Extremism in Middle East may be a product of American fear, Ed Husain says | NYU's Daily Student Newspaper

For Ed Husain, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of "The Islamist," North American fear of Islamic extremism is sometimes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

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"The more we demonize them [Arabs] here in the West, the more likely they are to be lionized in the Middle East," Husain said.

"Too much demonizing in the public leads America to the result that they didn't want in the first place."

Husain, who founded the Quilliam Foundation, a think tank that promotes counter-extremism, spoke at Wagner Graduate School of Public Service on Monday about the interaction between the West and the Middle East, particularly in light of the recent unrest in Egypt and Syria.

According to Husain, young Arabs are now interested in universally significant issues that transcend national and cultural boundaries, such as education and health care. They have used "soft power tools" such as Facebook, Twitter and constant news coverage to spread news about revolutions and increase their presence in the Middle East. In addition, Husain pointed out that many Arabs believe that Americans are only interested in three aspects: oil, Israel and counter-terrorism.

Yet Islamic extremism remains in the Middle East, where the Muslim Brotherhood, the oldest and largest Islamic opposition organization, will be a popular asset in the new Egyption government, Husain said. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood told Husain they applaud those who commit suicide bombings.
For first-year Wagner student Jocelyn Scherr, the discussion served as preparation for her summer internship in Jordan.

"I came to this to get a better understanding on important political actions going on right now," she said.

Although the United States seeks to play an active part in aiding these nations, for Husain, the future of U.S. involvement in the
Middle East is uncertain.

"Egypt is craving United States assistance," he said, "but we do not know what is going to happen next."