A clash of civilizations, or is it pure evil?

Syed Farid Alatas, The Straits Times, Asia News Network, Singapore

During the last few years, we have heard much about the so- called clash of civilizations. Some people would have us believe that the fundamental conflict in the world today is between religions and civilizations.

For example, there are those who believe that many problems in the world are due to fundamental conflicts between Muslim and Western civilizations, or between Islam and Judaism or between Islam and Hinduism.

The real conflict, however, is between the values of evil that do not correspond to differences between religions or civilization. The values, attitudes and actions that arise from evil minds are found among all religions and civilizations and it is this evil that is at the root of conflict.

Similarly, the values that we associate with the lofty ideals of the world's civilizations are found in all religions and are what religions have in common despite doctrinal and ritual differences.

But humanity does not only share a common good. There is also what we may call the common problem of evil.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, the late leader of Hamas, a Palestinian militant organization, was said to be an advocate of suicide bombing and the killing of non-Muslim combatants in Israel.

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, the alleged brains behind the suicide bombings and beheadings in Iraq, also harbors extremist views of his fellow Muslims, and regards the Shi'ite Muslims of Iraq as infidels who also contribute to sectarian conflict in that country.

The Islamic position, of course, is that suicide and the killing of innocent men, women and children are sins of the worst kind. Yet there are Muslims who support the views of Sheikh Yassin and Zarqawi, and who indeed glorify them.

They are unwilling to condemn suicide bombing as sinful murder, and unwilling to brand the perpetrators as terrorists -- a label they use readily on the Israelis. Such people suffer from moral incompetence and impotence. But the evil behind such advocacy is transreligious -- that is to say, it is an orientation that exists across religions.

For example, Rabbi Dov Lior, chairman of the Yesha Rabbinical Council (of Jewish settlers in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip), is reported to have said in a Halachic (Jewish law) ruling that the Israeli defense forces are allowed to hurt innocent civilians during warfare.

He went so far as to say that "during warfare, killing non- Jewish civilians is permitted if it saves Jewish lives".

The Christians also have their share of extremists. A leading Greek Orthodox priest in Jerusalem, Attallah Hana, supports means used by Palestinians to achieve freedom from the Israeli regime, which include suicide bombing.

The clash, therefore, is not between religions, but between good and evil within and between different religious communities.

These extremist ideas cannot be fought via arguments and persuasion. Many extremists are familiar with the arguments against extremism but do not accept them.

The only way to fight extremism is by isolating extremists and their views. To achieve religious harmony, each of us has to play a role in isolating and marginalising extremism in our respective religious communities.

We can do that by educating and inspiring our children with the right values, by exposing them to the rich tradition of literature, poetry and biographical studies of great peoples and places.

As far as Islam is concerned, its spirit is founded on the notions of peace and harmony among religions.

The Ikhwan Al-Safa (The Brethren of Purity), a philosophical society that emerged in Basrah, Iraq during the 10th century, refers to the ideal person as one who is "Persian by breeding, Arabian in faith, Hanafite (the school most open to modern ideas) in his Islam, Iraqi in culture, Hebrew in lore, Christian in manners, Damascene in piety, Greek in the sciences, Indian in contemplation, Sufi in intimations, regal in character, masterful in thought, and divine in insight".

As is clear from this quote, being religious does not mean being closed to other religious traditions and not having respect and admiration for their achievements. It is precisely when we are steeped in our own tradition that we recognize the richness of others. It is that recognition that leads to the suppression of extremist orientations towards others.

The writer is associate professor in the sociology department of the National University of Singapore.