Source: The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0419/p13s02-lire.html
What do ordinary people in the Muslim world think about relations with the West? Where do they stand in the struggle within Islam? Who are the role models for young Muslims? How are their religious identities being shaped, and by whom?
With the future of the United States and the Muslim world linked more closely (and painfully) than ever, a professor and four young Americans headed off in 2006 to find answers to those questions in the mosques, madrassahs (religious schools), cafes, and universities of nine Muslim nations.
Talking with students, sheikhs, government leaders, and democratic and Islamic activists, the group encountered widespread anger and frustration, but also an eagerness to talk, even among those whom many Americans would call extremists. One remark able outcome of the trip: a turnaround in the attitude of an Islamic ideologue whose works are influential across South Asia.
"Stereotypes I had – that Mus lims were ignorant of what was going on in the world, that they hated Americans – were very much challenged," says Texan Hailey Woldt, a junior at Georgetown University in Washington. "I was amazed at how much they read. They listen to CNN and BBC and were very informed about American politics. And I was overwhelmed by the hospitality and open-mindedness."
Frankie Martin, a graduate of American University from Maryland, agrees. "Even the most conservative Muslims welcomed us. I thought they would not be as receptive," he says.