Islam Today and the Political Instability - Essay Example

of Islam Today The Muslim religion, along with the other great religions of the world (Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism) has a long, proud history and heritage full of accomplishments, advances, and contributions. When Europeans were withering away during the Dark Ages, the Islamic World flourished by making advances in science, mathematics, and medicine. Unfortunately, much of this legacy has been affected by events in the last quarter of the twentieth century. With the destruction and chaos that came with the end of the colonial rule after World War 2, much of the Islamic world became the victim of corrupt regimes, religious extremism, and foreign intervention. As Edward Said put it: “In part, of course, that is because the Middle East, the Arabs, and Islam have continued to fuel enormous change, struggle, controversy, and, as I write these lines, war” (Said 1979, p. xvi). The political instability so much a part of much of the Islamic world stems from the instable atmosphere of many of these countries (especially the Arab ones) and the fact that they are home to most of the world’s oil supply. The oil brings the interest of many Western governments to do things that, if the oil was not there, they would probably not do. To that of course must be added that most people have the negative image of Muslims as terrorists and extremists largely due to their negative depiction in the media. There is “a striking lack of clarity and an atmosphere of incomprehension that can only generate suspicion and fear” (Ramadan 2007, p. 23). This situation is not helped by the fact that so many scholars in the West believe that Muslims are by nature “radical” and that Islam in general is incompatible with the West and/or globalization. In order combat these images and the potential conflict there is a lot people in Muslim countries could do. First and foremost Muslim governments should attempt to have their voice heard more clearly and more often in Western media. It is clear that Muslims have an image problem in the world’s media (though of course some of that problem is not justified). There should be an organized effort to reach out to people to show them that Islam has much more to it than radicals and terrorists. It has a history just as long and prestigious as the West’s and should not be shy about saying so. The effect of so many stereotypes is to make many people think that Muslims are all one way, that they all think alike, and all do the same things because they are all Muslims. This should be shown to be the illogical claim that it is. Muslims are individuals like anyone else. They love, hate, fear, admire, respect, and feel envy like all peoples of all other societies. Though their religion is important to them, they still have their own lives, problems, issues, regrets, and memories like everyone else. There must be a concerted campaign to express this truth to non-Muslim people in the world. The issue of education should receive emphasis as well. By educating their people to a greater degree, Muslims can help combat the spread of what fundamentalism there is and be sure to preserve their culture in the face of globalization. A populace that is educated about its culture’s history will do much better in encountering international culture and influences so much a part of the new global society of today. As well it is important to show that the Muslims have the right to determine their own futures and identity. This is not the choice of arrogant foreign politicians who want nothing more than to label all of Islam as “a bunch of terrorists.” If Muslims can overcome the identity the global society gives them and instead create their one which mixes their own traditions with advances in modern society, they will be able to make a big step in ensuring their future. The idea that Islam is determined to be on “a collision course” with the West is an absurd claim made by people like Samuel Huntington and others. They follow in the long tradition in the West of labeling entire societies and peoples with one meaning or one future. A brief look at history shows that the last time the West and Islam clashed (the Crusades), it the West who was the aggressor and not the Muslims. The concept of freedom, so important in the West, means that people can choose and if people have a choice at every step in their lives, then nothing can be claimed to be determined, especially not a “clash” with the West. It is quite interesting how much attention this idea has in the world. Though what the 9/11 hijackers did was surely despicable, their actions do not justify all that the international community does and says about the Muslim world. There are no Muslim armies invading London or Washington to “liberate” these cities from their governments. There are no Muslim countries or governments who are claiming the right to invade another country that has not attacked them (in violation of the UN charter). There are no Western governments that are being toppled by Islamic secret services. Though in the last 50 years many, many Muslim governments have been undermined by foreign governments who wanted to control oil and other natural resources. Many Western armies have been deployed several times since the late 1940’s to “provide stability” in, for example, the Middle East. And most recently it was America and Great Britain who invaded Iraq without provocation, citing weapons that did not exist and ties to terrorists that later were shown to be false. And yet so many in the West see Muslims as terrorists and fear them in general even when the number of people killed is very few in the West compared to the huge number of Muslims killed as a result of foreign interventions. The whole idea of a “clash” with other societies (Western or other) is based on the idea of the Muslim world not handling well the onset of globalization. The word globalization is one which has many meanings: liberal economics, free trade, a “smaller” world, English as the international language of communication, and the loss of sovereignty. Strangely enough, all of these things originate in and are associated with the West. This basically means that if globalization includes the spread of these things, then globalization is just the spread of the West. So when people like Huntington say that Islam is on a “collision course” as part of a reaction to globalization, they really mean that Islam is not taking well to having its culture and traditions replaced with the West’s ones (though of course the West’s traditions are “global” ones). This sort of arrogance is at the heart of the thesis that Islam will clash with the West. Though it is doing it at its own pace, the Islamic world is not as backward as is shown in the international media. There are some terrorists and fundamentalists, but there are also many moderates and good people in the Muslim world. “If the battle for the soul of Islam ends up being won by the moderates, the victory will in no small measure have been secured by women” (Weiner 2006, 43). Many women, though of course in their own way, are taking part in the modernization of the Islamic world. As well, with the growth of the internet, many new ideas about government are spreading and the potential to educate more people in the Islamic world has greatly improved. The feeling that I have when I hear so many scholars say that Islam will and must clash with other countries are too strong for words. It is almost as if these scholars want there to be conflict between Islam and the West. They have chosen the end that they want to suit their own needs, even if that end has not yet happened. Works Cited Ramadan, Tariq. “Islam Today: The Need to Explore its Complexities.” Nieman Reports 61:2 (2007): 23-25. Said, Edward W. Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books, 1979. Weiner, Lauren. “The Forgotten Queens of Islam/Journey of the Jihadist.” First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion & Public Life 165 (2006): 43-48. Read More