The Islamic World and the Muslim Society - Assignment Example

A. At this critical period in Islamic history what issues should be explored and followed by the Muslim societies to bring programmatic changes Muslim societies need to change for the better economic and political prospects of the Muslims. In stead of wasting time and money in killing innocent people, extremist elements of the community should pay attention and work vigorously for resolving important issues. By not fighting over Shia and Sunni causes, they should focus on issues of greater importance such as “Al-Aqsa, the occupation of Palestine, the problems in Iraq, the Afghan occupation, and the fighting between brothers in Yemen,” according to a spokesperson of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Amanullah 2009). But can such issues bring about programmatic changes in Muslim societies? In the current context of a referendum on the issue of banning minarets, the media criticized it by proclaiming it “pure discrimination” by LA Times, “disgraceful” by New York Times, not paying any focus on the expression of the Muslim societies. In the fear that Muslims are trying to create a “parallel society” in Europe, the ban was voted that favor the demolition of minarets by 57 percent of the voters. Muslims didn’t react on the issue. Earlier eggs were thrown by the Muslims on Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, a leading Muslim politician in England. Such acts help in presenting a wrong image of the community. In the words of the Swiss Islamic scholar Ramadan, “Muslims have striven to remain hidden in order to avoid a clash. It would have been more useful to create new alliances with all these Swiss organizations and political parties that were clearly against the initiative” (Amanullah 2009). Not weighing much on Ramadan’s suggestions to the Muslim community on the issue of banning minarets, important issues need to be attended, which are Muslim’s isolation from the democratic forces, their insistence on following traditions in the name of religion – traditions which are not relevant with the changing times. Muslims the world over should express their views on violence, terrorist attacks, women rights, democracy, and their relations with the West. The movie ‘Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think’ written jointly by Georgetown University professor John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies, raises issues like political liberty and freedom of speech that have come to the forefront to be explored and followed by the Muslim society to bring programmatic changes (Reef & Suhail 2009). Political liberty and freedom of speech are more demanding issues, as they are dear to the cause of humanity. It is evident after the filming of “Inside Islam”. In this picture, it is shown that at one point of time, a dialog among civilizations becomes essential to remove the doubts. This movie invokes the Americans to review their perceptions about Muslims who are their neighbors. According to a poll conducted by Gallup on the film when Muslims were asked to comment on what most they liked about the West, the common answer was the political liberty and freedom of speech. The most surprising fact was their support to the cause of women empowerment, as 73 percent of Saudis and 89 percent of Iranians wanted their women folk to enjoy equal rights to men. It shows the inner mind of the Muslim community; what they want and consider issues more crucial to the economic and social aspects of their lives. The film is getting very good response, as audiences want to know what is the thinking of a billion Muslims. Such issues that help in bridging the communication gap between the Muslims and other communities need to be discussed so that fear and suspicion don’t overpower the feelings of other communities about Muslims. Communication is the only bridge to resolve important issues (Reef & Suhail 2009). B. Explain in your own perspective of whether the Islamic world is at the surge of clashes with the West or otherwise Islam is at the surge of clashes with the West. One’s personal perspective cannot be different from the perspective of the society, media and the global environment which impacts personal perceptions. Let’s take a judicious view of current happenings to know whether it is true or not. Something is going wrong in the Muslim community. The common thinking is that the Muslim leaders in their own countries as well as in non-Muslim countries are not reacting to the events and have lost the capacity to react to such disturbing events nearer to clashes with the West. Scholars like Armesto 1995; Fukuyama 1998; Huntington 1993 1996: Keppel 2002; Lewis 2002 think that Islam is on the road to confrontation with the West. Islamic societies are reacting to the changes taking place on cultural level in their own ways, as other traditional religions are reacting with anger and hatred with touches of violence here and there on global platforms. All Muslims are not showing such feelings; some are showing