Beginning a Dialogue with Nepal's Muslim Communities Ambassador DeLisi Visits Kathmandu Madrassa

June 24, 2010

Ambassador Scott H. DeLisi engaging with students at the madrassa (State Dept.)

As part of Public Affairs Kathmandu's ongoing outreach program to Muslim communities in Nepal, Ambassador Scott H. DeLisi visited Madrassa Islamiya School' in the capital, Kathmandu. This 70 year old madrassa is inside a historic mosque in the city center of Kathmandu, which has a history of more than 450 years. This outreach campaign was organized in collaboration with the Teacher Educators' Society – Nepal (TESON), to support dialogue with local Muslim communities.

Since December 2009 the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy has organized a special outreach program to 19 different Muslim communities throughout Nepal, reaching 3,000 individuals. This program was designed to establish contacts and start a dialogue with Muslim-majority communities within Nepal with whom the Embassy historically has had little contact.

During this visit, the Ambassador met with Muslim teachers and students. At the meeting with a total of 150 students, teachers, administrators, the principal, and community members, Ambassador DeLisi explained the purpose of the visits as part of outreach efforts by the U.S. Embassy to establish dialogue with Muslim communities of Nepal and to provide information about American society, culture, and values. He also said, “Our goal, however, looks beyond just telling the Muslim community in Nepal about the United States. It is equally important for us to hear from the Muslim community in Nepal about your own challenges here."

At the meeting he called attention to President Obama's popular Cairo speech, copies of which were distributed (in Nepali and Urdu), and highlighted the U.S. government's regular engagement in ways that reflect the principles that President Obama put forth in the speech. The Ambassador explained that President Obama's Cairo speech was comprehensive in its call for "a new beginning between America and Muslims around the world." He further noted the President called for a new relationship with Muslims based on mutual respect, mutual interest, and mutual responsibility, a shared commitment to universal values, and comprehensive engagement with governments and citizens alike.

At the meeting Public Affairs donated an English language dictionary and thesaurus, a copy of the 2010 World Almanac, the booklets Outline of U.S. History, On Democracy, and Being Muslim in America, and a total of 500 blank exercise books. They also provided four hundred copies of Obama's Cairo speech translated into Urdu and Nepali to be distributed to families in the communities.

The madrassa's principal, faculty, and students all expressed gratitude for this high level visit as a demonstration of interest in their communities. They also expressed surprise and at the same time pleasure that the American Embassy took the initiative to reach out to them. "Ambassador DeLisi is the first American diplomat to come to our school," was Principal Niyaz Ahmed's comment.