WE may scoff at the idea that the Olympic Games have anything to do with the \u201cendeavor to place sport at the service of humanity and thereby to promote peace,\u201d\u009d as the Olympic charter enshrines as its ideal. But at least nations across the world were able to put aside differences for two weeks of friendly competition in Vancouver.<\/p>\n
A mundane achievement, perhaps, but it\u2019s one that\u2019s beyond the grasp of the Islamic world. The Islamic Solidarity Games, the Olympics of the Muslim world, which were to be held in Iran in April, have been called off by the Arab states because Tehran inscribed \u201cPersian Gulf\u201d\u009d on the tournament\u2019s official logo and medals.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a small but telling controversy. It puts the lie to the idea of the Islamic world as a bloc united by religious values that are hostile to the West. It also gives clues as to how the United States and its allies should handle two of their most urgent foreign policy matters: the Iranian nuclear program and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n