'East and West can't be separated'

Dubai: "Relationships between the East and West must be based on communication, trust and civilisational responsibility," said Saudi journalist and author Turki Al Dakhil during a talk he gave on globalisation and identity at Michigan State University's (MSU) Dubai campus.

"The East is already meeting the West here. If we were to map the three religions, would they be more prevalent in the East or the West?.. As for liberal believers, where do they belong: to the East or the West?.. Who owns the great philosophers Aristotle, Plato and Maimonides? We can't separate the East from the West.

"If civilisations lasted because of their might, then the greatest civilisation of all would be the Mongols. [But this is not the case.] The greatest civilisation lies in its humanism, justice and positivism towards others," Al Dakhil said.

According to him, the clash between civilisations is moving towards an internal conflict within civilisations. Extremist movements in the world are a minority with a loud voice and they should be marginalised, he said.