Roots of Violence Found in Disrespect
By Jane Lampman
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
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Perplexing violence overseas and in America seems to have a common thread - the yearning for respect. In the ongoing controversy over the Danish caricatures of the prophet Muhammad, people on both sides agree that the strongest spark for the protests in the Muslim world is the message the cartoons send of disrespect for Islam and its followers.

In several cities in the United States, police report a disturbing pattern of rising violence - including homicides - linked to disputes in which people say they were "disrespected." "We're seeing a very angry population," one police chief recently told The New York Times.

Respect is one of the most widely shared yearnings among human beings, and it touches the emotional core of people in profound ways. Respect given can be powerful and transformative. The results of respect withheld can be painful or even explosive. At a time when civility seems to be diminishing, some see the power of mutual respect as a way to break through cultural stereotypes and religious prejudices.

"Cultures are rubbing against each other more than ever before in history," says Akbar Ahmed, professor of Islamic studies at American University in Washington. "We need to be sensitive to ... respect, honor, dignity, and how they are viewed in different societies."

The prime ministers of Turkey and Spain, nations at the crossroads of East and West, have proposed a major initiative of structured dialogue to explore differing values and what Islamic and Western societies consider sacred.

"We have to have a deeper conversation about why Western democracies came to this place of tolerance of offensive language; and what we can do, not in the realm of the law, but of decency, to be more aware of what each other's [hot] buttons are," says Marc Gopin, director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University in Arlington, Va.

Rabbi Gopin has engaged in discussions among enemies in the Middle East. Because of his belief in the "power of gestures of respect," he visited Damascus last year at some risk to himself as a Jew, and faced tough questions about America and Israel from more than 300 Syrians. The 90-minute session was televised nationally.

While people give lip service to the idea that everyone is created in the image of God or that everyone has human rights, he says, they often act as if others aren't human beings.

"So when you cut through that and demonstrate enormous respect for a person who is an enemy, it's a shock. It brings that deeper truth, buried under suspicion and hatred, to the surface, and evokes honesty from the other parties," he adds. "Respect can have remarkable effects."

The controversy is also spurring deeper discussion on international rights.

Muslim leaders from 57 countries are pressing for the new UN human rights body to take steps to prevent the defamation of religions and prophets. That will likely raise issues of where Muslim countries stand on questions of religious freedom and persecution - and practices of disrespect in their societies. The Iranian president's recent questioning of the Holocaust is one provocative example.

Yet finger-pointing is not the way out of what many see as an increasingly dangerous state.

"We are losing a lot of the Muslim world. We must have Muslim allies on our side," says Dr. Ahmed. "This is possible through the language of respect." He says symbolic gestures by US officials could help defuse the situation, such as ambassadors in various Muslim countries visiting mosques, as President Bush did right after Sept. 11.

Please read the entire article at http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0223/p14s01-lire.html .