Islam and the West: Deepening rifts

This is a difficult time for inter-cultural relations between Islam and the West. The atmosphere has been vitiated by fringe elements such as Terry Jones, while American public opinion is also reflecting an intolerant streak with the vitriolic opposition to Park51, misleadingly dubbed the ‘Ground Zero mosque’.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
By Dawn Editorial | September 27, 2010

The chasm between the western world and Islamic countries seems to be getting ever wider. And while certain elements in the West are indeed guilty of fanning the flames of mistrust through provocation, some leaders and entities within the Islamic world are also responsible for the deepening polarity between Islam and the West.

While addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that most people believed that the US government was responsible for the Sept 11 attacks. He also called for the UN to form “an independent fact-finding group” to investigate the tragedy. Expectedly, the comments outraged the US and European delegations, which staged a walkout.
On the other hand in Pakistan, the Jamaat-i-Islami called for Muslim states to use their nuclear and oil resources as a “tool against American expansionism” while advocating that Muslim nations cut off all ties with the US. This was stated through a resolution adopted at a rally in Peshawar on Friday to protest Florida pastor Terry Jones’ proposal, which was eventually abandoned.

This is a difficult time for inter-cultural relations between Islam and the West. The atmosphere has been vitiated by fringe elements such as Terry Jones, while American public opinion is also reflecting an intolerant streak with the vitriolic opposition to Park51, misleadingly dubbed the ‘Ground Zero mosque’. There are also strong currents of Islamophobia in Europe. Yet when Muslim leaders and politicians make statements similar to what the Iranian president said at the UN or what JI leaders expressed in Peshawar, they must also shoulder the blame for adding to the growing intolerance on both sides. Their rhetoric is grist for the mill of hardliners both in the West and in Islamic countries as conservatives are strengthened by this state of confrontation.

Continued dialogue and engagement is the need of the moment, not increased hostility. Muslim leaders and opinion-makers should concentrate on the core issues confronting the Muslim world — poverty, hunger, illiteracy, disease — rather than baiting the West. Meanwhile, leaders in both western and Islamic nations must continue efforts to forge understanding, so that hardliners are disallowed the chance to exploit differences.


Read original post here: Deepening rifts