Who Speaks for Islam? Who
Speaks for the West?
continued
Context of the Conference
7. The conference was anchored in three moments: (i.) a historical outlook on the long–standing issues characterizing the difficult relationship between the Islamic world and the West; (ii.) the dramatic events and global changes of the post–September 11, 2001 era; and (iii.) the immediate context surrounding the publication of certain satirical cartoons in European newspapers and the resulting crisis, which erupted shortly before the event was convened.
8.Two weeks before the conference opened, an international crisis was sparked in response to the publication — first in Denmark and then in other European countries — of satirical cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammad. The cartoons offended millions of Muslims around the world. Their anger at what appeared a willful violation of the proscription on visual depictions of the Prophet was exacerbated by the provocative nature of the illustrations, which linked Islam with terrorism. In early February, numerous demonstrations took place across the Muslim world and in Western countries as well, and Danish embassies were stormed by angry mobs in Beirut, Tehran, and Damascus. These intense reactions made the issue itself a top news item around the world. The conference took place at the height of this controversy; both within the conference and in the world at large, the cartoon affair pushed Muslim and Western thinkers to confront familiar issues of mutual respect, freedom, and tolerance in a timely manner, and played a substantive role in informing panel debates.
9.The timeliness of the issues tackled by the conference, coupled with the high visibility of conference participants — including former President Mohamed Khatami of Iran, Grand Mufti of Bosnia–Herzegovina Mustafa Ceric, and acclaimed Oxford historian Timothy Garton Ash — attracted worldwide media to the event. Although the thematic sessions were closed to the press, the opening session on Friday, February 10th was covered by a number of major international print and television news networks, and was, for the entire day, the lead story on BBC World News (both TV and web).
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Recent Event ...
Iran and the Middle East: How to Shape a Security Regime Acceptable to All Regional Actors
Panel discussion at New York University on Wednesday, March. 26, 2008 6:30—8:30 pm
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