The Unseen World of Islam

Peoples of the West and the Muslim World

The Unseen World of Islam

 

Many analyses of the conflict between peoples of the West and the Muslim world portray a clash of civilizations, a struggle for supremacy between a Christian West and an Islamic Middle East. But others see rich possibilities for cultural collaboration, citing the common roots and shared values of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions. This first program traces Islam’s historical roots, challenges stereotypes about the faith and the current conflict, and outlines the responsibility and opportunities for peoples in both the West and in the Muslim world to devise more effective strategies to reduce tensions. These include articulating more accurate understanding of each other, developing mutual respect, and constructing productive actions which can overcome the forces that seek to divide an increasingly diverse, integrated, and interdependent world.

 

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The Unseen World of Islam
Many analyses of the conflict between peoples of the West and the Muslim world portray a clash of civilizations, a struggle for supremacy between a Christian West and an Islamic Middle East. But others see rich possibilities for cultural collaboration, citing the common roots and shared values of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish traditions. This first program traces Islam’s historical roots, challenges stereotypes about the faith and the current conflict, and outlines the responsibility and opportunities for peoples in both the West and in the Muslim world to devise more effective strategies to reduce tensions. These include articulating more accurate understanding of each other, developing mutual respect, and constructing productive actions which can overcome the forces that seek to divide an increasingly diverse, integrated, and interdependent world.
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Zainab Al-Suwaij
Co-Founder and Executive Director of The American Islamic Congress After fleeing Iraq following the 1991 uprising against Saddam Hussein, she worked as a refugee case manager for Interfaith Refugee Ministry. Since then, Ms. Al-Suwaij has worked on issues of women’s rights and education. The American Islamic Congress is a post-September 11th social activist organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that works to foster tolerance, promote civil society and civil rights, and mobilize a moderate voice in the American Muslim community. http://www.aicongress.org/index/html
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Reza Aslan
Journalist, Author, Religious Political Speaker His first book, No God but God has been translated into half a dozen languages and was short-listed for the Guardian (UK) First Book Award. Born in Iran, he now lives in Santa Monica, California, and New Orleans, where he is at work on a historical novel.
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John Esposito
University Professor, Founding Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (CMCU) Specializing in Islam, terrorism, and the impact of Islamic movements from North Africa to Southeast Asia, Esposito is editor-in-chief of the four-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World, the Oxford History of Islam, the Oxford Dictionary of Islam, and The Islamic World: Past and Present. The Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding was founded in 1993 by an agreement between the Fondation pour L'Entente entre Chretiens et Musulmans in Geneva and Georgetown University to build stronger bridge of understanding between the Muslim world and the West, as well as between Islam and Christianity. The geographic scope and coverage of the center includes the breadth of the Muslim world, from North Africa to Southeast Asia, as well as Europe and America. http://cmcu.georgetown.edu
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Joseph Montville
Director of Preventive Diplomacy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. Montville has broad experience in conflict resolution in such locales as East Central Europe, the Baltics, the Middle East, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Russia, Canada, and Latin America. His Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy is a non-profit organization, dedicated to studying Islamic and democratic political thought and merging them into a modern Islamic democratic discourse. http://www.islam-democracy.org
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Shibley Telhami
Anwar Sadat Professor of Peace and Development at the University of Maryland Aside from occupying the chair established at the university of Maryland in memory of the late Egyptian president, Telhami also is senior fellow at the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution. Before coming to the University of Maryland, he taught at Cornell, Ohio State, the University of Southern California, Princeton, Columbia, Swarthmore, and the UC Berkeley, where he received his doctorate in political science. http://www.brook.edu/default.htm

Zanaib Al-Suwaij Study Guide Questions

 

  1. Describe and assess some of Al-Suwaij’s strategies for addressing the gaps in understanding between people of the West and the Muslim world.
  2. What are some of the distinctions Al-Suwaij draws between authoritarian and non-authoritarian regimes in terms of citizens’ lived experiences?
  3. Al-Suwaij makes a perceptive point about blaming external sources for internal problems. Do you see this phenomenon in your own community or nation? If so, describe the dynamics of diverting attention and blame to external sourcesand the merits and deficiencies of looking at issues in this manner.
  4. Based on your experience in your organization, community, or as a citizen, what does it take to separate people from politics in order to change mindsets and create more accurate understandings of others? Can we ever really escape from a politics when dealing with human issues?
  5. Several interviewees – including Al-Suwaij –suggest the role of individual action in addressing political and/or religious conflict. How do you feel about this approach to longstanding, large-scale problems? What can individuals do and what kinds of problems require collective action? How can the two strategies effectively work together?
  6. In light of Al-Suwaij’s use of the phrase “personal journeys,” what personal journeys have you taken – or might you consider taking – in order to shift your thinking or affect your community on this issue? Describe the benefits and risks associated with doing so.

