Part 1 of 2 Globalization and the spread of conflict

Nasir Tamara, Chairman, The Center for Globalization and Social Studies, Jakarta

The second war in Iraq is almost over. However, the world appears to be entering a very dangerous era of global conflict between the West and the Muslim world.

Many moderate democratic Muslims genuinely feel offended, humiliated and angry about the many innocent victims of the war. And they are in despair at the fact that no country or the United Nations can protect them from the domination of the world's only superpower.

The end of the war and the end of the dictatorship in Iraq will not make many people in the West believe that Islam does not promote terrorism and that Muslim countries are not breeding grounds for terrorists.

Suspicion in the West of Muslims and their religion followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. This attitude stems from the fact that all the hijackers were Arab Muslims and 15 of the 19 were citizens of Saudi Arabia, a country that teaches a conservative branch of Islam and houses Mecca, the most holy place in Islam.

Many governments in the West, led by the U.S., have taken strong measures against terrorist groups and their sponsors. The war against Iraq, a Muslim country, is partly due to the relationship of Saddam Hussein's regime with al-Qaeda, and the fear that Iraq itself possesses weapons of mass destruction which could be used against the West.

However, a sweeping perception of Islamic nations as "factories of terrorism" would reflect a severe lack of knowledge of Islam and Islamic societies. It is comparable to making a gross generalization that all Irish Catholics are terrorists because of the Irish Republican Army's attacks on Protestants in Ireland.

The roots of terrorism must be found in the underlying conditions of each society where violence in the form of terrorism is found. The strong and chronic presence of poverty, inequality, degradation and humiliation, the failure to provide access to basic education, the absence of respect for human rights and democracy; all of these provide fertile ground for societal conflicts and terrorism.

Most of the societies in which such conditions persist are dictatorial regimes, where a minority ruling class exploits the local population for its own benefit and enrichment. To perpetuate their existence, the dictators of such countries provide a self-serving form of religious education, based on narrow, uncritical and manipulated texts.

In dictatorial regimes, religion is often used to support political goals. In such countries, the aim of religion is no longer to create happiness and harmony among believers and nations, but to create a scapegoat for the people's misery. Through manipulation of religious symbols, dictators create xenophobia, suspicion and hatred toward people who do not share the same religion.

Major changes in the world economy, politics, culture and technology have enabled people all over the world to learn more about the living conditions of others.

Globalization has created extraordinary wealth for the Western world and Japan. The globalization of the world market has been used to promote political stability and peaceful economic competition among certain countries.

However, in many of the UN member countries most people still live in poverty and lack many basic needs such as clean water, an adequate diet, health care, education and a healthy environment.

Many ask: As the industrialized nations have grown richer, why has the developing world become poorer? And why have many of the wealthier countries closed their doors to immigrants from poorer countries?

The world is still divided among those who have benefited from globalization, those who see the possibility to transform the underdeveloped condition of their countries and those who live without any hope at all of changing their situation.

The recipe for the economic success of Western countries can be traced to three key ingredients. First, they have democratic governments based on the principles of freedom, individuality and the separation of state and religion. The second ingredient is the pursuit of sound economic policies based on free market principles. The last ingredient is the embrace of peaceful means to settle conflicts in international relations.

These three ingredients have been adopted by the Confucian world of Japan, Korea and Taiwan, as well as the former countries of the Soviet Union. India, a democratic country that had a closed economy for many decades, has rather recently opened up to more competition.

However, many countries, such as China, have tried a different approach. China, still a communist country, embraces globalization but has thus far still been able to pursue it own agenda. Singapore is another country that has become prosperous although it is not yet ready to embrace democracy. Despite their many differences, both China and Singapore are culturally Confucian.