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AMP Report – January 22, 2008
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.”
Muslim Dialogue themes in North America
[Extract from: “Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue” issued by the World Economic Forum, Devos, Switzerland.]
In the US in 2006-2007 concerns about discrimination were primary drivers of Muslim engagement in dialogue with fellow citizens and government officials. These concerns were, in large part, a response to enhanced security and surveillance measures implemented after the 9/11 attacks and the possibility they might be further intensified. A 2006 Gallup Report found that 39% of Americans supported the idea of a special identity card for Muslims. Interestingly, support for such measures varied depending on levels of personal contact with Muslim compatriots. Only 24% of those who know a Muslim personally would approve of a special identity card, but such a measure could find support among 50% of those who do not. A similar pattern emerged on the basic question of loyalty to the United States: 45% of Americans surveyed who do not know a Muslim view them as not loyal to the US. That figure drops to 30% among Americans who
know a Muslim.
Such figures are admittedly open to interpretation. But they do suggest a cultural divide between Muslims and non-Muslims in the US. One survey after another points to similarities between both groups when it comes to politics, education, and social and economic position, as well as to attitudes towards democracy and fundamental freedoms. However, majority suspicion of the Muslim minority in the wake of 9/11 continues, reinforced by the widespread and simplistic equation of Islam with Islamic extremism.
The US government and various state and local governments have sought to respond to this situation through outreach, education and dialogue. An example of these official efforts is the Homeland Security Roundtable on Security and Liberty: Perspectives of Young Leaders Post-9/11. A formal event brought together about 40 young Arab, Sikh, South Asian and Muslim leaders to discuss issues of civil liberties and exchange thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing these communities in post-9/11 America. One example at the local level: the New York City Commission on Human Rights has played host to a number of Muslim Unity Forums, a response to the commission’s reports documenting hate-crimes in the Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities. One survey found that 69% of the respondents “believed they were the victim of one or more incidents of discrimination or bias related
harassment.”
National-level Muslim organizations in the United States have taken a wide variety of initiatives to promote dialogue. The Muslim Public Affairs Council brought young Muslims from across America together in 2007 with high-level government officials and Congressional staffers for a National Muslim American Youth Summit. While the government representatives underscored their desire to work with the Muslim community, several young Muslim representatives pressed instead for public service programmes aligned to their Muslim values.
The Washington, DC based Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has convened a variety of dialogues that bring together Muslim and non-Muslim citizens around issues of common concern. The organization has joined with others – Muslim, Christian, Jewish and secular – to fight the Patriot Act in court and promote national and state legislation to protect the rights of Muslim citizens. Since 2005, CAIR has backed a proposed End Racial Profiling Act, which would establish procedures to log, investigate and respond to complaints of racial profiling. The act would also include provisions to discipline law enforcement officers who engage in racial profiling.
Within the US, with its increasing religious and cultural diversity, Muslim-West dialogue has often been folded into a broader interfaith context. To cite one of many examples, The Interfaith Alliance in Washington, DC, supports a Leadership Education Advancing Democracy and Diversity programme that empowers high school age students to become more informed about religious diversity and take action to encourage religious liberty and civil rights. Interfaith groups in many cities, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, have sponsored events designed to increase knowledge of and appreciation for Islam – from informal gatherings to lectures and conferences. The Interfaith Center of New York convenes roundtables with religious leaders and judges to discuss access to the legal system and the particular concerns of religious communities.
Muslims in the United States are, in general, better off than their counterparts in Europe in terms of income and education. Most estimates of the US Muslim population fall between 1-2%, with African American Muslims accounting for about a third of the total. Islam in America is part of a broader multicultural and multiracial context. In Canada, too, where Muslims account for about 2% of the population, dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims is often framed broadly in terms of intercultural understanding. For example, in August, 2007, Canada’s Couchinching Institute on Public Affairs held its 76th Annual Summer Conference on The Stranger Next Door: Making Diversity Work. Muslims were among a wide range of participants who explored questions of identity, shared values, and the meaning of citizenship in a globalizing world.
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