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

Introduction
1Introduction
Muslim-<strong>West</strong> dialogue is critical in
today’s world. Terrorism <strong>and</strong> antiterrorism
efforts, <strong>the</strong> US occupation
This inherent diversity has led some observers
to reject terms such as “Muslim-<strong>West</strong> dialogue”
as both vague <strong>and</strong> inaccurate. O<strong>the</strong>rs object
<strong>and</strong> sectarian violence in Iraq, <strong>the</strong> enduring that <strong>the</strong> terminology reproduces <strong>the</strong> broad
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, European Union <strong>and</strong> misleading oppositions, popularized by
<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
8
Introduction
efforts to integrate a growing Muslim minority,
<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> prospects for democracy in <strong>the</strong> Middle
East – <strong>the</strong>se <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r issues involve complex
strategic, political <strong>and</strong> economic calculations.
At <strong>the</strong> same time, such issues demonstrate
<strong>the</strong> importance of dialogue toge<strong>the</strong>r with
greater underst<strong>and</strong>ing, mutual respect, <strong>and</strong>
sustained cooperation in <strong>the</strong> service of peace.
None of <strong>the</strong>se issues or o<strong>the</strong>r controversies
juxtaposes a uniform <strong>West</strong> <strong>and</strong> a monolithic
<strong>Islam</strong>. In some respects, a <strong>West</strong> that includes
<strong>the</strong> United States <strong>and</strong> Sweden is no more
cohesive than an <strong>Islam</strong> that unites Indonesia
<strong>and</strong> Saudi Arabia.
Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations <strong>the</strong>sis.
These criticisms miss <strong>the</strong> mark. Whe<strong>the</strong>r we
like it or not <strong>the</strong> concepts “<strong>West</strong>”, “<strong>West</strong>ern
world”, “<strong>Islam</strong>”, “Muslim world”, <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs are
here to stay. Similar to o<strong>the</strong>r contested terms,
such as “human rights” <strong>and</strong> “globalization”,
<strong>the</strong>y are part of our political vocabulary. We
must do our best to define <strong>and</strong> deploy <strong>the</strong>m,
while remaining fully aware of <strong>the</strong> complex <strong>and</strong>
multifaceted reality <strong>the</strong>y describe.
“The affirmation <strong>and</strong> realization
of universal human principles is
a challenge that goes beyond
Muslim-<strong>West</strong> relations to
encompass <strong>the</strong> state of <strong>the</strong>
world as a whole.” Lord Carey of Clifton