A Vision for a Moderate, Modern Muslim World Creating an ideology of openness, optimism, and opportunity in the Gulf is a key component to defeating extremism.

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/02/a-vision-for-a-moderate-modern-muslim-world-uae-abu-dhabi-isis/

BY YOUSEF AL OTAIBA, DECEMBER 2, 2015

In St. Petersburg and Sinai, Bamako and Beirut, Mosul and Paris, the world has been shocked by a murderous month of Islamic extremist violence. With a more sophisticated enemy and the return of radicalized fighters, the Middle East’s terrorism challenge has become a global challenge in a way not seen since the 9/11 attacks.

The Islamic State must be defeated on the field of battle but also in the war of conflicting ideologies. As Muslims, we have the most at stake and must be leaders on both fronts.

In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), we are joined with the international community to bring new energy to the fight against the most destabilizing and dangerous force since fascism. For more than 12 years, from the air and on the ground, the UAE has been combating extremists in Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. We continue to aggressively attack extremist support networks — blocking the flow of funds and foreign fighters, contesting extremists online, and devising new counterradicalization strategies.

But success on the battlefield may be the easy part. We know that to win, we must not only defeat what we are against, but we must also define what we as Muslims and Arabs are for.But success on the battlefield may be the easy part. We know that to win, we must not only defeat what we are against, but we must also define what we as Muslims and Arabs are for. True victory can only come when the more powerful forces of tolerance and progress prevail over the twisted ideology of the Islamic State and its kind.

Is this even possible in the Middle East? One hundred years after the Sykes-Picot agreement, can the region overcome its history of sectarian and ethnic division? Is there a new model of and for the Middle East built on hope rather than hate?

In the UAE, we are trying to find out. We are testing a new vision for the region — an alternative, future-oriented ideology. It is a path guided by the true tenets of Islam: respect, inclusion, and peace. It empowers women, embraces diversity, encourages innovation, and welcomes global engagement.

With the world’s attention focused on the aftermath of the Paris attacks, it went largely unnoticed that Amal Al Qubaisi was appointed president of the UAE’s Federal National Council, making her the first woman in the region to lead a national assembly. An architect by profession, she was also the fi