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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 17 - 23 June 1999 Issue No. 434
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Living Travel Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters A clash of civilisations?
By Nadia Abou El-Magd"The West, its politicians and missionaries regard the Islamic world as one entity and, in dealing with Muslims, do not forget that they make up one social unit. But in the meantime, the West does not want us to feel united." Thus wrote Islamic scholar Tarek El-Bishri in the introduction to Ummati Fi Al-Alam (My Nation in the World), the first of a series of annual reports about conditions in the Islamic world.
According to El-Bishri, there are 1.2 billion Muslims, making up 22 per cent of the world's population. Besides India and China, Islam is the third "reality" in Asia. And besides blacks and Arabs, Islam is also the third "reality" in Africa, El-Bishri said.
The 600-page report was prepared by the Cultural Centre for Political Studies, a Cairo University affiliate. The report's editors, Nadia Mustafa and Seif Abdel-Fattah, are professors of political science at Cairo University. The two had worked between 1986 and 1996 on a programme entitled "International Relations in Islam", in which they addressed Islamic history and political thought within the context of international relations. That led to a discussion of current conditions in Islamic countries and their relationship with other nations. That, in turn, led Mustafa and Abdel-Fattah to establish the centre.
The general theme of the report is globalisation which, according to the authors, poses political, economic, military and cultural challenges. The report acknowledges that there is no universal definition of globalisation, but says globalisation is "what we used to call imperialism for centuries in the Third World."
The report is divided into two sections, the first dealing with ideas and personalities, the second with developments in Islamic countries. Egypt is featured more in the first section, which also addresses Jerusalem, the eighth conference of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Tehran and the court trials of the French philosopher Roger Garaudy and Kurdish separatist leader Abdullah Ocalan. This section also deals with NATO and Kosovo, an Al-Azhar-Vatican agreement on a religious dialogue, the American anti-discrimination law, the political implications of the Copenhagen Declaration and the 1997 last controversial meeting between the sheikh of Al-Azhar and an Israeli rabbi.
The chapter on NATO-Kosovo is entitled "NATO and the green danger: a view from inside Kosovo". It argues that the Anglo-American eagerness to intervene in Kosovo was not motivated by the wish to protect Muslims but by the wish to prevent Muslims from threatening Europe in the future. "The elimination of the green danger, or Muslims, is the main goal of this battle, and is the main cause for starting it," the report states. The report, which was compiled before NATO began its air strikes against the Serbs on 24 March, accuses the West of using double standards for its initial reluctance to take action against the Serbs but showing no hesitation in attacking Iraq.
On the domestic front, the report argues that the discourse and actions of local human rights groups are influenced by their Western counterparts. These groups act as if they are above the state and its laws, which causes friction in their relationship with the state, the report claims.
According to the report, "there is no way that we can separate the Copenhagen [peace] Declaration from the dialogue between the sheikh of Al-Azhar and Israeli politicians and men of religion. The two reflect the growth of the civil role and the religious factor in the struggle" with Israel.
The second section deals with Israel and its internal divisions, the Algerian crisis and the UN sanctions against Iraq. It also addresses the financial crises in Indonesia and Malaysia and the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests. The report accuses America of using double standards for its alleged failure to condemn India in the same forceful language it used in denouncing Pakistan. There are also chapters about big-power rivalries in Africa and in Bosnia following the Dayton Agreement.
Fifteen political science specialists discussed the report in five sessions, using generally positive terms. Mohamed El-Sayed Selim, a Cairo University professor, said the report should have been entitled The Status of the Islamic Community, to make it clearer to the West, its targeted audience.
Wahid Abdel-Meguid, editor of the Arab Strategic Report, criticised the report as lacking in in-depth analysis. He acknowledged that there are "contradictions" and "a struggle" between Muslims and the West, but argued that they should not be exaggerated. "No matter how big the contradictions are, the relationship is not one of a complete struggle," he said. "There are no angels and no devils. And not every struggle should lead to a confrontation."