 

Reza Aslan Study Guide Questions

 

  1. How does Aslan’s depiction of the Muslim world differ from that portrayed in the mass media? Summarize Aslan’s discussion of what the Muslim world actually looks like.
  2. Aslan suggests that “the problem” is not Islam as a religion but a range of other issues. What are the other issues Aslan cites as the root of the conflict between Islam and the West?
  3. What do you think about Aslan’s argument that the conflict between peoples of the West and the Muslim world is less about modernism versus medievalism than about a particular type of modernism? What concepts, events, or facts can you cite to justify your assessment?
  4. We don’t often hear about the ‘social message’ of Islam. What is Islam’s social message? What in your view are the possibilities for finding a common social message across the three religious faiths?
  5. If one accepts the notion that an ‘individualist movement’ holds promise for addressing this conflict (or others), what can you do in your community to lead the way? What partnerships would you form, what obstacles would you face, and what might you hope to achieve?
  6. How can the actions of individuals exert a cumulative impact on issues and conflicts as vast as those between Islam and the West?
  7. Think of some aspect of your personal identity – be it religion, race, ethnicity, or something else – and describe how you feel when others describe your identity in a broad, stereotypical way. How might your feelings connect to the observations Aslan makes in this interview?

 

 

John Esposito Study Guide Questions

 

  1. What are some of the most significant historical pieces of information that Esposito discusses? For each idea you name, describe why it is important in understanding Islam.
  2. What does ‘jihad’ mean and how has it been used in the context of Islam’s relationship with other religions and/or peoples?
  3. Analyze Esposito’s discussion of the shift in the relationship between the Muslim world and the people of the West in the wake of September 11th, 2001. Which aspects of his interview resonate for you and which do not? What questions remain for you?
  4. What do you think about the shift in Islam’s visibility in Western nations? In your own experience, what interactions have you had with Islam as a religion or with Muslim people? What are your perceptions of Islam as a faith
  5. “Fundamentalism” is a word used often with respect to this conflict. How do you feel about this word and the way it is used in public dialogue? How does the language we use to define groups, individuals and events reflect and affect the way we see them? What do the potent associations around the words “fundamentalist” and “terrorist” influence our perceptions of people’s motivations? How can we avoid “loading” our language with terms that stereotype whole categories of people?
  6. Esposito mentions religious sensibilities. What are your personal thoughts about what religious sensibilities “should be?” What ideas do you have about how individuals and/or organizations can promote understanding and respect across religions differences?

 

 

Joseph Montville Study Guide Questions

 

  1. What is Track Two diplomacy, and what are some of its tenets, principles, and assumptions? How does it differ from conventional diplomacy and what does it add to the mix?
  2. What does Montville suggest are some of the conditions that encourage and engender courageous leadership?
  3. What do you think of the idea of an “Abrahamic family reunion?” Given the history of deep-seated grievances in this “family,” how realistic is it for them to come together in acknowledgment of their common family ancestry? What might the benefits and/or risks of such an approach be?
  4. In your experience, can you name and describe a situation where recalling history to address a current situation was useful and/or unhelpful? Why did the situation play out as it did?
  5. How do you feel about the Track Two diplomatic approach? Based on what you gleaned about it from this interview, have there been occasions in your own experience where this strategy and these techniques have been applied?
  6. Montville cites lessons from historical examples of creative coexistence in other conflicts from which he says we can usefully apply in addressing the conflict between the West and the Muslim world. How would you apply these lessons and how successful do you think they would be? Do you know of historical examples of “the richness of multicultural societies” that were more harmonious than what we see today? What examples can you cite of nations or societies that successfully integrate a wide diversity of cultures?

 

Shibley Telhami Study Guide Questions

 

  1. Describe and assess Telhami’s description of the diversity of the Muslim world and the primary issues that unite the Muslim world in modern times.
  2. What is Telhami’s position with respect to the primary disagreement that plays out in the conflict between the West and the Muslim world? What solutions does Telhami suggest?
  3. What do you think of Telhami’s analysis of the ways in which the Muslim world and the United States “mirror” each other? Based on your own experience and knowledge, describe one or two specific issues in which to apply this perspective.
  4. Telhami argues for more complexity and nuance with respect to understanding and resolving the conflict between people of the West and the Muslim world. Do you agree with his view that making things simpler might make them more manageable? Justify your position.
  5. Have you ever been in a position where you had to interact with someone who held a vastly different perspective than you? How did you feel in that situation? What strategies did you use to manage the interaction and what were the positive and/or negative outcomes?
  6. How does your story from Question #5, above, apply to the ideas presented by Shibley Telhami in this interview?

 

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