Friending Ivan

Muslims, on the other hand, whether they live in the Middle East, North Africa or Southeast Asia, are less equivocal in their view. It’s true that Russia has made numerous overtures to Muslim interests in controversies ranging from Palestine to Iran, but North Africans I’ve talked to over the past decade mainly dismiss this as political maneuvering aimed more at antagonizing the U.S. than befriending the Muslim world.

Instead, they remember the Soviet Union’s attempted conquest of Afghanistan and Russia’s brutal war in Chechnya.

The construction of President Obama’s new, improved defense shield is supposed to protect Western Europe from Iranian mid-range missiles. The dismantling of former President George W. Bush’s planned missile defense system looks like an attempt to orient Russian sentiments away from Iran and toward NATO and the U.S. Certainly Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s accolades for President Obama’s “bravery” support this view.

As the U.S. and Russia take another shot at friending each other on the global Facebook, it’s in the interest of all of us to try to view these developments from the perspective of Mecca. In my experience, not all Muslims view the U.S. as The Great Satan. But most of them will be quick to tell you that, if Satan has a little brother, his name is Ivan.