Clash of Civilizations
Last night I was reading White Mughals by William Dalyrymple. It is a historical account of the love affair between a British employee of the East India Company and a Muslim Hyderabadi princess set in the 18th century. The book isn’t just a love story. The context of the book is the complex world of 17th and 18th century India where the British and Indian cultures were mingling, Islam and Christianity were reconciling and cross-fertilization between cultures was taking place. The story presented in the book wasn’t an isolated incident. Many European were actively pursuing Indian culture and marrying Indians and in turn Indians influenced by European culture were absorbing the norms of their society. Many were also vehemently against the idea of two societies mixing together. This era of harmony and conflict between Muslims and Christians in Indian history left me thinking of the similarities and differences between that and the world of today.
It has been more than two hundred years since the events described in White Muglahs took place. The world around us has drastically changed but human nature remains the same. Globalization has forced us to mix but many of us are still afraid of change. We are supposed to be more educated and knowledgeable however I feel that our societies have remained if not become much more xenophobic and ethnocentric. This is clearly evident in the so called clash between Islam and the west. Fundamentalism on both sides is fueling new ideas of hate and incompatibility.
The promotion of a culture of distrust and hatred by the media is only making the situation worse. The media is specifically targeting Muslims which is starting to cause rifts in many countries. Not a day goes by when I don’t hear of some news of Muslims being vilified in some form or another. Now that the ‘Butcher of Baghdad’ has been put to rest and ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’ only bring up memories of the failure of American intelligence, our fear mongering media has picked up on ‘Clash of Civilizations’ as their new favorite mantra of dread. This term really irritates me. This idea of a clash is rooted in ignorance and this nonsense is being force fed to us on a daily basis. Once again history is being rewritten and reality is being crafted for the masses.
I can’t understand that sane people actually believe that there is a clash of civilizations taking place in the world. There are over a billion Muslim in the world. A clash of civilizations would involve Muslims armies marching towards “Western” countries. Cities across the world would be burning and countless number of people would be dying. There would be destruction on an unprecedented scale. I don’t see that happening now and hope that I don’t see that occurring in the future. The media however seems to be obsessed with placing this idea into our minds. If this continues, a clash that doesn’t exist today may arise in the future. I fear that the moderates who don’t belong to either side will suffer the worst of this.
The word civilization is used to refer to a culture and society. Society is composed of various things and it’s not just based on religion so I don’t know why Islam is being singled out and being referred to as a civilization. If you are naïve enough to believe that all of Islamic world is composed of one entity that thinks, believes and acts in an identical or a very similar manner then you may also add to your naivety by believing that there is a clash of civilizations. But, please save the crap for yourself and stop poisoning our minds. It is true that Islam like some other religions is more than just a religion. Islam also forms an identity for Muslims, but this is only a part of the whole picture. Culture and environment obviously play a significant if not larger role.
I never quite understood this concept of civilization. Civilization is such a broad concept that it’s difficult to define. What does the ‘Western’ civilization represent? The vague and superficial answers to this question such as ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ don’t satisfy me. These concepts also exist to various degrees in Muslim countries. All ‘Western’ countries aren’t the same either. Muslims and millions belonging to various ethnic groups, religions, and cultures and are also part of the Western civilization. There are a too many holes and limitations in this narrow concept of civilization.
Islam being a civilization and a united force is also grossly inaccurate. The religion has never really been a uniting force that brought together all of Muslim world. Muslims come from various countries and regions around the world. They represent different traditions, cultures, politics and beliefs. Islamic practices and beliefs are infused with local cultures and differ from region to region. This has also been the cause of infighting between Muslims. Pakistan is one such example. It was supposed to unite Muslims under the banner of Islam but this attempt failed miserably. Muslims have been fighting amongst each other since the dawn of Islam. If Islam was a united entity then why would so many different Muslim countries exist separately? Islam has always been used as a tool for political aspirations. These days both sides of extremism are using it to further their agendas. I am sick and tired of the narrow minded and righteous types that fail to see the complexities of the world and must distinguish everything in terms of black and white and good and evil.
If we can first clearly define what a civilization is and what exactly the two opposing civilizations represent then may be we can start to discuss whether they are clashing. In my opinion, the clash of civilizations is a term that is general enough to be used to create a division between the Western world and all Muslims in the world and it is an excuse to legitimize discrimination. This way any country or society can be a target as long as they are Muslim and thus part of the ‘Islamic civilization’.
The future looks bleak to me but luckily there are many who are not easily persuaded by the garbage spewed by our media and politicians. They are the source of any optimism that I have left for the future.
Update (Feb 19, 2007): The following article appeared on BBC today:
[…] Cubano writes about the myth of the so called Islamic civilization and talks about the misuse of the term “clash of civilization” If we can first clearly define what a civilization is and what exactly the two opposing civilizations represent then may be we can start to discuss whether they are clashing. In my opinion, the clash of civilizations is a term that is general enough to be used to create a division between the Western world and all Muslims in the world and it is an excuse to legitimize discrimination. This way any country or society can be a target as long as they are Muslim and thus part of the ‘Islamic civilization’. […]
Pingback by Myth about Islamic Civilization at Blogbharti — February 18, 2007 @ 7:39 pm
Insightful and most interesting..I agree with your point - this clash theory is too simplistic and hides more than it explains anything..
thanks for the post…
keep writing.
Comment by Raza Rumi — February 20, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
interesting post….
I have mixed feelings about the term “civilization”. I agree with Raza that the clash theory hides more than it explains. I think that questions of war and peace have more to do with resources and political power than they have to do with ideology, culture or “civilization”.
But if you take all the Western/Christian/post=Christian countries together, they will share a common experience of coming out of the fall of the ancientRoman Empire, the rise of the “Holy” Roman Empire, and the Middle Ages, Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment, etc.
On the other hand, if you take the Muslim lands, they will tend to share a common history which looks different: the rapid rise and growth of Islam, the Abassids, Umayads, etc. the Mughals, the loss of Islamic Spain, the collapse of the Ottomans, Western colonization, etc.
so there are differences between civilizations which are real. But the important thing is to keep them in perspective and not use these differenecs as excuses for war.
btw… why use the name “cubano”? (I’m cuban-american and am curious)
Comment by abdul-halim — May 28, 2007 @ 3:34 am
I am fairly light skinned and don’t look like a ‘typical’ Indian or Pakistani. One of my friends thinks that I look Cuban and started calling me Cubano for fun. When I created this blog the first thing that came to my mind when thinking of a nick was Cubano.
Btw, have you been to Cuba? I was in Cuba three years ago and I liked it a lot.
Comment by cubano — May 28, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Nice writeup. I agree with Abdul Halim that this clash has more to do with resources and political power than ideology and culture.
“A clash of civilizations would involve Muslims armies marching towards “Western” countries. Cities across the world would be burning and countless number of people would be dying. There would be destruction on an unprecedented scale.”
The exact opposite of this is happening in the world today. Western armies are marching towards Islamic countries. Sometimes on the pretext that they are harboring terrorists or WMDs when in fact it is about oil and world domination.
I cannot define the word “civilization” but the way I see it, it is religion in the form of identity and culture. It is a feeling of mutual goodwill and identifying with each other. As Abdul Halim said that it is about shared history, common ethos and a nostalgia about being a part of a civilization which once spanned from the shores of Atlantic to the Chinese Xinjiang (Pidram Sultan Bood
But I agree that it is a very loose term and there are many sub-cultures within a civilization.
Comment by Nauman — July 11, 2007 @ 9:06 pm