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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Education <strong>and</strong> Intercultural Underst<strong>and</strong>ing
In <strong>the</strong> United States, <strong>the</strong> release of Stephen
Pro<strong>the</strong>ro’s Religious Literacy in 2007 vividly
documented widespread ignorance about
religion among Americans – not only of <strong>Islam</strong>,
but also of Christianity, Judaism <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r
faith traditions. Pro<strong>the</strong>ro’s argument, echoed
by o<strong>the</strong>rs, is that knowledge about religion is
more important than ever in an era of growing
pluralism, <strong>and</strong> that public educators need to
ab<strong>and</strong>on <strong>the</strong>ir anxiety about bringing religious
studies into <strong>the</strong> curriculum.
“ Every day we are reminded of
our differences <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> reasons
why <strong>the</strong>re is confrontation <strong>and</strong>
violence in <strong>the</strong> world. But what
is truly needed is <strong>the</strong> opposite:
to emphasise what unites us.”
HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway
Where religious literacy is weak, efforts to
demonize <strong>the</strong> religious “o<strong>the</strong>r” flourish. The
new anti-Semitism <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> rise of <strong>Islam</strong>ophobia
make this clear. Anti-Semitism has a long
history in <strong>the</strong> Christian <strong>West</strong> <strong>and</strong> is a more
recent phenomenon in <strong>the</strong> Muslim world. A
tendency to blame Jews for <strong>the</strong> world’s ills
<strong>and</strong> to see a vast Jewish conspiracy behind
<strong>the</strong> travails of <strong>the</strong> Arab <strong>and</strong> Muslim world is
evident in extremist Internet sites <strong>and</strong> in <strong>the</strong>
discourse of some prominent imams. Sheikh
Abd al-Rahman al-Sudayyis, imam of <strong>the</strong>
Gr<strong>and</strong> Mosque in Mecca, has referred to Jews
as “<strong>the</strong> scum of <strong>the</strong> human race, <strong>the</strong> rats of
<strong>the</strong> world, <strong>the</strong> violators of pacts <strong>and</strong> agreements,
<strong>the</strong> murderers of <strong>the</strong> prophets, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>
offspring of apes <strong>and</strong> pigs.” Sheikh Tantawi of
Al-Azhar University contends that “<strong>the</strong> charge
of anti-Semitism was invented by <strong>the</strong> Jews as
ameansofpressuring<strong>the</strong>Arabs<strong>and</strong>Muslims,
<strong>and</strong> with <strong>the</strong> aim of implementing <strong>the</strong>ir conspiracies
in <strong>the</strong> Arab <strong>and</strong> Muslim countries.”
Both Muslim <strong>and</strong> non-Muslim groups have
actively sought to actively counter such voices.
One example is <strong>the</strong> UK organization, Muslims
Against Anti-Semitism, whichsupports
events <strong>and</strong> programmes to combat hatred
<strong>and</strong> Holocaust denial, <strong>and</strong> highlight Muslim-
Jewish commonalities, including positive
legacies such as coexistence in Medieval Spain.
The US-based Daniel Pearl Foundation,
created to honour <strong>the</strong> memory of <strong>the</strong> Jewish-
American journalist executed by extremists in
Pakistan, works from an “unshaken belief in <strong>the</strong>
effectiveness of education <strong>and</strong> communication”
<strong>and</strong> sponsors creative outlets for interfaith
underst<strong>and</strong>ing, including an annual music
festival.
<strong>Islam</strong>ophobia is also on <strong>the</strong> rise – as are efforts
to combat it through dialogue. The years since
9/11 have seen an increase in discrimination
<strong>and</strong> hate speech directed against <strong>the</strong> Muslim
minority in <strong>West</strong>ern countries. Franklin Graham’s
reference to <strong>Islam</strong> as a “Satanic religion” gained
headlines, as did Pat Robertson’s 2006
comments, asserting that Americans, “especially
<strong>the</strong> American left, need to wake up to <strong>the</strong> danger”
that <strong>Islam</strong> presents. Robertson continued:
“Who ever heard of such a bloody, bloody,
brutal type of religion? But that’s what it is.
It is not a religion of peace.”
The UN helped to put <strong>the</strong> <strong>Islam</strong>ophobia issue
on <strong>the</strong> global agenda at two 2004 forums
under <strong>the</strong> heading Education for Tolerance <strong>and</strong>
Underst<strong>and</strong>ing, identifyingboth<strong>Islam</strong>ophobia
<strong>and</strong> anti-Semitism as pressing global problems.
“<strong>Islam</strong>ophobia is at once a deeply personal
issue for Muslims,” <strong>the</strong>n Secretary-General
Kofi Annan declared. “[It is] a matter of great
concern to anyone concerned about upholding