ISLAM AND THE WEST

Abstract

On the verge of the twenty-first century, the world witnesses an unprecedented instability. Wars and culture conflicts widen the gap between the various civilizations and sow the seeds of hatred between individuals. Islam, with its universal precepts of peace and respect for the dignity of humanity, was and still is the most misunderstood religion. When represented in the West, it is always associated with negative images that repel Westerners from seeing what Islam really is. Hence the great necessity for a peaceful and enlightened dialogue between the world of Islam and the West. A great deal has been said and written on the subject of Islam and the West and many conferences have been convened, yet no discernible progress has been made in bringing a better understanding or dampening the assault on Islam and the Muslims in the western media. Prince Charles noted in his lecture at Oxford: The depressing fact is that, despite the advances in technology and mass communications of the second half of the twentieth century, despite mass travel, the intermingling of races, the evergrowing reduction- or so we believe- of the mysteries of our world, misunderstandings between Islam and the West continue. Indeed, they may be growing. The misrepresentation of Islam, which was limited in the past to the printed word, has now mushroomed to all forms of mass communication. The entertainment industry, news telecasts, radio shows, the movie industry, children’s television programs, and even commercials on billboards all have become vehicles for propagating the misrepresentation of Islam in the West. Literary fiction and nonfiction remain among the most insidious vehicles for permanently damaging the image and concept of Islam in the minds of non-Muslim readers ...