[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Pages 311-314]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      REMARKS OF DR. JOHN BRADEMAS

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, our distinguished former colleague 
in the House of Representatives, now president emeritus of New York 
University, Dr. John Brademas, delivered

[[Page 312]]

an address last month in Rabat, Morocco, at a conference on ``The 
Dialogue of Cultures.''
  The conference, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Morocco, 
focused on the relationships between the West and the Arab world.
  John Brademas served in Congress, from the State of Indiana, for 22 
years--1959-1981--the last 4 as House majority whip. He established a 
particular reputation for his leadership in writing legislation to 
support schools, colleges and universities, libraries and museums, the 
arts and humanities, and to provide services for children, the elderly, 
and the disabled.
  A graduate of Harvard University, Dr. Brademas was a Rhodes scholar 
at Oxford University where he earned a Ph.D. Last year, Oxford 
University awarded Dr. Brademas the honorary degree of doctor of civil 
law, with a citation that described him as ``a man of varied talents 
and extraordinary energy, the most practical of academics, the most 
scholarly men of action.''
  On leaving Congress, Dr. Brademas became president of New York 
University, a position he served from 1981 until 1992, when he became 
president emeritus, the position he now holds.
  Mr. President, in light of the great importance of developments 
between the United States and Islamic countries, I believe my 
colleagues will read with interest Dr. Brademas's thoughtful address in 
Morocco, and I ask unanimous consent to have his remarks printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

  Remarks of Dr. John Brademas on ``Education and Culture: Forces for 
                      Peace in a Troubled World''

       I am for several reasons honored to have been invited by 
     the distinguished Minister of Culture of the Kingdom of 
     Morocco, His Excellency, Mohamed Achaari, to take part in 
     this conference on the theme, ``Is the Dialogue Between 
     Cultures Possible?''
       This is the first time I have been in Morocco, and my wife 
     and I have immensely enjoyed visiting the famed cities of 
     Casablanca, Fes and Marrakech and seeing some of the wonders 
     of this beautiful country.
       I have to thank my friend, a brilliant and energetic 
     Moroccan, Karim Errouaki, for having suggested I join you 
     even as I am pleased to see here other friends such as Dr. 
     Federico Mayor, the former Director General of UNESCO; 
     Professors Edward Nell of the New School University, Bernard 
     Lewis of Princeton and my New York University colleague, Noah 
     Feldman.
       And I greatly value the opportunity to meet the 
     distinguished former Prime Minister of France, Michel Rocard, 
     and so many other eminent political leaders, scholars and 
     writers gathered this weekend at the Kingdom's Royal Academy.
       As an American, I am well aware that Morocco was the first 
     country, in 1777, to extend diplomatic recognition to the 
     United States, and our two nations have enjoyed friendly and 
     cordial relations now for over 200 years. Secretary of State 
     Colin Powell spoke of this friendship only a few days ago in 
     Marrakech.
       In light of 9/11, the war in Iraq, the ongoing strife in 
     Afghanistan, the continuing conflict between Israelis and 
     Palestinians, the attacks in Istanbul and elsewhere, there 
     could not be a more appropriate subject to bring us together 
     than ``The Dialogue of Cultures''.
       My own modest offering today will focus on the 
     contributions to a more peaceful world of the institutions 
     and activities of education and culture.
       So that you will understand my perspective, please allow me 
     some words of personal background.
       A native of Midwest America, I am the son of a Greek 
     immigrant father and an Indiana schoolteacher mother. A 
     graduate of Harvard University, I spent three years at Oxford 
     University where I wrote a doctoral dissertation on the 
     anarchist movement in Spain.
       First elected to the Congress of the United States in 1958, 
     I was ten times reelected, serving, therefore, for 22 years 
     and during the Administrations of six President: three 
     Republicans--Eisenhower, Nixon and Ford; and three 
     Democrats--Kennedy, Johnson and Carter.
       In Congress I served on the Committee on Education and 
     Labor, where I helped write all the laws enacted between 1959 
     and 1981 to assist schools, colleges and universities; 
     libraries and museums; the arts and the humanities; and to 
     provide services for children, the elderly, the disabled.
       In my last four years on Capitol Hill, I was Majority Whip, 
     third-ranking member of the Leadership of the House of 
     Representatives.
       A Democrat, I was defeated in Ronald Reagan's landslide 
     victory over President Carter in 1980. Shortly thereafter I 
     was invited to become president of New York University, now 
     the world's largest private university, a position in which I 
     served until 1992 when I became president emeritus.


