It's about modernization within Islam and out of it. It's about whether our value system can be shown to be sufficiently robust, true, principled and appealing that it beats theirs.Tony's talking values...and he's sort of right, but we've got tread lightly with this language.
In a speach given in LA today as the last event of his visit, Blair focused on the Middle East conflict reframing the discussion in terms of western values versus fundamentalism. The PM terms it as modernization, but what I think we're really talking about here liberalization. Liberal values must prevail over radicalism if we are ever to see a cooling of tempers in the region. There really only are 3 outcomes, as I see it...Israel takes military control of the entire region with US backing, Israel is wiped off the face of the planet, or everyone learns to live together. I think it's safe to say that third outcome is the most likely to be allowed by world powers. But how do we get there? Well it ain't easy. We have to start by dealing with the last 100 years that SteveG outlines eloquently in a post today. And then there are the religious tensions...the chosen people in the holy land issue. Liberalism is a wonderful tool for dealing with these issues, and if it should overcome fundamentalism I can see a brighter future in the region.
But as I said, we must be very careful with this values language. To set up a dichotomy of western values vs. fundamentalism in the current political and public discourse game sounds eerily like setting up a Christian vs. Muslim paradigm. This language can quickly serve to incite violence rather than extoll the virtues of liberalism. In fact, it may be ill-guided to even throw this idea into the arena. Islam, like Christianity once did, must undergo a liberalization from the inside out, rather than forced from the outside. It's still a growing and evolving belief system...granted, it is one based in a more rigid moral/religious code than any other belief system to arise out of human thought, but it still has room for growth from within. To try to force it is to disrespect it, to guide it gently may be the answer...
This pobably is somewhat nonsensical...as I'm just working throught these thoughts...but if anyone can add anything or criticize anything, please do.
1 comment:
Unfortunately, I think Muslims often frame the debate between Islam and Christian values, it's not just people like Blair. If one looks around the globe, most present wars or guerrilla acitivities involve Muslims; there is war in Chechnya (Christian Russia vs. Muslim Chech), Christian Ethiopia and Muslim Eritrea, Muslim Indonesia vs. Christian East Timor, Christian Serbia vs. Muslim Kosovo, Muslim Sudan vs. Christian Southern Sudan, Christian Phillipines (secular gov't) vs. Muslim revivalists, and this does not include the sectarian violence in a number of Muslim states; for example, Indonesia, Afgahanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Algeria, Sudan, India, Palestine, and so many more. When one looks at this long list it makes one wonder why so many Muslims say Israel is to blame for all the problems in the world.
Confuse, maybe not
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