Huntington's thesis on Islam is too simplistic: Expert<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Samuel Huntington's theory on the potential
\n\"clash of civilizations\" between Islam and the West is too
\nsimplistic, an American academic said.<\/p>\n
Robert W. Hefner told a conference on Islam that he believes
\nHuntington's belief that Islam poses a great danger to the West
\nand that the two will clash to be misguided.<\/p>\n
The three-day conference also featured American professor
\nPeter L. Berger and discussed the development of Islam and
\nmodernity in Southeast Asia, the various challenges it is exposed
\nto, and its future.<\/p>\n
Hefner and Berger, both professors at Boston University,
\nagreed that process of secularization, depoliticization and
\npluralism greatly affect Moslem communities.<\/p>\n
Hefner pointed out that Huntington's thesis was founded on
\nmistaken assumptions and that he was intellectually ill-equipped
\nto draw such a conclusion on Islam and the West.<\/p>\n
It would therefore be irrelevant to respond to him with the
\nfervor that many Moslem communities have so far shown, he
\nasserted.<\/p>\n
He pointed out that Huntington had mistakenly clumped various
\nMoslem communities under the word \"Islam\", and the heterogeneous
\nWestern cultures under the \"West\".<\/p>\n
The diverse communities of both Moslem and the West may engage
\nin a \"clash of civilizations\", but not Islam as the divine
\nrevelation, Hefner was quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, he said, Huntington did not have the capacity to
\nengage in \"intellectual exploration\".<\/p>\n
\"He's too old for that...(the thesis was) a product of a post
\npower syndrome,\" he said, adding that Huntington has a limited
\nbackground on Islamic.<\/p>\n
He added that many experts on Islam don't agree with his
\noverly simplistic thesis.<\/p>\n
Hefner, who presented a paper entitled Modernity and the
\nChallenge of Pluralism: Some Indonesian Lessons, said the real
\nchallenge Islam faces is pluralism.<\/p>\n
\"Modernization brings pluralism, and pluralism presents
\nbelievers with difficult but important choices,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"In an era when certain Western and Moslem leaders speak of a
\nclash of civilizations, it's useful to remind ourselves of the
\nchallenges we face, and that there are people working for civic
\ntolerance and pluralism.\"<\/p>\n
Hefner and Berger discussed at length the various impacts of
\nmodernity and pluralism, as well as social and political
\ndevelopment, on religions.<\/p>\n
Berger told the conference that \"the primary challenge of
\nmodernity to religion is not secularization but pluralism.\"<\/p>\n
\"Pluralism produces a lot of cognitive dissonance,\" he said.
\n\"Religion, for obvious reasons, is particularly prone to the
\npsychological tensions that this brings about.\"<\/p>\n
The process is beneficial in the sense that \"the challenges of
\nmodernity make possible a reassessment of one's faith\" which can
\nlead to a fresh understanding of matters.<\/p>\n
Berger said he believed that \"Islam will occupy an
\nincreasingly important place in the confrontation between
\nreligion and modernity.\" As to the challenge of pluralism, \"Islam
\nhad previous experiences with it and had found ways to confront
\nit in very creative ways,\" Berger said.<\/p>\n
The three-day meeting concluded yesterday. One of the last
\nspeakers was Mohammed Ariff, a professor of economics at the
\nUniversity of Malaysia. He spoke about the role of the market in
\nthe Islamic paradigm.<\/p>\n
Ariff said that the Islamic economy is essentially a market
\neconomy, which respects individual rights to engage in economic
\nactivities. \"The role of the market in the Islamic economy,
\nhowever, differs from that in secular system,\" he asserted. (swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/huntingtons-thesis-on-islam-is-too-simplistic-expert-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}