                          New York University

       In Congress I was author of the International Education Act 
     of 1966, to provide grants to colleges and universities in 
     the United States for study of other countries. On arriving 
     at New York University or, as we call it, NYU, I continued my 
     interest in international education.
       We established during my presidency the Center for Japan-
     U.S. Business & Economic Studies in our School of Business; 
     an Onassis Program of Hellenic Studies; the Skirball 
     Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies; a Casa Italiana 
     Zerilli-Marimo; and the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center 
     for the study of the economics, history and politics of 
     modern Spain.
       Beyond such centers at NYU--and I have not named all of 
     them--we have also, for example, the Hagop Kevorkian Center 
     for Near Eastern Studies, a leading center in the United 
     States for teaching and research about the Arab world; as 
     well as centers in Florence, London, Madrid, Paris and 
     Prague, and we hope to set up others in Africa and Latin 
     America.
       I add that 4,400 students from the countries are on our 
     campus this year while nearly 2,000 from NYU are studying 
     abroad.
       In my judgement, the need for us in the United States to 
     invest in knowledge of other countries and peoples takes on 
     added urgency after the war in Iraq.
       It is no secret to any of you that the actions of the 
     United States in Iraq have met--and continue to meet--strong 
     opposition in many countries, as President Bush personally 
     observed during his visit to London a few days ago.
       Here I could cite the report last summer issued by The Pew 
     Research Center, Views of a Changing World. Based on a 
     respected survey, the Pew Report found that ``. . . [I]n most 
     countries, opinions of the U.S. are markedly lower than they 
     were a year ago.''
       The report continued, ``. . . [T]he war has widened the 
     rift between Americans and Western Europeans, further 
     inflamed the Muslim world, softened support for the war on 
     terrorism and significantly weakened global public support 
     for the pillars of the post-World War II era--the UN and the 
     North Atlantic alliance.''
       In the United States and Europe, scholars, journalists and 
     public leaders have engaged in all manner of symposia on the 
     tensions between the United States and Europe as well as the 
     sharpened hostility toward America in the Islamic world.
       Nor, as you are aware, is public opinion in the United 
     States overwhelmingly supportive of President Bush's policies 
     toward Iraq, especially in light of the killing of American 
     and British soldiers and the failure of the Bush 
     Administration to plan effectively for the aftermath of the 
     war.
       My own view--and I believe that I reflect the opinions of 
     scholars, journalists and many political leaders in our own 
     country and abroad--is that in the war on terrorism and in 
     meeting the other challenges to civil and democratic 
     societies, military power, even when exercised by the 
     strongest nation in history, is not enough.


                   ``soft power'' vs. ``hard power''

       Not only does the United States require partners in post-
     war Iraq as well as in other places of danger but we must 
     also give far more attention to investing in what my friend, 
     Joseph Nye, Dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government 
     at Harvard, has called, in contrast to hard power, ``soft 
     power''.
       ``U.S. military power is essential to global stability and 
     is a critical part of the response to terrorism'', Nye 
     agrees. But it is not enough, he adds: ``Soft power rises 
     from the attractiveness of a country's culture, political 
     ideas and policies''.
       Nye's words were echoed recently by a powerful essay 
     published last October in Madrid's El Pais by Fedrico Mayor, 
     who declared, ``The force of Europe is not the Europe of 
     force . . . [but] the force of the spirit, of creative powers 
     . . . of democratic values . . . of education and culture . . 
     . of conciliation . . . friendship and solidarity among 
     peoples, of openness, of a culture of peace. . . .''
       In view of what I have already said, you will understand 
     why I was so pleased to have been invited to Rabat for this 
     conference on the relationship between the West and the Arab 
     world.
       Let me here recall that last year, in New York City, 
     speaking to a group of Ambassadors from Islamic countries 
     assigned to the United Nations, I observed that most 
     Americans had never met a Muslim and that most of us were 
     quite ignorant of the traditions of Islam.
       Accordingly, I told the Ambassadors, unless you want 
     Americans to think that Islam is represented by Osama Bin 
     Laden, you must give more attention to teaching the best in 
     your religious faith while, on the other hand, those of us 
     who are not Muslims have a similar obligation to listen and 
     to learn.


