Theology And The Clash Of Civilizations

11 Pages 2823 Words

world Islam had not done so, might never do so, and might even join forces in a joint counteroffensive against the West.
"The Clash of Civilizations" was ferociously criticized when it appeared, and events have not entirely confirmed it. Thus, though relations between China and the West remain strained, many informed observers now predict that the aging leadership of the People's Republic will soon be succeeded by a generation open to the West politically as well as economically. The Beijing Olympics may yet become the symbol of this rapprochement. A week after the World Trade Center was destroyed, China was admitted to the World Trade Organization.
But what of world Islam? The border separating what Muslims call dar al-islam, the "House of Submission (Islam)," from dar al-harb, the "House of Warfare" seems increasingly to define a long irregular battlefront, one that as of September 11, 2001, stretches across four continents. With striking frequency, those post-Cold War conflicts typically termed "local" or "parochial" or at most "sectarian" turn out to be battles between historically Muslim and historically non-Muslim populations. An incomplete list would include, moving from east to west:
• Roman Catholics vs. Muslims on Mindanao in the Philippines
• Roman Catholics vs. Muslims on Timor in Indonesia
• Confucians and Buddhists vs. Muslims in Singapore and Malaysia
• Hindus vs. Muslims in Kashmir and, intermittently, within India itself
• Russian Orthodox Catholics vs. Muslims in Afghanistan
• Russian Orthodox Catholics vs. Muslims in Chechnya
• Armenian Catholics vs. Muslims in Nagorno-Karabakh
• Maronite and Melchite Catholics vs. Muslims in Lebanon
• Jews vs. Muslims in Israel/Palestine
• Animists and Christians of several denominations vs. Muslims in Sudan
• Ethiopian Orthodox Catholics vs. Muslims in Eritrea
• Anglicans and Roman Catholics vs. Muslims in Uganda
• Greek Orthodox ...