Theology And The Clash Of Civilizations

11 Pages 2823 Words

Catholics vs. Muslims in Cyprus
• Serbian Orthodox Catholics vs. Muslims in Bosnia and Kosovo
• Roman Catholics vs. Muslims in Algeria
• Anglicans and Roman Catholics vs. Muslims in Nigeria.
Left off this list are conflicts that, however bitter, have not risen to the level of outright civil war. On a list of this sort we might find, among others: Assyrian Orthodox Catholics vs. Muslims in Iraq and Coptic Catholics vs. Muslims in Egypt.
My point in drawing up this list is to suggest that for the umma -- an ancient Arabic term that has come to denote the totality of Muslims in the world at any given time -- the House of Islam must surely seem a civilization under siege. I use the word civilization, as Huntington did, because umma refers to so much more than our word religion comprehends. In the formulation of one contemporary scholar, it refers to "religion, shared values, and common concerns" yet "does not denote nationality, kinship, or ethnicity." The umma is Islam's version of what secular diplomacy likes to call the internatio...