Najam on Muslim World and Trump’s Jerusalem Decision
Adil Najam, Dean of the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed by different television news channels in Pakistan to comment on President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Appearing on the Capital TV’s show Cross Check on December 8, 2017, and then on Geo TV’s Naya Pakistan with Talat Hussain on December 9, 2017, Dean Adil Najam said that while the announcement from President Trump has left the Muslim world is shock and indignation, there are very few options available to Muslim countries to react to this decision, except empty sloganeering.
“I do not know if Mr. Trump knows how to play chess or not, nor am I sure this was a calculated and strategic move, but nonetheless it is nothing less than a checkmate move from him, in that the Muslim States, and the Palestinians are left with no real options to respond with.”
Najam pointed out that in some ways the real news was not Donald Trump’s announcement but the muted reaction to it in the Arab world and especially the Arab street. “This is because the Arab and Muslim world is in total disarray right now.” However, he added, that while there may not be a reaction worth noting right now, this is a decision that will have very deep and long-term impacts on the Middle East and the U.S. has now lost all creditability in the region as an honest broker for peace and stability.
Adil Najam is the inaugural dean of the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. Read more on him, here.