Recently, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was denied the chance to visit ground zero due to ongoing construction in the area. A police spokesman also suggested that his visit would be a security risk.

While Ahmadinejad has made his mistakes in dealing with the U.S. and its allies, an apparent goodwill gesture was opposed so as not to provide the president with a photo op.

As a Syrian-American, I have witnessed public hatred of the U.S. government and its policies. Every visit I have made to Syria has been worse than the one before in terms of the vitriol levied against the U.S. It was embarrassing for me to see Imams and other religious leaders in Syria spew venom against the U.S. during the Friday prayers which customarily are reserved for talks and speeches of faith in God and the beauty of faith and spirituality.

Yet, in the times we live in, many Muslims abroad relate their faith to hatred for our government, and it has done little to change the opinions of Muslims around the world. When Muslims around the world see Bush attack Iran and Syria for its misguided policies toward terrorism and in the same day reject a call for talks with these same countries, the Muslims perceive the president as not willing to sit down and discuss diplomatically with the leaders of their countries.

Many Muslims then see only one way that the president is willing to deal with their countries: war. Thus you see the radicalization of many Muslim youth around the world who see no other way to deal with the crisis than with violence.

I heard firsthand the views and opinions that many of the youth in Syria have of the U.S. While much of what they say of the U.S. is wrong, they have no reason to believe any other way. The U.S. has secluded them in their own little niche, and it must make amends with the people of the Middle East, who must be willing to open their minds to options other than radicalism in order for any diplomacy to work.

While many analysts are of the opinion that democracy is a failed experiment in the Middle East, I could not disagree more. The people there are ready for more open leaders who allow the people to move about freely without fear of the police watching their every step and recording their every word. In Syria, uttering the name of Bashar Al-Assad, the president, in a bad light can have very negative consequences if heard by the wrong people.

Elections in countries such as Syria are basically a ploy to garner support for the one person allowed to run for office, the president himself. These people are hungry for the chance to express their views in the open without fear of being sequestered in the secret prisons which are not much of a secret any longer.

All the U.S. must do is lose the arrogance that has made it public enemy No. 1. The Middle East, in turn, must better educate its people and provide them with the leaders and resources that they truly deserve.

The people of the Middle East are a good people, yet our media portray them as people to be feared due to the cowardly acts of a few. The leaders of these nations must help lift the veil of religious conservatism which has only worsened the situation of the people of the region. Civil liberties and human rights must become more of a priority to the region than the stockpiling of oil and arms.

Bush has not shown he is capable of changing the way he deals with the Middle East and anyone who does not show total support for him and his policies.

It is up to us, citizens of our respective nations, to raise our voices and speak against policies of hate from both sides of the conflict and hopefully come to a resolution that will bring happiness and peace to the world.

Bashir Hakim is a State News columnist and member of the MSU Muslim Students Association. Reach him at hakimbas@msu.edu.