                    rising interest in u.s. in Islam

       In fact, one now finds a burgeoning interest in Islam in 
     the United States. One cannot go into a serious bookshop in 
     New York City without seeing new volumes on Islam.

[[Page 313]]

       I think, by way of example, of the book Islam: A Mosaic, 
     Not a Monolith by the distinguished president of the Carnegie 
     Corporation of New York, Vartan Gregorian, and of After 
     Jihad: America and the Struggle for Islamic Democracy by Noah 
     Feldman, a brilliant young scholar on the faculty of the NYU 
     Law School, from whom you will hear shortly.
       And in my country there have appeared in recent months 
     several significant reports dealing with the subject of 
     relations between the West and Arab societies. For example, 
     the Center for the Study of Presidency in Washington, DC last 
     July published An Initiative: Strengthening U.S.-Muslim 
     Communications, focusing on failures on the part of the 
     United States in conducting cultural diplomacy in the Muslim 
     world after 9/11.
       Only last month, an advisory group chaired by a former U.S. 
     Ambassador, Edward P. Djerejian, submitted to Secretary of 
     State Colin Powell and our Congress a report entitled 
     Changing Minds, Winning Peace: A New Strategic Direction for 
     U.S. Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World.
       I cite two other relevant reports: Arts and Minds: Cultural 
     Diplomacy amid Global Tensions, based on a conference held 
     last April at Columbia University and a Council on Foreign 
     Relations statement, Finding America's Voice: A Strategy for 
     Reinvigorating U.S. Public Diplomacy, prepared by a task 
     force chaired by a highly respected business leader, Peter G. 
     Peterson.
       I must, however, draw your particular attention among this 
     blizzard of reports to one, published only last October by 
     the United Nations Development Program, the Arab Human 
     Development Report 2003: Building a Knowledge Society.
       This document was written not by Americans or Europeans but 
     by a group of distinguished Arab scholars and opinion 
     leaders.
       The report, say its authors, is ``once descriptive and 
     prescriptive, with bold recommendations for change and 
     detailed analyses of the current state of education, 
     scientific research, the media, the publishing industry, 
     culture encompassing religion, intellectual heritage and the 
     Arabic language, and other building blocks of a `knowledge 
     society' in the Arab world.''


                     an ``arab knowledge society''

       The report speaks of the ``five pillars'' of an ``Arab 
     knowledge society'', including:
       Guaranteeing the key freedoms of opinion, speech and 
     assembly;
       The full dissemination of high quality education;
       Indigenizing science, investing in research and joining the 
     Information Revolution; and
       Developing an authentic, broadminded and enlightened Arab 
     mode of knowledge.
       The terrible attacks of recent weeks and months--in 
     Jerusalem, Baghdad, Istanbul and Riyadh--dramatically 
     demonstrate the need for radical change in the Arab world if 
     Arab countries are to look to an era of peaceful development 
     and progress and if we in the non-Islamic world are to live 
     without the omnipresent threat of terrorist activities.
       Allow me then to assert my conviction that it is imperative 
     that we in the West, and especially in the United States, 
     learn more about countries other than our own but especially, 
     after 9/11, about the Islamic world even as we must encourage 
     Arab societies to take steps to implement the recommendations 
     in the Arab development report of which I have just spoken.
       For further and immediate context for these several 
     reports, let me cite the eloquent words of His Majesty, King 
     Mohammed VI, two months ago, on October 10, at the opening of 
     the Fall session of the Parliament of Morocco. Speaking of 
     his determination ``to set the democratic process on the 
     right track'', His Majesty declared, ``[T]here can be no 
     democracy where there are no democrats. Democracy is a long, 
     arduous exercise, not some sort of battlefield on which to 
     wage a war for positions. Democracy implies a keen sense of 
     commitment to the notion of citizenship.
       ``Consolidation of democracy requires that the culture of 
     responsible citizenship be fostered and enhances, a task 
     incumbent upon political parties and civil society. . . .''


