Lately, in the US, there seems to be a surge in what some are terming Islamophobia. A recent emotional hearing on the hill touched on the subject of Islam in America. It is being followed up by TV reports one of which is ominously called "The Muslim Next Door" running on mass media outlets like CNN.
The timing of this surge is interesting as there hasn't been any recent attacks on US soil. If anything, it coincides with more alignment between fledgling democracies emerging in the Islamic Arab heartland. One would think that this should mean a reduction in Islamophobia as certain fundamental social and political principles begin to reconcile with those in the West. It hasn't happened yet. And while justification of this phobia continues to be debated, one thing is for sure, many still regard Islam as a religion to be feared because of some intrinstic incompatibility with democracy.
New Realities in an Old World looks into this by delving into political, judicial, and militant Islam and what implications it has on democracy in the Arab region and the world at large. The book does so in several ways, one of which looks at non-religious institutions that have existed within Islam for more than a millenia. It does so by citing some verses that provide for religious compatibility and co-existence. It also does so by doing a comparison with the Christian world's own development and struggles. Here is a brief exerpt from Chapter 2 titled, Islam and Democracy:
If Christianity had been so fundamental to the establishment of democracy, why was it the case that democracy as we know it today never flourished in the Christian World, until after it had escaped autocratic European persecution and found refuge in the Americas? Indeed, why is it that not until democracy flourished in the Americas and was later exported back to Europe that religious persecution- as late as the 1940’s (a mere seventy years ago) and epitomized by the Jewish Holocaust- finally ceased in Europe? Was it the presence of the Christian faith that led to the establishment of sound political democracies in the West, or was it democracy that led to the sound establishment of religious tolerance and freedom? “Christianity” being a pre-requisite to constitutional democracy whereas Islam is its arch nemesis is at best a historical fabrication ...
A democratizing Arab world will allow a more moderate Islam to emerge, just as it did with Christianity in the West. In the meantime, Islam is here to stay. The world must learn to live with it.
The timing of this surge is interesting as there hasn't been any recent attacks on US soil. If anything, it coincides with more alignment between fledgling democracies emerging in the Islamic Arab heartland. One would think that this should mean a reduction in Islamophobia as certain fundamental social and political principles begin to reconcile with those in the West. It hasn't happened yet. And while justification of this phobia continues to be debated, one thing is for sure, many still regard Islam as a religion to be feared because of some intrinstic incompatibility with democracy.
New Realities in an Old World looks into this by delving into political, judicial, and militant Islam and what implications it has on democracy in the Arab region and the world at large. The book does so in several ways, one of which looks at non-religious institutions that have existed within Islam for more than a millenia. It does so by citing some verses that provide for religious compatibility and co-existence. It also does so by doing a comparison with the Christian world's own development and struggles. Here is a brief exerpt from Chapter 2 titled, Islam and Democracy:
If Christianity had been so fundamental to the establishment of democracy, why was it the case that democracy as we know it today never flourished in the Christian World, until after it had escaped autocratic European persecution and found refuge in the Americas? Indeed, why is it that not until democracy flourished in the Americas and was later exported back to Europe that religious persecution- as late as the 1940’s (a mere seventy years ago) and epitomized by the Jewish Holocaust- finally ceased in Europe? Was it the presence of the Christian faith that led to the establishment of sound political democracies in the West, or was it democracy that led to the sound establishment of religious tolerance and freedom? “Christianity” being a pre-requisite to constitutional democracy whereas Islam is its arch nemesis is at best a historical fabrication ...
A democratizing Arab world will allow a more moderate Islam to emerge, just as it did with Christianity in the West. In the meantime, Islam is here to stay. The world must learn to live with it.
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