When Words Collide

Abstract

The conflict between Islam and the West is rooted in contrasting worldviews that are informed by alternative moral underpinnings and differing existential implications. Furthermore, engagement between the Islamic and western paradigms is defined by imbalanced power relations in which the subaltern Islamic paradigm is pressured into conformance by the dominant western modernist paradigm. Using the issue of freedom of expression as an entry point, this article examines the contrasting cultural conduits that define each community by outlining the main tropes of their worldviews. It therefore attempts to suggest an alternative engagement between Islam and the West, one that emphasizes convergence over conflict.