              king mohammed iv on ``the dignity of women''

       In the same address, King Mohammed drew particular 
     attention to the need for steps to respect, in his words, 
     ``the dignity of women as human beings'', and recalled his 
     own remarks four years earlier: ``. . . [H]ow can society 
     achieve progress'', His Majesty asked, ``while women, who 
     represent half the nation, see their rights violated and 
     suffer as a result of injustice, violence and 
     marginalization, not withstanding the dignity and justice 
     granted them by our glorious religion?''
       In his statement of December 3, following his meeting with 
     His Majesty, Secretary Powell congratulated the King on the 
     steps Morocco has taken to strengthen democracy such as 
     elections at the regional and parliamentary level and ``bold 
     reforms . . . for the family code.''
       And as I am quoting the King of the Moroccan people, I note 
     also his words of October 16th this year, in Malaysia, at the 
     10th Summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, 
     when His Majesty said: ``. . . [I]n Morocco . . . we have 
     relied on our strong commitment to democracy and our people's 
     unanimous condemnation of terrorism, a phenomenon which is 
     clearly alien to our culture. It is also inconsistent with 
     the tolerant aims of our religion, which forbids the shedding 
     of innocent blood, advocates peaceful coexistence and upholds 
     human dignity. . . .''
       This statement of the King of Morocco is in harmony, I 
     believe, with a comment, also last October, in Amman, Jordan, 
     of His Royal Highness, Prince El Hassan bin Talal, President 
     of the Club of Rome and President of the Arab Thought Forum, 
     who said then: ``. . . [L]et us not forget that we are in a 
     region inhabited by the so-called `people of the Book/ahl al-
     kitab'--Christians, Jews and Muslims--and whether we pick up 
     the Bible, the Torah or the Qur'an, we will find all of us 
     are taught to practice and promote peace. . . .''


               prince hassan of jordan opposes terrorism

       Indeed, only weeks ago, on November 18th, speaking on 
     behalf of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, of 
     which he is Moderator, Prince Hassan declared:
       ``The despicable attacks this week against two synagogues 
     in Turkey are brutal acts condemned by all people of faith--
     Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. . . .
       ``No religious tradition can or will tolerate these acts. 
     We are united in rejecting terror, the intentional killing of 
     innocent people, whether by individuals or states. . . .
       ``Muslims, Christians and Jews share a common history. . . 
     .
       ``In the face of terrorism, all people of faith must 
     redouble their efforts to work together for peace.''
       Now everyone here knows that a key question being asked in 
     the West is this: Is it possible for a country where the 
     dominant culture is Islamic to have a genuine democracy?
       Most of you will be aware of the speech that President 
     George Bush delivered in Washington, D.C. last month, on 
     November 6, to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of 
     the National Endowment for Democracy, an organization that 
     makes grants to private groups, including some in Morocco, 
     that are working for democracy.
       I was, I should tell you, for seven years chairman of the 
     Endowment.
       In his speech, President Bush asserted, ``It should be 
     clear to all that Islam--the faith of one-fifth of humanity--
     is consistent with democratic rule'', and the President went 
     on to quote the words of King Mohammed to the Parliament of 
     Morocco calling for extending rights to women.
       But President Bush also cited the recent report, of which I 
     have told you, in which Arab scholars warned that the global 
     wave of democracy has ``barely reached the Arab states''.
       What then is to be done?


