The Middle East is currently saturated with talk about “change.” Yet, the resiliency of authoritarianism and patriarchy in the region coupled with the evident failure of “democratization”-by... Show moreThe Middle East is currently saturated with talk about “change.” Yet, the resiliency of authoritarianism and patriarchy in the region coupled with the evident failure of “democratization”-by-conquest have plunged this part of the world into a depressing impasse. The region’s Muslim majority is caught up between, on the one hand, authoritarian regimes or fundamentalist inspired opposition, both of which tend to impose severe social control in the name of nation and religion, and on the other, flagrant foreign intervention and occupation in the name of democratization. We witness, then, a clear abuse of faith, freedom, and the faithful. In the midst of this, however, one thing has become clearer. If a meaningful change is to occur in these societies it should come from within, through the self-assertion of societal forces in a democratic direction. But the monumental question is how? Show less
The image of the Middle East projected in current public discourses is one imbued with religion. Media consumers would be forgiven for assuming that the region consists of angry bearded men... Show moreThe image of the Middle East projected in current public discourses is one imbued with religion. Media consumers would be forgiven for assuming that the region consists of angry bearded men prostrating themselves in prayer when not shaking their fists and burning American flags, and shadowy women with headscarves or chadors. The region is 'the Islamic world', religion stamped on every aspect of its life and function. The 'clash of civilizations' idea, much criticized, remains a potent notion both in the West and in Muslim circles. A mythical totalized 'Muslim world' is opposed to an equally mythical unified 'West', with religion as the essence of the former and the main key to its politics and society. Show less
At all four corners of the earth: the Balkans (Kosovo, Bosnia), Indonesia (Moluccas, East-Timor), Africa (Sudan), as well as the Holy Land (Nazareth), Islam and Christianity seem to be in a... Show moreAt all four corners of the earth: the Balkans (Kosovo, Bosnia), Indonesia (Moluccas, East-Timor), Africa (Sudan), as well as the Holy Land (Nazareth), Islam and Christianity seem to be in a position of mutual rejection. Hence, the representation, which currently prevails over Europe, of a perpetual conflict. However, this vision maintained by events that indeed highlight religious conflicts, remains in a state of partiality and partialness. We thus see Islam reigning undivided over the societies south of the Mediterranean, all the while forgetting that in the Arab world as well as in Turkey, religious uniformity - currently the norm - does not date back to the beginning of time. Between the 7th century, which witnessed the warriors of Islam leaving Arabia, and the preceding century, the relationship between the two religions was not just conflictual. On more than one occasion and in more than one place Christianity would come to know unexpected recoveries. Show less
What will be the face of Islam in the twenty-first century? A preoccupation with the future is always acute at the turning of a century, still more so at the turning of a millennium. The... Show moreWhat will be the face of Islam in the twenty-first century? A preoccupation with the future is always acute at the turning of a century, still more so at the turning of a millennium. The speculation about world futures, from the optimistic 'Endism' of Francis Fukuyama to the pessimistic 'Clash of Civilizations' of Samuel Huntington, is already well under way in the West. Show less
