As analysts ponder and proffer views on the real and potential impact from revolutionary tsunami in Egypt, it is essential that we in the U.S. also learn valuable lessons presented by this teachable moment. One such lesson is the fallacy of the “clash of civilizations” theory.
For two decades politicians, pundits, preachers, and some scholars have explained the tumultuous international conflict as evidence of a “clash of civilizations.” We have heard this mantra so many times that many people assume it somehow describes the dynamic interaction between “the West” and the Middle East and Islamic cultures.
One of the most frequently asked questions since 9/11 — “Why do they hate us?” — has served to reinforce this simplistic and dangerously misleading framework for understanding. How many times have we heard seemingly intelligent people answer the question by declaring, “They hate our freedom. They hate our way of life.”?
The “why do they hate us” question, like the “clash of civilizations” theory presupposes that there is an “us” and a “them,” that somehow “the West” and “the Islamic world” are homogeneous and monolithic. They are neither. READ MORE
Tags: clash of civilizations, culture, islam and the west, religion in america, september 11th
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