Joe Biden Future For Islamic State - By Sabrina Sharif (UPNM Intern)
5th April 2021
Joe Biden is the newest President of the United States after the fall of Donald Trump. Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States on January 20, 2021. At the same time, Kamala Harris the Vice President and was the first woman to hold the second highest position in the United States. After gaining the position as a President, Joe Biden abolished all policies that adopted by Donald Trump during his reign.
Biden's initial decision as soon as he was appointed United States President, gave a positive impression that the pattern of interaction of the United States state as the current world hegemonic power with the Islamic world will give a very encouraging bud of hope. Undeniably since the events of September 11, 2001 and plus the implementation of global counter-terrorism policies during the George Bush Jr. era, United States relations with the Islamic world which is Iran have been in a tense and uncertain situation. The United States certainly wants to maintain its hegemony as a world power for its national interests, while Iran wants to maintain its sovereignty in the international system as well as want to freely act as a sovereign actor against any interference that threatens their security.
It is hoped that the leadership of the Biden is similar to that of the 44th president, Barack Obama, who encouraged western countries to work more with Islamic countries to achieve understanding between the countries. This is the best time for Biden to reshape the United States after the Trump era. We need to establish relations with various types of countries including Islamic countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. For now, there are several countries that are the main focus of all Muslims, namely Palestine, Yemen, Syria and Iran.
On the issue of Palestinian occupation, although Biden rejected Israeli Zionist efforts to annex Palestinian West Bank territory, he still strongly supported the regime by rejecting calls by a body known as Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) ostensibly on ‘anti-Semitic’ grounds. In fact, he also openly supports the actions of Arab countries that normalize diplomatic relations with the Zionist regime such as the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. During the reign of Donald Trump, the West Asian region was made the main hunting ground of Islamic radicals by the Washington administration, and even other Islamic countries also affected. With the emergence of several radical groups, especially Al-Qaeda and Daesh added to the turmoil of relations and interactions between the Western world and Islam.
In terms of United States relations with Islamic countries, Biden will face various leadership characters in the Islamic world. It is likely that the United States will maintain cooperation with moderate Islamic countries such as Turkey. In Turkey, the United States has a common interest with it in terms of defense economy. Moreover, the US-Turkey also has a common interest in the Turkish context with Syria in particular. To realize common interests in Syria constructively, United States will continue to work with Turkey. In addition, the country has a common strategic as well as economic importance.
Muslims in the United States, on the other hand, feel marginalized by both Republicans and Democrats. The Trump administration has exacerbated the situation with Islamophobic rhetoric with the implementation of security review programs on minority communities, particularly refugees and Muslim migrant populations. Biden has vowed to repeal the racist and unfriendly policies of the Trump administration. Biden has also pledged to ensure that the rights and freedoms of the Muslim community continue to be protected. However, for now, the Biden has lifted travel restrictions on entry into the United States for Muslims from several countries. We will see the pattern of Biden’s administration to what extent he is able to overcome this Islamophobic in the United States.
In ASEAN context, United States will continue the cooperation with countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Myanmar because there is a win-win situation in those countries. President Biden should have taken a firm stand against the ironclad ruling country, starting the coup in Myanmar. If the US administration intends to remain involved in ASEAN affairs, in an effort to curb the influence of China's ironclad model of governance seen as effective in breaking the COVID-19 chain, the Biden administration should uphold the rule of law and democratic principles among ASEAN countries such as Thailand, Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. It is therefore important for President Biden to have a democratic national partner, especially to be together in a Democracy Summit that is close to the values applied by Biden administration.
Joe Biden as president and head of the Washington administration now needs to think of the latest methods and mechanisms to restore the image and performance of the United States in the eyes of the Islamic world. Biden needs to come out with new performance in their policies to making world impress again with United States.
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