New Delhi: America wants to reach out to
the grass-roots level of Muslim masses and young generation
across the world as it is keen on developing an intellectual
partnership with them, India-born US Special Envoy for Muslim
Communities Farah Pandith said on Tuesday.
Stressing the need for using modern technology to
reach out to the "facebook generation", Pandith said the US is
keen on such a partnership with the young generation.
The 40-year-old Srinagar-born envoy said she has
visited 12 Muslim-majority countries, including Indonesia
and Malaysia, since she assumed office in September 2009 and
has been interacting with people from all sections of the
society.
She said her appointment sprang from the Obama
administration`s desire to be "fully engaged" with the Muslim
world, parts of which are dominated by "propaganda,
stereotypes and inaccurate generalisations" about America.
"Never before America had an envoy for Muslim
communities. This is the first time an envoy for the Muslims
was appointed. My job is to work with our embassies worldwide
to engage with the Muslim communities and focus strongly on
the new generation," she told a luncheon round-table here.
Pandith said the US wants to establish a long-term
relationship with youth, students, academia, business and
civil organisations to build partnerships from grass roots.
"My job is to build partnership with mutual respect
and I believe it must start from the grass-roots level. My
focus would be on a two-way dialogue. My mandate is to build a
network of ideas through direct contact with the people in
both Muslim majority and minority countries," Pandith said.
According to her, the US government can act as a
"convener, facilitator, and intellectual partner" and help
forge partnerships on the basis of common ideas and common
goals.
Pandith said the benefits of these will not only be
useful for the Muslim world, but for everyone.
"The US wants to mobilise people from the grass-roots
level. We are doing it through our embassies," she said.
Noting that 45 per cent of the world population is
under the age of 30, Pandith said the US wants to be truly
engaged with young students who the power to bring about the
change the world needs.
"I will focus more on the young generation in Muslim
world and I want to understand the diversity of Islam in
different countries and communities as well," she said.
"This generation is having to navigate through that
and understand what it means to be modern and Muslim and
also is really searching for a way to be connected," she said.
PTI
