Clash of Civilizations or Clash of Perceptions?

2002 Report (Continued)


Recommendations

In response to the discussions held and the conclusions reached, the conference participants considered whether and how to turn their concerns into a program of action. What should be done? What are the next steps for the Dialogues program? All agreed that the problems facing Muslim-Western dialogue are substantial and deep, and that no single conference, or even a series of conferences, could resolve underlying issues, many of which relate specifically to policy positions, such as American support for Israel. Other obstacles arise from historically based and media-fed misunderstandings of each other’s cultures and faiths.

Although the idea of a “clash” was not entirely dispatched, participants concluded that it would be fruitless to continue to frame the debate in such unnecessarily conflicting terms. Since the Clash of Civilizations thesis is now culturally encoded, it creates automatic division between its proponents and opponents, and thus exaggerates differences. Yet clashing perspectives are a reality. With an eye toward dealing with them in a more focused way, four recommendations emerged:

I. Workshop on Elections
Although there was considerable dispute as to whether “democratization” represents the desired goal of good governance, Islam was not thought to be naturally antidemocratic. On the contrary, its own normative system provides for limitations on the powers of rulers, promotes the rule of law, and enjoins just governance. In whatever civilization, however, practice does not always keep pace with values; every nation faces demands to reduce inequalities and further inclusiveness, such as by staging fairer and more participatory elections.

The conference thus recommended a workshop on elections that would draw observers and practitioners from both Muslim and Western societies to discuss common goals and problems in this area. In delineating how elections are run and the places they hold in these societies, participants would benefit from the experience of others and would formulate follow-up plans. This is not envisioned as an extension of the work of such organizations as the National Endowment for Democracy in the United States or the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in Britain; indeed, this would not form part of a democracy promotion agenda. Rather, the aim would be to initiate a focused dialogue among equals and, in this way, to explore the possibilities of mutually reinforcing action. In order to make such a dialogue feasible, the number of participants would be limited to no more than forty.

II. Workshop on the Media
Most participants found that two decades after Edward Said’s Covering Islam (a critique of reporting on the Iranian revolution), the West continues purveying distorted DIAimages of Muslims. By the same token, exaggerated depictions of the West continue to appear in the media of Muslim countries.

It was proposed that Dialogues host a workshop for a small number of journalists, editors, and producers from Muslim and Western societies in order to explore the reasons behind the distortion of the Other’s beliefs and history, and to clarify the practical environment in which media professionals must work. The workshop’s emphasis would be positive in the sense of explanation, not defense, and in the hope that discussions would lead to future steps toward improving representations of the Other—an increasingly important task in this age of globalized communications technology.

III. Conference on Islamic Authority
Perhaps the liveliest debate of the Granada conference centered on “defining Islam.” Most participants felt that such questions as who speaks for Islam and what the political roles of religion are required further discussion. Many participants felt strongly that the intra-Islamic debate should take precedence over the cross-cultural debate.

It was thus suggested that a conference be held that would invite Muslims of all varieties of conservative, modernist, Islamist, and secular thought to sit together to formulate their views on the nature of authority. This task was considered especially important at a time when the official ’ulama appear to be under attack, in part from youth and women, and when radicals like Bin Laden are attempting to establish their own religious monopolies. It would be unrealistic to expect a unanimous consensus to emerge from such a meeting, but this conference could well help foster a valuable exchange of opinions within the Muslim world. This was regarded, in turn, as an integral step in achieving wider dialogue.

IV. Conference on Muslims in the West
There was universal agreement that one way the Clash of Civilizations thesis is harmful is in its failure to take into account the blurring of borders: Muslims are now a permanent and growing presence within Western societies. It was not clear whether this presence would induce greater inclusiveness and a more “liberal” Islam to develop, or whether governmental policies would worsen communal divisions or fail to address the realities of urban spatial, social, and educational segregation.

Participants recommended holding a conference on Muslims in the West, which would invite activists and scholars from a number of countries that are working on this issue. Seeking common patterns, it would raise such questions as: What does “Muslim” identity mean to Muslims in the West? Is a minority jurisprudence emerging to rival the traditional legal corpus? How do governments that are rhetorically committed to multicultural and pluralist goals deal with Muslim needs and claims? The answers to these questions may depend not only on the possibilities of interpretation of the faith today, but also on relations with non-Muslims.

The Granada conference provided the impetus for these follow-up activities and conferences, and the spirit of openness in evidence there provides hope that this future agenda is realistic. As determined at the program’s outset, the initial conference was but the first step of a long process. The future of Dialogues has clearly emerged from the variety of topics considered in Granada. In following that path, the program will remain committed to an ever more specific and long-term mapping of the Muslim-Western encounter.

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© 2006, The Center for Dialogues: Islamic World - U.S. - The West

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