West, Muslims told to forget past<\/p>\n
Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
With the war on terror risking putting a wedge between the
\nWestern and Islamic worlds, scholar and former foreign minister
\nAlwi Shihab said both sides must let go of pasts dating back to
\nthe Middle Ages, as it was there that their animosity was rooted.<\/p>\n
A former visiting professor on Islam at Harvard University in
\nthe U.S., Alwi said the spread of terrorism showed how the
\ncurrent world was "interdependent but far from integrated".<\/p>\n
Blocking integration, he said, were lingering feelings in the
\nWestern and Islamic worlds over their respective pasts.<\/p>\n
He said that Christians in the West continued to view Islam as
\na "threat and their worst enemy".<\/p>\n
"That mentality from the Middle Ages lingers in the back of
\nthe minds of Westerners," he said during a seminar on Islam and
\nterrorism hosted by the Indonesian Council of World Affairs on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
He referred to the criticism last year by several senior U.S.
\npoliticians of remarks by U.S. President George W. Bush that
\nIslam is a peaceful religion. These politicians said Islam was a
\nviolent religion and that Prophet Muhammad was a warrior.<\/p>\n
"It is time to enlighten the West about Islam," Alwi said,
\npartly blaming the misunderstanding among Westerners on Muslims'
\nfailure to explain their religion.<\/p>\n
Muslims too, he said, should stop dreaming about rebuilding an
\nIslamic empire that once was the cradle of the world during the
\nMiddle Ages.<\/p>\n
"For almost a millennium and a half, Islam and the West could
\nbe viewed as two civilizations interacting in conflict and
\ndialog," he said.<\/p>\n
But in order for the two sides to coexist in harmony it is
\nimportant to think in terms of the present conditions underlying
\ntheir existence, he said.<\/p>\n
"A reimposition of the concept and structures of a Western-
\ncentered imperialist hegemony on the one hand, and a nostalgic
\nmemory of a past age of power and glory on the other will not
\nprovide the answers needed for humanity in the new millennium,"
\nAlwi said.<\/p>\n
The threat of terrorism has put under the spotlight the
\nrelationship between the West and Islam.<\/p>\n
Alwi pointed to radicalism and injustice as the root causes of
\nterrorism, with neither factor standing on their own.<\/p>\n
He said fear of a new Western hegemony, supported by a radical
\nview of Islam, could turn into terrorism.<\/p>\n
"They (radicals) feel that they represent Muslims who are
\nfrustrated by the unjust treatment of the Western world," he told
\nreporters after the seminar.<\/p>\n
But radicalism should not be mistaken for terrorism, he added.<\/p>\n
He said the danger of mixing the two terms was that it would
\nbe false to say that religion promoted terrorism: "The teaching
\nof terrorism is not found in any religion."<\/p>\n
"Islam teaches self-defense and so they (terrorists) believe
\nthat they are acting in self-defense. However, does self-defense
\nhave to involve killing people?"<\/p>\n
Analysts have warned of a surge in radicalism if the U.S.
\nattacks Iraq in defiance of worldwide protests, including in
\nWashington.<\/p>\n
They say the war plans are hard to justify even among moderate
\nMuslims, and could deepen anti-American sentiments among hard-
\nliners.<\/p>\n
Alwi said a U.S. attack on Iraq could not be considered an act
\nof terror if it had the backing of the United Nations.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/west-muslims-told-to-forget-past-1447893297",
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