By Dr. Nazir Khaja
Chairman, Islamic Information Service, CA
Huntington`s essay “The Clash of Civilization” gets revisited time and time again these days, only to justify his theory that indeed Islam and the West seem to have a showdown. That invites Italian Prime Minister Berlesconi to declare victory of western civilization over Islam, a weak adversary with few redeeming qualities. And of course columnist like William F. Buckley and Paul Johnson in the National Review, can go further to reflect on Islam more as a barbaric tradition, based on coercion, conquest, and re-conquest, devoid of any spiritual content .The latest and even more blatant attack on Islam is from Rev. Billy Graham`s son and spiritual council to President Bush , Franklin Graham. His seething hatred of Islam seems as rabid as that of Bin Laden`s of the West.
It is pointless to enter the debate with the Huntingtons, the Berlusconis, the Buckleys, and the Johnsons, regardless of their academic, political, or journalistic credentials. Their formulations are hardly based on the life experience of the l.2 billion adherents of Islam, a faith which judged away from the Eurocentric view of history had, and indeed has, the necessary moral and social energy to deal with the challenges of modernity.
While the West is learning to deal with Post-modernism and its social implications, the Muslim world in most instances is struggling to enter the modern era.
Huntington`s formulation of civlizational divide between the West and Islam has been articulated before. The challenge from the crusaders and the ongoing hostilities between the West and Islam during the medieval period indeed had brought forth the idea of the Land of Islam (“Dar el Islam”) versus the other or the Land of Conquest (“Dar el Harab”), from the Muslim side. This was more a statement of strategy rather than a religious decree. For the Crusaders interestingly enough it was a religious mandate to rid the Holy Lands of the infidel Muslims.
Subsequently, from time to time this formulation is used in the Muslim world by clerics and others to mobilize the Muslim masses against the West and the most recent example of this is Bin Laden`s proclamations. This finds resonance in parts of the Muslim world where Muslims are living without a voice though supposedly in freedom. Their hopes and aspirations after the departure of the colonialists to control their own destiny, remain unfulfilled. Now they have authoritarian autocratic and arbitrary forms of governments to rule them. These are mostly kept in power by the West, or so it seems to the Muslim world.
Besides unrepresentative governments and stunted political development which may be major contributing factor there is a long list of woes, like lack of basic infrastructure, educational system, and economic growth and opportunities, that plague the Muslim world. Should Islam take the blame for all of this? Hardly! Yet it has come to pass that Islam now is perceived as the biggest threat to our civilization. In its judgment of Islam the West seems to lay stress on behavior rather than belief. If this is how it wants, it must seriously look at some of the issues mentioned above, which define Muslim behavior currently.
It is reassuring to hear President Bush and other world leaders emphasize that Islam cannot be blamed for the recent terrorist acts. The war against terrorism cannot however be won unless a clear strategy to address the fundamental issues is formulated. Muslim masses thus far excluded from social and economic progress must now be included through pressure on their governments by the West, which should hold them accountable to the world community.
Those who are influence peddlers and policy makers should stop blaming Islam for all the problems of the world. Islam as a faith or a belief system must be distinguished from the angry, and at times, violent expressions of the ignorant and impoverished Muslim masses who are manipulated in the name of Islam by those who are using Islam as tool for political and social control. The media especially must show greater responsibility in its use of the prefix “Islamic” for acts of political violence in the Muslim countries or elsewhere, even if the perpetrator is a Muslim. And finally those who are in the role of religious leadership must not exploit the present turmoil to further fear, hatred, and bigotry.