Uniting East and West
‘The solution requires finding common ground upon which to build mutual respect and understanding’
One of the most promising questions of our time is, what went wrong in the relationship between Muslims and the West? Continuing global violence in the name of Islam reflects the deepest fears by certain Muslim factions of Western political, cultural and economic encroachment. The solution requires finding common ground upon which to build mutual respect and understanding.
Let us boldly challenge members of the world’s civilisations to stop demonising others while identifying themselves with pure goodness and to turn instead to a deeper understanding of those shared values that solve the acute problems facing humanity today. Muslims must ask themselves what went wrong within their own societies, but the West must also pose the same question about itself. Whether we are Muslims, Jews, Christians or any other religion, whether we live in the Islamic world or in the West, we are all in need of meaning in our lives, of ethical norms to guide our actions, of a vision that would allow us to live in peace with each other and with the rest of God’s creations. Such help lies at the very heart of every religion and can lead all of us to a new future based on mutual respect and common global purpose.
In stark contrast to American thinkers, such as Samuel P. Huntington and Bernard Lewis, who suggest that the crisis is in Islam itself, most Muslims argue that what went wrong is the relationship between the Muslim world and the West. The moderate scholars in Islam and the West offer a basis for rebuilding that relationship by arguing that Islam actually supports the fundamental values of a pluralistic and free society. Focussing on finding solutions and common ground, not on determining fault and blame, creates hope and inspiration in both the Muslim world and Western world.
By tracing common philosophical roots and religious values, acknowledging the contributions of Western democracy and Western thought, and by showing that Islamic culture and tradition can bring to a new reunion with the West, can lay out reasons for the current dissonance between these cultures and offers a foundation and plan for improved relations. Let us be bold to dream and embrace a time when we all will live together with peace, justice and prosperity.
- The reader is an educator based in Cape Town, South Africa.
