Latin America calls for boosting ties with the Middle East

The imam keeps the volume on the speakers turned down so the call to prayer doesn’t disturb the nearby coffee shops and convent. Even so, dozens of Lebanese, Syrians and Palestinians have heard the call, kicking off their shoes as they enter a nondescript mosque in this predominantly Catholic country.

Latin America’s thriving Arab communities have long produced presidents, pop stars and tycoons. But ties between the two regions have been tenuous at best. That’s starting to change as an ascendant South America seeks new allies and trade routes, and the Middle East taps into a region that tens of millions of its countrymen call home.

The hemispheric marriage was supposed to be consummated this month in Peru, during a meeting of heads of state of South America and the Arab League. But the upheaval in Middle East that led to the resignations of presidents of Tunisia and Egypt forced a last-minute postponement.

Even so, Peruvian President Alan García suggested that the eventual meeting will be an opportunity to shake-up old alliances.

“This is an unprecedented step toward joining our two cultures, our two worlds,” he said in a statement. “Until now, we have always dealt with the United States, China and Europe. But now, we are seeing the rise of Arab nations that have immense resources.”

One of the signs of the flowering relationship is that Latin America has sided with the Arab League on the hot-button issue of Palestine.

Since December, nine Latin American countries have recognized a sovereign Palestinian state. Among them are economic powerhouses and reliable U.S. allies such as Brazil, Chile and Peru.

Israel and its backers have called that recognition — amid rising tensions and stalled negotiations — premature and dangerous.

“Recognizing a Palestinian state instead of requiring the Palestinian Authority to meet any of its commitments is not a choice that a responsible nation would make,” U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “I would hope that other nations in the Western Hemisphere refrain from following this misguided approach.”

Latin America’s stance might not change the facts on the ground, Middle East analysts said. Already, more than 100 nations recognize a sovereign Palestine, yet that has done little to expedite a two-state solution.

But the move is one more sign that the region is no longer taking its foreign policy cues from the United States, said Andelfo García, a political analyst and Colombia’s former deputy foreign minister.

“It’s like a wave rolling through Latin America,” he said. “The region has its own vision and wants to play a larger role” on the world stage.

In particular, Brazil — it hosted the first South American-Arab Summit in 2005 and brought the Palestinian issue to the fore — is proving its ability to direct regional foreign policy, he said.

Dan Gillerman, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations, said the recognition of Palestine is a clear sign that Israel’s relationship with the region is “eroding” as Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez and others have embraced the Arab agenda and cozied up to Iran.

Venezuela, Argentina and Bolivia “seem to be getting in the wrong camp and even getting into bed with Iran, which is not good for South America, Israel or the region,” Gillerman said.

Latin America’s Arab roots run deep.

Migration — particularly from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine — began in earnest in the 19th century, while those nations were still part of the Ottoman Empire. To this day, Latinos often refer to the Arab Diaspora as Turcos or Turks.

The migratory influx only grew during both World Wars and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Today, Chile is home to more than 200,000 Palestinians, making it the largest such community outside the Middle East. Brazil has an estimated 10 million people of Arab descent, including seven million Lebanese.

Unlike other immigrant populations, the Arabs — for the most part — integrated quickly and play a prominent role in the hemisphere.

Former Colombian President Julio César Turbay and former Ecuadorean leaders Abdalá Bucaram and Jamil Mahuad were of Lebanese descent. The parents of Argentina’s former president, Carlos Menem, were Syrian.

The world’s richest man, Carlos Slim Helu, of Mexico, has a Lebanese father.

Along Colombia’s Venezuelan border, a thriving Lebanese community has built one of South America’s largest mosques. Arab dishes of kibbeh and laban are so ubiquitous along the coast that many Colombians believe they are national delicacies.

And one of Colombia’s biggest cultural exports, the pop-star Shakira — born Isabel Mebarak Ripoll — touts her Lebanese roots.

On a corner in downtown Bogotá sits the Palestinian Special Mission. A few years ago, members of Colombia’s estimated 50,000-strong Palestinian community placed a plaque on the front that reads “Embassy of Palestine” — but that status has yet to be officially recognized by the government here.

The mission’s special representative, Imad Jada’a, said Latin American support of a Palestine state is a sign that the region is striking out on its own.

“I want to thank all the nations in Latin America that have taken that very important step,” he said, waving a cigarette for emphasis. “There’s nothing in it for them. They are just trying to rectify one of the biggest political and human mistakes in the history of humanity.”

Even so, Colombia is unlikely to extend recognition anytime soon, analysts said.

“The countries that are recognizing a Palestinian state are not doing so out of philanthropy, they are doing it out of their own interests in the Arab world,” said Rafat Ghotem, a professor of international relations at Colombia’s Military University. “These countries want to broaden their ties beyond the West, and they want to increase their riches through commerce with the Arab world.”

And for the moment, Colombia’s interests lie squarely with the United States and Israel, Rafat said.

The United States is Colombia’s largest export partner and provides more aid to the nation than any other country in the hemisphere — particularly military support in the ongoing drug war.

While the nation’s Jewish population is relatively small — estimated at about 5,000 — the two countries have strong cultural, economic and military ties. About 90 percent of Colombia’s trade with the Middle East is with Israel, according to the Israeli Embassy.

During the inauguration of a Holocaust exhibit in Bogotá recently, President Juan Manuel Santos said his nation has a long history of defending Israel’s rights and that he would “maintain that legacy and strengthen it.”

But Colombia isn’t immune to the Arabian allure.

Amid mounting frustration with the U.S. Congress’ refusal to pass a free trade agreement with Colombia, Santos has talked of the need to build new trade routes, including with the Middle East. And the country plans to open embassies in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey this year.

The head of Bogotá’s mosque, Carlos Enrique Sánchez, said his congregation has grown rapidly over the last three years as second and third-generation Arabs begin rediscovering Islam.

“Almost every major city in Colombia now has a Muslim community,” he said. “The Catholic church here is in steep decline and people are looking for an alternative.”

With the global and social shifts taking place in the country and the region, Palestine’s representative here, Jada’a, said he’s hopeful Colombia won’t be left behind as the only major nation in South America to withhold recognition.

“Of course, I would prefer that Colombia recognize Palestine yesterday rather than tomorrow,” he said, “but you have to give your friends a chance.”