Abdus-Sattar Ghazali <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008
12:45:49 -0800
From: "Abdus-Sattar Ghazali" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: asghazali <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Islam-West division is worsening
Islam-West division is worsening
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Majority of the people in Muslim and western countries believe that
Islam-West division is worsening while each side thinks the other disrespects
their culture, says a report on Muslim-Western relations released on January
21, 2008 in Davos, Switzerland.
The report, titled "Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of
Dialogue," conducted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with
Georgetown University, looks at how Muslim and Western societies perceive and
relate to each other at the political, social, economic and cultural levels.
The report features a Gallup poll on Muslim-West Dialogue which finds that
majorities in all the populations surveyed in 21 countries believe that
systemic violent conflict between the west and the Muslim world can ultimately
be avoided. However, the degree of optimism about future relations between the
west and Islam fluctuates widely polled by Gallup for the report.
The people of Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands are among the most
optimistic in the world about the state of relations between western and Muslim
societies, while those in Pakistan, Brazil and Russia are among the most
pessimistic.
The report found that Europeans, worried by immigration and a perceived
Islamic threat to their culture, are alarmed at the prospect of greater
interaction with the Muslim world. By contrast, a majority of people in the
United States and the Muslim world felt more interaction would help. "European
populations surveyed are much more likely to believe that greater interaction
between the Muslim and Western worlds is a threat than a benefit," the report
said.
Most Muslims (ranging from 62-84%) feel that the West does not respect them.
Western citizens tend to agree, with fewer than half agreeing that the West
respects the Muslim world.
One area of disagreement, however, is the reverse - Muslim attitudes towards
the West. Muslims tend to agree that they respect the West, but those in
Western countries, including 82% of Americans, disagree.
The writers of the report suggest that the discrepancy between the way
Muslims think the Muslim world regards the West, and the perspective of
Westerners, may have to do with a Western tendency to conflate negative opinion
of the US, common in the Muslim world, with a rejection of the West and its
values as a whole.
Three in four US residents say the Muslim world is not committed to improving
relations with the West. At least half of the respondents in Italy (58%),
Denmark (52%) and Spain (50%) agree that the Muslim world is not committed to
improving relations.
But majorities of residents in nations around the world say that better
interaction between the Muslim and Western worlds is important to them.
Surprisingly, Iranians were among world leaders in this category, with 70%
saying interactions were the West were important.
An important finding of the report is the emergence of citizenship and
integration as the second most powerful shaper of the state of dialogue after
international politics.
Growing Muslim minorities committed to active and full citizenship,
particularly in Europe, are increasingly finding a voice in the public sphere.
Governments committed to ideals of equality and recognition, but eager to
maintain majority support and national cohesion, are seeking to engage Muslim
groups in structured dialogue; with mixed results. Greater interaction with the
Muslim world is actually seen as a threat by 60% of the citizens in many
European countries but not in America.
The percentage of Muslim population in the 15-member European Union is
expected to rise from 4.3% in 2006 to approximately 10%-15% by 2025, with a
higher concentration in urban areas of up to 30% in countries such as France,
Germany and Holland.
"The World Economic Forum believes that like all other global challenges, it
will take the collaborative effort of all stakeholders from government,
business, religion, media, academia and civil society to pre-empt any crisis,
create alliances and find solutions," said Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and
Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
"Over the course of 2008, the Community of Islam and the West Dialogue will
invite leaders from various walks of life to engage in a concerted dialogue and
debate of the most important issues, in particular the area of citizenship and
integration."
In the preface of the report, John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown
University, points out:
"A better future for Muslim-West relations at a global level and within
national societies depends on more than dialogue. It demands progress on
outstanding conflicts, including an Israeli-Palestinian peace that combines
security with self-determination. It also demands greater stability, prosperity
and democracy throughout the Middle East, Africa, and South, Central and
Southeast Asia. A better future necessitates equal citizenship for Muslims and
non-Muslims in Europe, North America and around the world, marked by
broad-based economic growth, upward mobility and access to education and
healthcare."
Dialogue is no substitute for political leadership and practical problem
solving though it can increase knowledge and trust and frame joint efforts to
address the pressing global challenges of the new millennium, he added.
Karen Armstrong, a leading expert on the Abrahamic faiths, argues that there
is no point in dialogue if we are not prepared to change our minds, alter our
preconceptions and transcend an orthodoxy that we have long ceased to examine
critically.
"Finally, dialogue must not degenerate into a cosy colloquy between
like-minded people. As in Northern Ireland, a way must ultimately be found to
include those who hold views that we find unacceptable. We can never condone
cruelty, bigotry or criminality, but leaving extremists out of the
conversation, while we speak only to the converted, is sure not the answer
either," she said.
Prof. John L. Esposito, Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal
Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University, pointed out
that in a world of globalization when pluralism and tolerance have never been
more important, hegemonic and exclusivist ideologies and theologies are
ascendant.
However, "preachers of hate" Muslim and non-Muslim, from the political and
religious far right are as motivated by identity politics, anti-immigrant
policies and socioeconomic conditions as by theology he says adding that
threats to national identity and security in the West and political grievances
in the Muslim world are primary catalysts.
Prof. Esposito believes that to respond to their charges and build bridges of
understanding and respect, we need more effective terminology and more powerful
counter narratives. Phrases such as "Muslim world and the West",
"West-Islamic", like their counterpart "clash of civilizations" fail to
adequately reflect a complex, multifaceted reality that is political and
economic as much as it is religious or cultural. Once respectable terms such as
"tolerance" need to be replaced or transformed from the notion of "sufferance"
or "endurance" of "the other" and reinforced by terms that promote mutual
understanding and equal respect."
There is a culture war out there and the forces of bigotry and confrontation
have powerful resources and access, he argues and concludes by saying: "The
driving force behind all initiatives has to be the belief that actions really
do speak louder than words."
Abdus Sattar Ghazali is the Executive Editor of the online magazine American
Muslim Perspective: www.amperspective.com E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
ABDUL WAHID OSMAN BELAL
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