07/13/2002
EDITORIAL NUMBER=0-10002

U.S. BRIDGES TO BANGLADESH

The terrorists that attacked America on September 11^th falsely claimed to be acting in the name of Islam. On that infamous day, Mary Ann Peters was in Bangladesh, representing the United States as ambassador. Immediately after the attacks, she and other Americans received an outpouring of sympathy from Bangladeshis.

Moreover, as Ambassador Peters said, "In a country of more than one-hundred thirty million people, more than ninety percent of whom are Muslim, Bangladeshis were at pains to tell us what we already knew -- that these attacks had nothing to do with the real meaning of Islam. The motivation of the September 11^th attackers to destroy, to devastate, to coerce, to intimidate was not shared by Muslims in Bangladesh, nor by right-thinking and truly devout people of any faith, anywhere in the world."

After the September 11^th attacks, Bangladesh quickly joined the global coalition against terrorism. Bangladesh has also offered help in the effort to rebuild Afghanistan, especially in regard to girls’ education. This is an area in which Bangladesh itself has made great progress.

U.S. ties with Bangladesh are strong. Though it is now a poor country, Bangladesh has considerable economic potential. One reason is the country’s democratic development. Since 1991, Bangladesh has held democratic elections three times. The most recent elections, last October, were judged free and fair by international observers.

As Ambassador Peters said at an "Islam in America" conference in Chicago on July 6^th, the U.S. is working to build bridges with Bangladesh and its predominantly Muslim population. Exchanges of students, religious leaders, and others are underway, and more are planned. As she pointed out, Bangladeshi Muslims returning from visits to the U.S. speak of "the openness of American society and the freedom that exists for the practice of all religions."

In May, Ambassador Peters took part in a human rights training program in Bangladesh for village religious leaders. Among other things, they discussed the importance of women in Bangladesh society. This extends all the way to the top: the prime minister of Bangladesh is a woman, as was her predecessor. Another vital topic for the religious leaders was tolerance.

As U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Mary Ann Peters said, "we can never eliminate all intolerance, but we can work together against it."