1 ISLAM AND CHRISTIANITY: CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS Session 14: Contemporary Islam: Monolithic But Diverse
2 Many of the current national boundaries in the Middle East were created after the defeat of the Ottoman empire following WW I. Potential for conflicts arises over the rights to oil and water resources. Before Islam, in Arab society, the code of values included: bravery in battle, patience in misfortune, persistence in revenge, protection of the weak, defiance of the strong, loyalty to the tribe, and hospitality to the guest.
3 As Islamic countries began to gain independence following WW I, any resource wealth was invested primarily on military assets and ruling family personal wealth. As a result, the two most frequent forms of government to develop were military dictatorships and royal family monarchies. Very few became Islamic republics (although many claim to be) and fewer still are democracies. This is further compounded by the fact that there are no legal and legitimate succession procedures. A nation is defined as a population based upon historic territory. A state is a political creation exercising monopolistic control over a specific territory.
4 Dependency between nations is based upon inequality between a developed and an undeveloped nation. Cliency is a strategic relationship between a major power seeking a controlled base and a lesser state. A nations two primary rights are: 1. self-determination and self-protection 2. territorial sovereignty. In general, 60% of the population in Muslim countries live in urban areas. In general, the average unemployment rate is 15% in Muslim countries. The poverty rate, in general, is 33% in Muslim countries.
5 In Muslim countries, kinship, ethnicity, and religion precede nationality in importance. The paternal blood relationship, establishing, expanding, and preserving kinship is the primary allegiance in Muslim societies. The second allegiance in importance is that of ethnicity based upon racial and cultural identity. The third grouping of interests is that of social class, which is based upon economic and political common interests. The fourth relationship is the patron-client ties, which establish a relationship between the rich and powerful and the dependent and dispossessed in a subordinate position.
6 Secularism, individualism, democracy, and rationalism are worldviews originating in ancient Greece and shaped by the European Renaissance, Enlightenment, and Protestant Reformation. These worldviews are not the experience within Islamic societies. When introduced by either imperialism or colonialism of Europe or the West, the effects of these worldviews have not assimilated except in Turkey. In Islamic societies, religion and politics are fused together in all institutions of society, including family, tribe, clan, government, mosque, and judiciary.
7 Most governments in Muslim countries are plagued by illegitimacy, authoritarianism, failing economics, unequal distribution of wealth, corruption, nepotism, and human rights abuses. Prospects which may threaten progress and peace include the following: 1. the recognition of a nation-state for the Kurds 2. lack of industrialization and manufacturing 3. environmental pollution 4. the effect of replacing oil with a different source of energy
8 5. the lack of a system of governance to meet the needs of people as they become aware of the benefits and successes of the West, which the Islamic worldview has not provided. A key concept in Islam is that of jihad. This is sometimes viewed as the sixth pillar of Islam. If, as it is claimed, jihad means inner struggle, then why are the military warriors called mujahideen, which means strugglers for God, but in reality, is a holy war of men?
9 Those who can authorize a jihad include either an Islamic government or a worldwide leader of Islam. Jihad as an armed struggle can only be declared for the following reasons: 1. to defend your community or nation from armed aggression 2. to liberate people living under oppressive regimes 3. to remove any government not allowing free practice of Islam within its borders
10 The rules of engagement forbid the killing of non-combatants and committing suicide while engaged in war. Tell that to the victims of 9-11 and the victims of Tel Aviv. Muslims see military setbacks and defeats as a sign of God’s punishment of their own spiritual lack. The Muslim worldview is that the U.S. has replaced both Europe and the Soviet Union, due to its economic and military might, and is now the sole oppressor of Islamic growth, revival, and influence.
11 Secondly, Muslims believe that Israel under a 1948 U. NSecondly, Muslims believe that Israel under a 1948 U.N. mandate, has unjustly removed Palestinian Arabs from their land, and occupies by oppression the land, the people, and the holy site of the two mosques. What Muslims are seeking for, on a worldwide basis is as follows: 1. redress for wrongs done to them by outsiders 2. revival of Islamic civilization without western interference 3. unification of all Muslim countries into one feudal Islamic state 4. removal of current political leaders who do not justly rule by the sharia law.
12 Finally, in regard to Jerusalem, it must become an international city or under Muslim control.Muslim complaints regarding the west are as follows: 1. Rejection of secular modernity, including materialism, decadence, and divorce 2. Culpability in the deaths of Muslims around the world 3. Strongly biased media against the West 4. Belief in the destiny of Islam to dominate the world 5. Outrage of basing U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia
13 6. Criticism of the U.S. as a hegemonic superpowerIn Islam, the opposite of tyranny is not liberty, but the justice of revenge. This leads to retaliation and retribution, which is what we see in the conflict between Palestinians and Jews. From the Koran, there are permitted three groups of human inequalities. These are between master and slave, believer and unbeliever, and man and woman.
14 The inequality of believer and unbeliever leads to coercion and discrimination of the unbeliever. The inequality of man from woman leads to suppression of civil rights of the woman. The practice of slavery had largely been abandoned in modern times.
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