Or vice versa….
Hard power, soft power, and smart power, all have roots in something or other. Obviously hard power relies primarily on military power, whereas soft power is more the attraction of ideology.
During the Cold War, the two super powers were really fighting a war of ideology –aside from a proxy war here and there, and they realized that there is no logic in using nukes, so their 'war' became a war of propaganda. Today, we are witnessing the same thing, especially with the Bush White House. I am so saddened to see that the chosen ‘tool’ is religion and the propaganda being used is the negative use of soft power against Islam. This has been so successful that even the more elite among the American population misunderstands Islam and thinks that as a religion of ‘conversion’, Moslems go around killing people, or they did at its onset. There is so much literature to contradict this; and certainly there is literature that supports the fact that people who followed scriptures and who were called zimmis were not asked to convert by the Arabs for their religion was monolithic; albeit they had to pay heavy taxes.
It is important to understand that propaganda – 'negative soft power’ has been very effective in creating a divide between ‘us and them’ – and while some may think that this is working in favor of the American foreign policy in showcasing Moslems in a negative light, much like communists were, and winning over friends, one must also remember that religious wars are long term. While ideology (such as communism) was relatively short term, religion is part and parcel of human culture, dating back over 1500 years and in Judea-Christianity 2000+. It is part of individuals "tool box" and while some may not pratice it, others may have politicized it, and some may be zealots, once they come under attack, the cultural deposits of each will react accordingly. It is a grave mistake to wage war on a third of the planet to further an agenda - And one must certainly choose words carefully when describing religion for as Jean-Paul Sartre said, "words are loaded pistols". Our negative soft power will be used as the ‘smart power’ of our adversaries, perhaps in the form of a desperate suicide bombers who, fed up with American arrogance and unable to match its might, will fight the only way they knows how - by using their bodies weapons – creating a vicious circle, giving ammo to the creators of negative soft power - us.
I heard on NPT today that 10 people from South Africa were denied entry to the US based on being Moslems and were thought to be terrorists. One was a university professor who got a degree in Political science from NYU. This kind of negative soft power is spreading around the world and America will not be the winner.
Religion is certainly an ideology – part of the culture, and it can be a political part, or it can be the essence of a people, but it is certainly a part of the culture. If we choose to speak about it or reference it, we should take care to do so correctly and with good information. I guess the word I am looking for is cultural diplomacy and cultural sensitivity. If Bush and co. have chosen to make us hate ‘Islam’ and have created the oxymoronic work ‘Islamo-facist’ then as cultural diplomats (?) we need to get away from the kind of propaganda we are being subjected to. We cannot misrepresent the ideology/culture of 1/3 of the world so very callously when for decades scholars have been poring over documents trying to figure out the origins of Islam, etc. To look down on those cultures, shows the kind of arrogance we have been displaying around the world, and today, we are neither feared, nor loved – and we are certainly not respected.
My very concerned final note on this: Be very careful how you choose your words. If you are not sure about a religion and its doctrine, find out before you talk about it. It is people’s culture even if they don’t practice it. And it is better to be politically correct than to be abusive .. Don’t we consider ourselves to be in a high society?
