On Tuesday, in Madrid, politicians, non-governmental organisations and civil society leaders from across the globe begin two days of dialogue aimed at addressing the growing polarisation between nations and cultures worldwide. The objective is not only to promote cross-cultural understanding, but also to create and develop partnerships and joint initiatives aimed at promoting an "Alliance of Civilisations".
Non-western civilisations and cultures have their own unique history, traditions and theology, which often embody ideas and values that are fundamentally different from what the west has to offer. Nowhere is this divergence more apparent than on issues pertaining to religion. Many in the west expect that as Muslim societies develop materially, they will separate religion from the public sphere, treating it as a purely private matter, as happened during the period in Europe termed the "Enlightenment". However, as many Muslim societies urbanise and modernise, what we witness is a growing attachment to Islam. The reasons for this are complex; people often want to protect their identity from being subsumed by a global norm. In some cases, the attachment to religion is a reaction against the monolithic forces of globalisation, forces that sometimes clash with Islam's own search for deeper meaning and purpose, and concern for the needy. For Muslims, then, religion can never be a purely private matter for, unlike other prophets, Mohammed steered a state and established principles of governance that embody these values.
Many in the west expect that as Muslim societies develop materially, they will separate religion from the public sphere, treating it as a purely private matter, as happened during the period in Europe termed the "Enlightenment". However, as many Muslim societies urbanise and modernise, what we witness is a growing attachment to Islam. The reasons for this are complex; people often want to protect their identity from being subsumed by a global norm. In some cases, the attachment to religion is a reaction against the monolithic forces of globalisation, forces that sometimes clash with Islam's own search for deeper meaning and purpose, and concern for the needy. For Muslims, then, religion can never be a purely private matter for, unlike other prophets, Mohammed steered a state and established principles of governance that embody these values.
The Alliance of Civilizations' mission statement is:
to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions and, in the process, to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.
It's great to learn that there are such internationally constituted organizations and efforts, with high level official backing, that are devoted to working on these critical challenges. Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
What we see is profoundly polluted by the fact that islam is seen in many countries as the voice of freedom and democracy (and social progress) against corrupt autoritarian regimes supported by the West. When that drops away (like in Iran), support for Islam in politicla life will drop. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Let's take, as a random example of a Muslim country, Ireland. Huge migration from rural to urban environment in 20th C that gave us a new middle class of intensely insecure ex-peasants who clung to their religion as a crutch, a religion that had become mixed up with the national identity during the preceding period, provided the only source of education for 99% of the people - tied up in the state provision - and which served as a pretty major source of guidance for the laws of the country through the 70s and 80s. The whole game of status here was tied up with being seen to be a good Catholic.
It takes until at least the second or third educated, urban generation to get past that, and if we help reinforce the national identity elements of Islam in the the Middle East it'll take longer.
