AAM President Aaron Lobel at the National Strategy Forum

From the National Strategy Forum website: 

AAM President Aaron Lobel delivered a speech to the National Strategy Forum in Chicago on May 1, 2008, on "Communicating American Values to the Muslim World."  The speech focused on US communciation efforts with the Muslim world, and laid out a strategy for future efforts.

Based on the growth of AAM's programming, which includes a real-time, townhall-style panel discussion via Internet satellite among the US and four Muslim countries including Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, and Afghanistan, Mr. Lobel said that the there is a demand in the Islamic world for an understanding of America (rule of law, civil society and the role of women). Despite negative perceptions of America abroad, good will exists in Muslim countries toward the US, he added. Mass media via cable lines and television reach remote areas throughout the Islamic world in countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan where the US is engaged in various diplomatic and security operations. There is an opportunity for the US to develop a strategy based on more substantial, collaborative public diplomacy efforts using media.

The media has a critical role in bridging the information gap between the US and the Islamic world, “but we have to show up in the Islamic world,” Lobel said. The media can be an important tool of national security. The Internet, television, and radio enhance the free exchange of ideas between America and Islamic countries, and, if developed properly, can advance critical thinking about complex cultural, political, and global issues in the Islamic world. Lobel noted that even more contentious issues such as Iraq should not be left off the table. Discussing these issues openly -- the bad and the good -- will mitigate bias and misperceptions and foster a greater sense of trust.

For more information, read the National Strategy Forum's coverage of this speech.