There is now an increasing fear of Islam in many societies, especially those of the West. The Sept. 11 incidents in the United States have made that fear more pronounced. The situation now is that anything related to Islam or Muslims inspires in them alarm and hostility.
I have discussed this with a number of Western analysts, who call the phenomenon "Islamophobia". They had some insightful theories about its root causes. They all were conscious of the dangers that a perception of inherent hostility between cultures could pose for all, if allowed to gain popular acceptance. They also said that there were groups and individuals who were interested in encouraging the perception, in order to exploit it for their own benefit. There are always people who profit from conflicts and mayhem.
However, we must ask ourselves why the Westerners are afraid of Islam. Does the fear have logical reasons or is it paranoia born of ignorance about Islam and Muslims?
In the course of my study of the subject, I put this question to Ja’afer Sheik Idris, a renowned Islamic thinker. I would like to share his response with the readers.
The fear from Islam, he said, was an old one. Once, asked about his view of the future, Charles de Gaulle, former president of France, said, "The future belongs to Islam." It is natural for all of us to fear alien cultures. We ourselves fear the effects that the Western culture may have on ours.
Secondly, there are a number of Muslims who proclaim, quite wrongly, that Islam cannot flourish unless the Western civilization is destroyed. That is not true. That is not the way for Islam to progress. Palpable nonsense though such theories and pronouncements are, they have the effect of throwing the West into alarm. The truth is that, what the West fears is not the real Islam, but a distorted vision of it, which some of our own people have presented as Islam. The third reason is our inability to present Islam as an "intellectual challenge". As a result, hearing only incessant rhetoric about the destruction of their culture, the majority of Westerners look at us as a barbarian horde determined to destroy their civilization.
The Western fear of Islam is partly natural and partly inspired. Of these, the former can be removed through communication and discussions. But the latter will remain unless we change of our ways of presenting Islam. Our message should not be, as some make it, "Islam is a danger." Instead, its should be, "Islam is mercy."
However, we should not underestimate our enemies such as Zionists and others who propagate to the West that the Islam is the coming danger to the West. It is well-known that anti-Islamic propaganda is using every means possible, including the mass media, in order to widen the gulf between Islamic and Western worlds. The tense relations between these two worlds - in political, social or official spheres — do not serve the interests of either. Therefore, both Islamic and Western worlds should not allow the extremists among them to push their societies to further conflict.
As a first step, fairness requires us to acknowledge that it is not for the West alone to deal with these problems. It is for us too. We have to remove the causes of misunderstandings from our own minds - from the minds of individuals, societies and organizations. It is a cultural mission in which the Muslims and the West must carry equal shares of responsibility. It is a mission that the thinking people of both our communities should take upon themselves. That is the only way to spare ourselves, both the Western and Muslim worlds, to do away with the reasons that might, one event building on another, lead to a devastating conflict.