                  STEPS THE UNITED STATES SHOULD TAKE

       Even as I urge Arab leaders to act to build an ``Arab 
     Knowledge Society,'' there are several steps that, I believe, 
     we in the United States should take.
       Let me speak of some.
       First, we must strengthen the programs of educational 
     exchanges between the United States and the Middle East.
       A year and a half ago, at a conference on the 50th 
     anniversary of AMIDEAST in Marrakech, our Assistant Secretary 
     of State Patricia Harrison observed how many alumni of these 
     exchanges are heads of state or government or have held other 
     important positions of leadership in countries of the Middle 
     East.
       Secretary Harrison said that the State Department is 
     expanding the number of Fulbright scholarships and 
     fellowships to people from the Middle East to study in the 
     United States and for Americans to study in the Middle East.
       As we meet in Rabat, let me note that the U.S./Morocco 
     Fulbright program includes faculty and students from both our 
     countries and that the budget is shared by the two sides.
       Moroccan Fulbright students focus on courses in the U.S. to 
     assist them in their country's economic development.
       The U.S. scholars who come here are professors, whose 
     experience will strengthen their university teaching back 
     home.
       Morocco's Fulbright program, by the way, is a leader in a 
     new initiative in the Islamic world, Fulbright Foreign 
     Language Teaching Assistants: young people training to become 
     teachers in Morocco are teaching the Arabic language and Arab 
     culture at colleges and universities in the United States--an 
     exchange positive for both sides.
       The Moroccan instructors not only teach in American schools 
     but also give talks about Islam and North Africa to other 
     audiences in the United States.
       The U.S. Department of State also supports citizen 
     exchanges of various kinds--to build leadership in sports, 
     women's and other non-governmental organizations, in 
     journalism and the media, legal reform, the environment, 
     democracy and human rights.
       Let me add that I think it fortunate that the newly 
     appointed Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy is 
     the distinguished former United States Ambassador to Morocco, 
     Margaret Tutwiler.
       Certainly we in the U.S. must substantially increase our 
     investment in study of the Arab world.

[[Page 314]]




            AN NYU CENTER FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND DIALOGUE

       Even as I have mentioned the Hagop Kevorkian Center for 
     Near Eastern Studies at NYU, I am very glad to say that New 
     York University has only weeks ago responded to the call of 
     the Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and 
     Muslim World in its report, Changing Minds/Winning Peace, by 
     proposing to create, in consultation with the U.S. State 
     Department, a Center for Public Diplomacy and Dialogue, a 
     center my colleagues at NYU believe will be ``an 
     unprecedented effort to launch a serious and ongoing exchange 
     with the Arab and Muslim world''.
       Let me tell you what the authors of the proposal hope to 
     do. The Center will offer three approaches.
       First, there will be three kinds of conferences. An annual 
     conference will bring together Arab and Muslim leaders from 
     the fields of government, business and religion to discuss 
     such topics as civil society, the rule of law, religion, 
     media, democratic institutions and human rights.
       Second, there will be conferences where U.S., Arab and 
     Muslim professionals such as health officials, scientists, 
     educators, and leaders of non-governmental organizations--can 
     meet for three one-week sessions.
       Then we hope to have ``Leaders of Tomorrow'' conferences, 
     where young individuals, rising as the next generation of 
     leaders in both the Arab/Muslim world and the United States 
     can get together twice a year.
       A second approach under the Center's sponsorship: 
     fellowships to bring annually 100 college-age students from 
     Muslim countries to study at NYU, concentrating on law, 
     public service, education, journalism, business and science. 
     Grants of approximately $50,000 per fellow would cover costs.
       New York University hopes eventually to establish a 
     residential presence on campus--to be called ``Dialogue 
     House''--for some of NYU's finest students and faculty from 
     all fields, who would live with the exchange students from 
     Muslim countries.
       Because we believe cultural and arts programs are vital to 
     this public diplomacy initiative, we plan exchange programs 
     to bring artists and filmmakers from Arab and Muslim 
     societies to work with their American counterparts. NYU's 
     Tisch School of the Arts already hosts the world's only 
     International Student Film Festival.
       We want also, in addition to college-age students, to 
     arrange brief exchange visits from high schoolers from Muslim 
     countries to be exposed to an American university and to 
     visit museums, see plays and tour business firms.
       The third approach we hope to create under this proposal is 
     four-fold.
       We want to organize, in cooperation with other research 
     libraries in New York City, a Comprehensive Public Diplomacy 
     Resource Center, focusing on the Middle East and open to 
     scholars, students and U.S. government officials, in effect, 
     a clearing house for information on the Arab and Muslim 
     world.
       We plan, too, a program to preserve and digitize unique 
     books and texts from the Muslim world as well as explore 
     making U.S. texts available in translation for Muslim and 
     Arab countries.
       We also intend to coordinate teacher-training programs with 
     faculty from other colleges and universities as well as high 
     school teachers to inject components of Arab and Muslim 
     understanding into their courses.
       Finally, NYU will continue to offer foreign language 
     training in Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, Hindi and Urdu.
       I hasten to say that NYU is not the only university in the 
     United States that seeks to enhance knowledge of Arab and 
     Muslim societies but I have obviously spoken of the 
     institution I know best.


