LONDON, 1 May 2004 — After the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Madrid bombing and with the continuing threat of terrorism, the idea that a looming “clash of civilizations” is inevitable is now being widely discussed in both the Islamic world and the West.
Q-News is bringing together some of the most influential thinkers on Islam and the West, and a mixed audience from a range of perspectives and backgrounds for a special dialogue on “Citizenship, Islam and the West” at Friends House in London, on Tuesday. Speakers include Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, the Guardian columnist Timothy Garton-Ash, Terry Waite and Abdul Hakim Murad (previously Dr. Tim Winter).
The delegates will discuss a range of issues, including what role Muslims in Western countries can play in reshaping debates between the Islamic world and the West, whether Western Muslims can prove a vital progressive force in a global struggle over the nature and meaning of Islam, and whether a failure to achieve Muslim integration and citizenship within Western societies will lead to divided societies and mutual fear and antagonism.
