Searching
for Common Ground
By Lalit Bagai
Kalundborg
Denmark
Ambassador Akbar Ahmed (Islam and
the West: Searching for Common Ground, PakistanLink,
July 28 2006) recommends that all Americans and
perhaps non-Muslims should study Islam. He assumes
this will help in bridging differences and provide
a healing touch. However there is a more than
50 % chance that understanding Islam will only
reinforce prejudices against Islam and Muslims
that exist at present.
A lot of people now have a working knowledge of
Islam, and today there is almost an industry explaining
Islamic views, Muslims, and their viewpoints.
It has not helped much, has it?
In earlier times communists also advised that
the nonbelievers should study Marx and Lenin to
realize how flawed their own capitalistic system
was. Soviet Russia provided huge amounts of cheap
books on communism. But that did not help The
results are clear.
I think its more necessary for Muslims to understand
the Western way of life. Why is it that the Western
model is creative and provides a fair and sound
system of government? The West is also a much
sought after destination for Muslims, young and
old. The young seek its centers of learning, and
the old just a safe and secure place.
There is hardly any Muslim who wishes to study
or live in a Muslim country.
Only those who have to for survival, or the expatriates
who want to earn a lot of money in a hurry.
My own gut feeling is that neither the West nor
the Muslim world is ready for a detente. Let us
get ready for a decade or two of hot summers.
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