         to improve relationship between u.s. and muslim world

       Nor have I begun to exhaust the kinds of activities that 
     can be undertaken in the educational and cultural fields to 
     build understanding between the Arab/Muslim world and the 
     West.
       Only last summer, at a ``Partners in Humanity'' conference, 
     in Amman, under the leadership of Prince Hassan, 60 leaders 
     convened to produce an action plan to improve the 
     relationship between the United States and the Muslim world.
       Here I should like to make a point I believe it important 
     for U.S. policymakers to understand. It is not only the words 
     with which we describe our policy but the substance of the 
     policy itself, that is to say, the deeds as well as the 
     message, that will have an impact in the Arab world.
       Marc Lynch, a scholar at Williams College, in an essay, 
     ``Taking Arabs Seriously'', in the journal Foreign Affairs 
     (September/October 2003), calls for ``a fundamentally 
     different approach to the United States' interaction with 
     [this] region--one that speaks with Arabs rather than at them 
     and tries to engage rather than manipulate''.
       Lynch added, ``The goal should be to establish the United 
     States, through words and deeds, as an ally of the Arab 
     public in its own demands for liberal reform, rather than 
     making such reform an external imposition.''
       Among the several recommendations from the October 
     conference in Amman was to bring together ``Christian and 
     Muslim faith-based development and aid professionals and 
     religious leaders to discuss issues of `meeting human 
     needs'''.


                world conference of religions for peace

       I may say in respect of this proposal for inter-faith 
     cooperation that next week I shall be in Rome for a meeting 
     of the International Council of Trustees, of whom I am one, 
     of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, or WCRP, at 
     the Vatican, under the co-chairmanship of Prince Hassan.
       The other co-chair is Richard Blum, husband of United 
     States Senator Diane Feinstein of California.
       I add that another trustee of the WCRP is a distinguished 
     Moroccan diplomat, my friend, Ambassador Mokhtar Lamani, 
     Permanent Observer of the Organization of the Islamic 
     Conference to the United Nations.
       We shall meet in Rome--Orthodox, Protestant and Roman 
     Catholic Christians as well as Jews, Muslims and Buddhists to 
     discuss the Geneva Accord and the search for peace in the 
     Middle East.
       There is one other recommendation form Amman that I 
     applaud, which calls for bringing together ``Presidents of 
     American colleges and universities that are developing or 
     strengthening Islamic studies programs with their 
     counterparts in predominantly Muslim countries who are 
     developing American studies programs.''
       Ladies and gentlemen, I have not, I realize, begun to touch 
     on all the ways in which the forces of learning and culture, 
     of education and the arts, can contribute to building peace 
     in a troubled world.
       But I trust that what I have had to say offers some rays of 
     hope at a time when we are surrounded by too much darkness.
       The distinguished Minister of Culture, Mohamed Achaari, in 
     inviting us all to Morocco, posed the question: ``Is a 
     dialogue between cultures possible?''
       That we meet here this week in Rabat demonstrates that the 
     answer to the Minister's question is ``Yes!''
       So let the dialogue deepen . . . and continue!

                          ____________________