Blame “US against Islam” hurts Clinton

The Secretary of the States, Hillary Clinton

By Farhan Iqbal

The charges that the United States of America is against the Muslims and their religion Islam have deeply hurt the Secretary of the States, Hillary Clinton.

The Secretary of the States, Hillary Clinton, has recently visited the third largest Muslim-majority country in the world, Bangladesh, where she was stunned by a student who asked her a question at a public forum regarding a general perception in the Muslim world about the United States that if the super power of the world is against Islam.

The feelings of Clinton remained no more unharmed when she listened to the question as she has always been a loyal ambassador of the US during the incumbent Obama-led regime defending her country’s reputation as a state “protecting the rights of minorities.”

She has always struggled to wipe out the general perception sticking to minds of the Muslims across the globe that the United States is biased against Islam and its followers.

"That hurts me so much," the Secretary of the States, Hilary Clinton remarked.

She continued, "It is a painful perception to hear about and I deeply regret that anyone believes that or propagates it."

The Secretary of the States clarified that the “war on terror,” being fought by the US and its allies for over a decade, is actually a “self-defense” as the terrorists of Al-Qaeda attacked the building of World Trade Center in the US on September 11, 2001, killing thousands of American people.

She added that the terrorists distorted the teachings of Islam and waged war against the innocent Americans.

She said that human nature is same everywhere and it does not change all of a sudden. Discrimination exists in all countries of the world and, unfortunately, the US is no exception, she added.

Clinton commented, "Is there discrimination or prejudice in the United States like in every society and country in the world? Unfortunately yes. Human nature has not changed dramatically."

She had a view that there are people in every corner of the world who carry feelings of hatred against specific religious groups, sects, races and ethnicities. For this, she added, alone USA cannot be blamed for this act as it is not done intentionally.

She commented, “There is discrimination against people of different religions, of different races, of different ethnic groups all over the world... but I don't think that it is at all fair to hold up the United States over discrimination.”

The Secretary of the States commended US laws saying, "I believe that the United States through our laws and through our constant political dialogue has gone probably farther than anywhere else in the world in trying to guarantee legal protections for people. I would like to see more countries do more to protect the rights of minorities."

The visit to Bangladesh by Clinton is a symbol of friendly ties between the two countries as the US has always recognized Bangladesh as a Muslim country promoting moderate brand of Islam having a significant population of religious minorities. Hillary Clinton happens to be the first US Secretary of State who has visited Bangladesh since 2003.