Last week we discussed the willingness of the West to understand Islam and to alter its distorted image. That unfortunate image has largely been a creation of the Western media since Sept. 11. At the same time, it must also be recognized that, for decades, the media has not been portraying either Muslims or Islamic society fairly and accurately. As such, on Western shoulders falls a great share of the responsibility in changing that image.
The West must act to correct the many mistakes it has made and the ill effects that have resulted from them. This is what we mean by needing an environment amenable to change. Without this recognition of responsibility and an honest willingness to change, combined with wholehearted cooperation, what both we and Western intellectuals desire cannot be achieved. We must create harmony between Islam and the West, emphasize what is common to both, and isolate extremist elements on both sides that seek to inflame the fires of what has been called a "clash of civilizations".
We appeal to the West to learn about Islamic civilization along with its many beneficial achievements. It never harmed the West; on the contrary, Islam helped the West to develop. The West, and its culture, owe a great deal to Islam. This is not a baseless claim. It is no more than many Western intellectuals and academics acknowledge.
A recent statement by the American film director, Francis Ford Coppola, was touching. He spoke of his sorrow because the US "does not have enough knowledge of Arab civilization". He added, "If I had had the influence I would have done everything in my power after Sept. 11 to establish a program aimed at improving Americans’ knowledge of this great culture that contributed so significantly to astronomy, science and history."
Similarly, a speech by Prince Charles of Britain at Oxford University in 1993, was a great testimony to the historic role of Islamic civilization. He said, "... If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure which stems, I think, from the straitjacket of history which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from Central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society and system of belief, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history."
The Prince of Wales went on to enumerate the many contributions of Muslim Spain — Andalusia — during its 800-year history. "Many of the qualities upon which modern Europe prides itself came to it from Muslim Spain. Diplomacy, free trade, open borders, the techniques for academic research, of anthropology, etiquette, fashion, various types of medicine, hospitals, all came from this great city of cities."
At a time when Islam is attacked as inherently intolerant, the West needs to take note of what the prince pointed out — that Islam was known for its remarkable tolerance and that it allowed Jews and Christians the right to practice their religion without hindrance.
This, it should be noted, was at a time when religious intolerance was the norm, centuries before the Inquisition. He described tolerance as something the West did not achieve until many centuries later.
Then he spoke of Islam’s historic relations with Europe. "The surprise, ladies and gentlemen, is the extent to which Islam has been a part of Europe for so long, first in Spain, then in the Balkans, and the extent to which it has contributed so much toward the civilization which we all too often think of, wrongly, as entirely Western. Islam is part of our past and our present, in all fields of human endeavor. It has helped to create modern Europe. It is part of our own inheritance, not a thing apart."
This is the sort of awareness we need on the part of the West. An inaccurate and unjust image has tarnished our civilization and in so doing, the media has painted a picture of a culture and civilization with little connection to what is admirable and worthwhile in the modern world. In truth, what links us to the West on a human and cultural level is much greater than what links us to other nations or, indeed, what links the West to other nations.
Why then do Western intellectuals not work to take advantage of this great heritage, rich in warm relations and strong ties, and correct Islam’s distorted image in their society? Why do they not criticize those who generalize and pass judgement on a people of over a billion based on a handful of worthless deviant extremists?
If indeed the West’s responsibility to correct our image is big, our own responsibility is even bigger and greater.
This will be our subject next week.
