Faysal Itani is currently an MA student in International Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Born and raised in a Muslim-Christian household in diverse Lebanon, Mr. Itani grapples with the ‘clash of civilizations’ and the key elements needed to break the cycle of mistrust.

West-Islam: Opportunities for peace or doomed conflict?

April , 2007

Rightly or wrongly, thoughts of an intractable conflict between Islam and the West have been on our minds lately. However distasteful we may find them, the very fact that such language has become part of our common discourse nearly makes the dichotomy real and begs the question: Can the Islamic world and the West address their differences peacefully, or are they doomed to confrontation?

Having been born to a Muslim-Christian marriage and grown up in a country as diverse as Lebanon, I may not be in a position to speak authoritatively for any one religion. I have, on the other hand, been affected by dynamics and events that may help me shed some light on the nagging questions about Islam and the West. Firstly, I should say that I do not believe Muslims and Christians share identical worldviews – nor do I believe that the importance of religion in international or cultural affairs is or should be on the decline. The intellectual heritage of these two great religions differs significantly, as do the worldview and philosophies of their adherents. For better or worse, Muslims and Christians are not identical.

Does this mean they are doomed to perpetual conflict? Some perspective is warranted here: the world itself has seldom been a peaceful place. Islam and the West (and countless other civilizations) have clashed before. Nor is conflict today limited to clashes between Christians and Muslims. A more useful approach, then, is to eschew the fuzzy language of civilizations ‘clashing’ and examine a more helpful and tangible factor: politics.

Politics is at the heart of nearly all international issues. Interests and grievances, conflict and compromise: these are the factors that define relationships between civilizations. A sober examination of the political issues of the day – and a tradition of intellectual curiosity about the fears and motives of the ‘other’ – are the best antidotes to a supposed ‘clash of civilizations.’ Let us take a long, hard look.

The West is overwhelmed by fear and suspicion of the Islamic world, particularly following the attacks of September 11, 2001, on the United States of America. These emotions are understandable, and yet, politically, the West has reacted harshly and unwisely. This is most clearly visible in the policies it has adopted towards Muslim countries. The American invasion of Iraq and the deliberate neglect of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are some important examples of misguided Western policy. This reaction has deepened the essential crisis of the Muslim world today: Muslims are stuck in a cycle of humiliation – humiliation inflicted by their own people and others. The West, in its fear of and frustration at Muslim peoples, has stumbled into a complex and angry part of the world and, in doing so, has made itself part of the problem, not the solution.

So what can the West do? The problems of the Muslim world cry out for a return to prudence and modesty as a driving force behind Western policy. The West itself must engage the Islamic world constructively by asking Muslims what they are so enraged about, and actually listen. It is then up to the West to calculate its own interests and govern its actions accordingly. But ignoring the main grievances of the people it wishes to address and claiming to know better is hardly helpful.

But what can Muslims do meanwhile? It is wrong to place the blame for today’s troubles on the West alone. Unlike the West, Muslims are faced with the enormous challenge of building their own healthy and just political order in addition to improving their relations with and understanding of the West. It is this first task, of course, that is the more formidable one. Islamic people will never enjoy cordial relations with the West unless they address their own political crises and break out of the poisonous cycle of victimization and humiliation in which they have been trapped. The West can help by putting aside narrow ideologies and listening to Muslims, but Muslims must take responsibility for their own political and intellectual emancipation.

The solution, then, will not come about through a vague coalescing of religions, but rather from political solutions to what are essentially political problems. Only when the West honestly examines what it has done to aggravate Muslims – and when Muslims acknowledge and address the harm their actions have done themselves and others – can there be even a modicum of peace between the two great civilizations.