attraction towards Western life styles and their appeal. It is not that simple like the clashes between the civilizations, there is complexity in the relationship unlike the dangerous implications of expansion of Islam to the Western world in earlier times; In stead there has been seen an initiation of the process of dialog between the two civilizations by countries like Iran and leaders like Kofi Annan (Ahmed 2003). Actually, September 11 turned the tables against the soft voices in Muslim community by out lashes from Ex-President of America, Mr. Bush proclaiming Iran as part of an “Axis of Evil” forces and following anti-Western perspective. It discouraged Islamic political leaders like President Khatami of Iran taking a back seat in the context of starting a fruitful communication, which Dr. George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury felt right time to initiate (Ahmed 2003). Nothing is sudden. There has been a continuous change in political, cultural, and technological fields disturbing the traditional societies because of its fast pace due to globalization. Some view these changes as good sign for business and industry, tourism, and media but some also fear that in the name of progress, resources are being exploited in the garb of capitalism promoting economic well being. Leaving media aside, all other proofs of globalization have suffered in the attacks on World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In stead of reacting calmly on the ferocious attacks, short term strategy of anger has widened the increasing rift between the West and the Muslim community everywhere. Actually, this rift has been taking place and widening more between rich nations and developing nations as in the example of Africa, Asia, and Latin America given by post-modernist guru Jean Baudrillard where the West is facing the “distress and catastrophe” of poor with agreed self-destruction. It is better explained in the words of Mahathir Mohammed, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, describing the effect of globalization initiated from the West, “Muslims and Muslim countries are faced with a tremendous and frightening challenge. Globalization in the form that it takes now is a threat against us and our religion.” To him, Muslims are a puzzled lot who cannot differentiate between strength and failure (Ahmed 2003). Kofi Annan, a leading diplomat has also expressed the feelings of millions of people who view the new economic forces very disturbing and against progress not just because of the fast pace of changes taking place but due to the tensions created worldwide by the attack of September 11.Traditionally, Islam has been global in its vision of the world as written in Surah 2: verse 115 that there is neither East nor West for God. But in the current global context, families are getting split for employment or due to political and cultural reasons, people are not going back to where they belong and in the process losing their identity due to changes taking place politically and economically, endangering the face of religion in the process. In the wake of such global attacks, religion becomes a medium of explaining right and wrong and a tool of one’s identity (Ahmed 2003). Clashes in the Islamic world to what is being propagated by the West in the name of progress, which is actually material riches and luxuries which either Muslims want to be a part of it by getting rich or show hatred for such blind race towards materialism by closing its doors to contemporary viewing of TV advertisements showing obsession with the physicality of consumer products. There is both attraction and hatred; hatred makes the U.S. a target, as it is the ruling power of the concept that the world is a global village. McDonald has become a symbol of American culture religious communities find inescapable (Ahmed 2003). However, everything presented by the West has not been discarded by the Muslim religious leaders. Khomeini and Bin Laden have used the technology to serve their ends by using media, western technology by transferring funds, and making the U.S. its target. Conditions have become ripened for laying over-emphasis on group loyalty. Religion has become an instrument in the hands of extremists like Bid Laden who find fault with rulers siding with the West to dishonor their beliefs. Religious leaders are misinterpreting Islam although sense of justice is not missing when we turn to the issues of Palestinians. Extremist feelings impact the common Muslims more because they feel that they are being dishonored by the West through different mediums. It ignites the feelings of Muslims to the extent of misunderstanding for all that the West stands for (Ahmed 2003). Works Cited Ahmed, Akbar S. “What is going wrong?” Islam under siege: Living Dangerously in a Post-honor World. Cambridge. Polity Press Blackwell Publishing. 2003. pp. 46-60. 7 December 2009 . Amanullah, Zahed. “altmuslim this week - November 30, 2009.” London, England . Reef, Sarah & Suhail, Zeeshan. “Inside Islam.” 27 November 2009 . Read More