As he put it: "The video is not enough. We need real action." Like most Muslims, Mr Parmo objects to US support for Israel. He also feels slighted by America because of his faith and what he sees as an anti-Islamic slant coming out of Washington. Andi Mallarangeng, a US-educated political commentator who studied at Northern Illinois University and heads a progressive party in Indonesia, argues the campaign highlights the wrong things. The religious freedom it features is something most in Indonesia - and elsewhere in the Islamic world - already know and admire about the US. "The problem of the image of the US is not because of what happens within the boundaries of the United States but what happens when the US conducts its international affairs," he says. "I'm a Muslim and I was in the US for eight years and I felt free there. But that's within its boundaries. Outside, it's a different thing." The campaign already on Indonesian television is due to be screened in Malaysia in the coming days, but its future outside sout h-east Asiaalready looks doubtful. The State Department approached al-Jazeera, the Gulf-based broadcaster and the Islamic world's answer to CNN, about airing the commercials. However, the State Department said the network was too expensive. Efforts to air the film in Egypt have also reportedly stalled. Adian Husaini, a moderate cleric who lectures at Islamic universities, says the poor perception of the US is "strongly built" among Muslims, largely because of its support for Israel. "So far I haven't seen any warm response [to the videos] from the Muslim community here," he says. "I doubt it's going to work." Find this article at: 
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