Dominic Asquith

West and Islam: understanding each other

The attack by Major Nidal Malik Hassan, the US Army psychiatrist, on his fellow soldiers in Fort Hood has been used by some to raise questions about the relationship between Islam and "the West".

Egypt's Grand Mufti wrote that Major Hassan is representative neither of Muslims nor Islam.  He went on to state that it served no purpose to blame an entire religion because of the acts of what he called a "non-well" individual.

I completely agree.  There is a deeply important debate we need to have about how the West and Islam view each other.  But we have to be careful how we use the case of Major Hassan in that debate.  We don't even know clearly what his motive or state of mind was.  It may be tempting for some to use a particular case to prove an argument they are trying to make.  But I'm suspicious of the motives of those who do so.  They usually want to cause trouble, specifically to set societies against each other or to argue that a clash between them is inevitable.  They also usually have a closed mind - they have made up their minds and won't be persuaded to think differently.

An single act in itself does not prove a thesis or signal a general attitude.    The tragic murder of Marwa Sherbini shocked us all.  However, I argued at the time that it was not helpful to charge the whole of Germany or Europe or the West with the crime.  The reaction to an individual act, however, may be revealing about attitudes.  Brutal acts of violence require us not just to condemn them, but also to review how our reaction has been perceived by others. That requires understanding.  

This week and last I have been very aware of groups here in Egypt who are trying to develop that understanding.  A group of the brightest students from Al Azhar, who are learning English at a centre which the British Council has helped to set up, came to interview me today.  They were interested in whether Islam and the West were heading for a collision.  They did not think so - nor do I.  Indeed, they saw it as part of their duty to help explain the two cultures to each other so that the trouble-makers could not exploit people's fears and ignorance.  

Next week, a group of six, young Egyptian journalists are going over for a week to Britain to talk to Muslims there and to hear about their experiences.  As a result, they will better understand how a Muslim community in a majority non-Muslim country view themselves and their surroundings - and foreign Muslim countries.  I will be really interested to hear what their impressions are when they return.  

Modern technology allows people to share their views with a wide audience.  Views that are shaped by distrust and prejudice have greater power to damage than ever before.  However, the same technology allows people with real understanding to communicate more effectively.  Creating open minds and building up capabilities to project intelligent debate is what we must promote. Now more than ever we need people with the courage and sensitivity to interpret between societies. The importance of what those young students and journalists are doing cannot be exaggerated.

Posted at 15:33 11 November 2009 by Dominic Asquith  |  Comments[0]