Series Introduction - What is Islam?
That relations between “the West” and Islam are bad, is perhaps one of the few things upon which Muslim and non-Muslim alike can agree. Though they disagree about who is to blame for this situation.
The favorability measures show a troubled relationship between Westerners and Muslims, but the overall picture is more mixed than unremittingly negative. With only a few exceptions, attitudes among Western publics (toward Muslims) and Muslims (toward Christians) have remained fairly stable over the past few years.
Source: The Great Divide: How Westerners and Muslims View Each Other
Quite apart from the effect of the various wars being waged by the USA and her proxies, there has long been a tradition of, at worst rampant Islamophobia, and at best muddled ignorance amongst westerners about Islam and its adherents. Ignorance about Islam is a bad foundation for relations between us. The need to know more about Islam is compelling. It is not merely about who has strategic control of the resources found in Muslim lands, it is not merely about hegemonism, the need springs from the nature of Islam itself.
There is something within Islam that has made it the faith of more than one great empire. There is something within Islam that has caused it to be embraced by such diverse peoples as the Arabs, the Persians, the Turks, the Mughals, the Indonesians, the Malays. There is something within it that causes it to command the adherence of well over a billion people and that makes it the fastest growing faith in the world.
Muslims believe in one God, the same God who is worshipped by Jews and Christians. One would think that that fact would engender co-operation between followers of the three Abrahamic religions but such is not the case. Islam is a closed book to most westerners, and not just because few are familiar with Arabic. When I, as a western Christian who lives in a very secular country and who have some experience of Islam talk about Islam with other westerners I find that most people have a confused tangle of half-acknowledged ideas, and unacknowledged prejudices about Islam until they learn better.
Islam is not necessarily oppressive to women. Islamic law does not necessarily lead to stonings or punishment amputations, it is very far from being the case that Muslims’ loyalty to their country is undermined by their religion. The problem is compounded by a lack of a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of Islam’s principles. Many do not know that Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the word of God, or understand the very genuine outrage that offensively sceptical Western characterisations of the Prophet Mohammed are inevitably going to cause.
There is a similar lack of knowledge of Western Secular, Western Christian, Jewish and liberal ideas and mores amongst many Muslims. But we can hardly blame Muslims for confusing Western religions and precepts with Western culture; we do the same to them.
Islam is built on clear, simple concepts. To learn even the basics about it allows the enquirer to see how much there is to how much there is to discover. The result is well worth the effort.
markfromireland
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