Islam and the West: Annual Report on the State of Dialogue

<strong>Islam</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>: <strong>Annual</strong> <strong>Report</strong> on <strong>the</strong> State of Dialogue
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Religion, Ethics <strong>and</strong> Ideology
Box 5.6
Avoiding <strong>the</strong> “Clash of Civilizations”
Jim Wallis
AleadingprogressiveEvangelical,JimWallisisPresident<strong>and</strong>CEOofSojournersministries.Amonghisbooks
is God’s Politics: Why <strong>the</strong> Right Gets It Wrong <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Left Doesn’t Get It.
In <strong>the</strong> confrontations between <strong>the</strong> Christian <strong>West</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Islam</strong>, radical rhetoric makes headlines far too often. Christian
extremists condemn <strong>Islam</strong> as a violent religion while supporting <strong>the</strong> invasion of Iraq, <strong>and</strong> Muslim extremists support
violent jihad against <strong>the</strong> <strong>West</strong>. It is time for moderate <strong>and</strong> progressive religious leaders to join in boldly combating
fundamentalist extremism, <strong>and</strong> to jointly teach <strong>the</strong> role of religion in promoting tolerance <strong>and</strong> pluralism over sectarianism.
Fundamentalism, it is often said, is caused by taking religion too seriously, suggesting perhaps that faith should be
taken less seriously. That conventional wisdom is simply wrong. The best response to fundamentalism is to take faith
even more seriously, to critique by faith <strong>the</strong> accommodations of fundamentalism to <strong>the</strong>ocracy, to violence <strong>and</strong> to power;
<strong>and</strong> to assert <strong>the</strong> vital religious commitments that fundamentalists often leave out – namely compassion, social justice,
peacemaking, religious pluralism <strong>and</strong> democracy.
Conventional wisdom also suggests that <strong>the</strong> antidote to religious fundamentalism is secularism. Again, that is a very
big mistake. The best response to bad religion is better religion, not secularism. Our traditions are religions of <strong>the</strong> Book,
so <strong>the</strong> key question is, how do we interpret <strong>the</strong> Book? In Christian faith, we have <strong>the</strong> interpretations of Dr. Martin Lu<strong>the</strong>r
King Jr., but also of <strong>the</strong> Ku Klux Klan. More faithful interpretations of <strong>the</strong> Book are better responses to fundamentalism
than throwing <strong>the</strong> Book away.
Fundamentalism too easily justifies violence as a tool for implementing its agenda. Genuine faith forbids violence as a
methodology or says that violence must always be limited <strong>and</strong> lamented, never glorified or celebrated. Genuine faith
always seeks alternatives to violence that seek to break its deadly cycle.
Because much of today’s terrorism is more “<strong>the</strong>ological” than ideological, it poses <strong>the</strong> real danger of juxtaposing <strong>the</strong>
“Christian <strong>West</strong>” versus “<strong>Islam</strong>ic fundamentalism.” The mainstream on both sides has no desire for conflict, but profound
misunderst<strong>and</strong>ings between Christians <strong>and</strong> Muslims heighten <strong>the</strong> potential.
New efforts, with strong leadership from <strong>the</strong> American churches, must be undertaken to increase underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>and</strong>
respect between Christians <strong>and</strong> Muslims. Religious leaders could undertake conflict resolution across political lines,
learning to trust <strong>and</strong> respect each o<strong>the</strong>r. The American public must learn not to equate “Muslim” <strong>and</strong> “Arab” with terrorism.
Acrucialbattlefor<strong>the</strong>hearts<strong>and</strong>mindsof<strong>the</strong>faithfulistakingplacetodaywithinall<strong>the</strong>greatreligions.Thatbattleis
often between a fundamentalist versus a prophetic vision. It is between <strong>the</strong> kind of religion that promises easy certainty
<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> kind that prompts deeper reflection. One attacks all those outside <strong>the</strong> circle of faith – or even outside <strong>the</strong>ir
faction of <strong>the</strong> circle – while <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r seeks a genuine dialogue without compromising its sacred ground.
Conflicts between religions capture <strong>the</strong> headlines, but <strong>the</strong> real struggle is <strong>the</strong> internal battle within for <strong>the</strong> soul of each
community of faith. Ultimately, faith should be not a wedge that divides, but a bridge that draws us toge<strong>the</strong>r on <strong>the</strong>
most significant moral challenges of our time.