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

Box 7.2
Towards a Future with Hope <strong>and</strong> True Equity
Ka<strong>the</strong>rine Marshall
Ka<strong>the</strong>rine Marshall is a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, <strong>and</strong>
World Affairs. She was at <strong>the</strong> World Bank for over three decades <strong>and</strong> is a member of <strong>the</strong> World Economic
Forum’s Community of <strong>West</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Islam</strong> Dialogue.
As long as many people are without a decent life today <strong>and</strong> can truly hope for a better life tomorrow, stable <strong>and</strong>
harmonious societies are a wistful illusion. To build a more just society, we need to bet on meaningful education, jobs
<strong>and</strong> robust, open <strong>and</strong> plural communities that rejoice in <strong>the</strong>ir diversity. Nowhere is <strong>the</strong> challenge of ensuring a decent
future more urgent than in <strong>the</strong> world’s poorest countries, where hundreds of millions of Muslim citizens live.
Different communities <strong>and</strong> sectors narrate today’s problems in distinctive <strong>and</strong> frequently conflicting ways. The varying
narratives suggest different conclusions <strong>and</strong> courses of action. In <strong>West</strong>-<strong>Islam</strong> dialogue, several str<strong>and</strong>s hold that
failures of political <strong>and</strong> religious leadership are <strong>the</strong> keys. Thus, bold state leadership, joined by robust democratic
institutions <strong>and</strong> proactive faith roles, is where solutions to tensions must be found. Ano<strong>the</strong>r str<strong>and</strong> looks to
geopolitical power balances, contending that seismic shifts in power relations are essential. Business leaders <strong>and</strong>
financial institutions look for solutions primarily in balanced economic growth that builds wealth <strong>and</strong> offers jobs.
My narrative, dominating my view of Muslim <strong>West</strong> tensions, highlights <strong>the</strong> continuing misery of poverty in today’s
world <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> enormous frustrations that stem from undeveloped human potential. It is shaped by <strong>the</strong> yawning gaps
between rich <strong>and</strong> poor which owe more to where one is born than any innate capacities. It <strong>the</strong>refore looks to
solutions that will end poverty <strong>and</strong> promise hope of better lives equally to all people. There will always be diversity (to
celebrate) <strong>and</strong> human tensions (to address creatively) but without addressing today’s growing imbalances <strong>the</strong> future
looks grim.
Prosperity <strong>and</strong> poverty are juxtaposed in most societies. It always has been so, but today <strong>the</strong>se realities are sharply
visible both because we have knowledge that shows unmistakably what those realities are, while modern
communications bombard everyone with images of how o<strong>the</strong>rs live. Ironically, at a time when abundant resources
should allow every human being to lead a decent life, gaps between rich <strong>and</strong> poor yawn wider than ever before.
Contrasting images of limousines passing by open slum sewers, luxurious universities versus classrooms without
desks, lifestyles seemingly dominated by social galas versus those caring for parents with AIDS, fuel anger, despair,
<strong>and</strong> calls for social justice. Conspicuous contrasts often inform <strong>and</strong> justify narratives about today’s problems <strong>and</strong>
tensions.
The Muslim world has great wealth – wealth of talent, youth, heritage <strong>and</strong> material resources, especially its legendary
petroleum reserves. But <strong>the</strong> contrasts between wealth <strong>and</strong> poverty are enormous. Vast numbers of Muslims face <strong>the</strong>
grinding poverty that means misery, drives <strong>the</strong>m to migrate to uncertain prospects <strong>and</strong> fuels a sense of injustice. In
<strong>the</strong> Sahel <strong>and</strong> Horn regions of Africa, in Muslim communities in South Asia, <strong>and</strong> elsewhere, forceful action to bring
home <strong>the</strong> promise of prosperity is urgently needed.
This promise is an attainable dream. Four main pillars jointly can support equitable human development. Bold action
on education, fierce in addressing difficulties in <strong>the</strong> way <strong>and</strong> reaching out actively to <strong>the</strong> poor, is job number one.
Removing impediments to entrepreneurship that can create jobs <strong>and</strong> make <strong>the</strong>m competitive is job two. Transparency
in governance – meaning open discussion about how programs are delivered, <strong>and</strong> making <strong>the</strong>m efficient, effective
<strong>and</strong> honest, is vital if <strong>the</strong> first two jobs are to succeed. And finally inclusion should be more than a word –women’s
voices need to be heard, <strong>the</strong> energy of youth harnessed <strong>and</strong> different social minorities made truly part of economic
<strong>and</strong> social life. This attainable dream is what calls for social justice are really about.
<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 Economic <strong>and</strong> Social Development
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