Common Ground News Service - 04 - 10 July 2007
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Please find below the 4-10 July bulletin from the Common Ground News Service.
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for constructive and vibrant Muslim-Western relations
04 - 10 July 2007
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Inside this edition
1) Clash or synthesis of civilisations? by Ali Noer Zaman
Ali Noer Zaman, a Jakarta-based writer, explains why Huntington’s clash of civilisations theory is difficult to apply in Indonesia. Looking at the various religious and cultural traditions of the country, he describes an intricate and innovative convergence, rather than divergence, between the various civilisations at play in this context, and highlights the global potential to “generate a creative synthesis of cultures”.
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 3 July 2007)
2) Me versus you = me versus me by Sarah Al Borji and Isabelle Maras
Isabelle Maras, a PhD student in European security studies at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Studies, and Sarah Al Borgi, an economics student at the American University of Beirut, consider whether the world is peopled by two different kinds of human beings. Looking in particular at the experiences and roles of young people, they suggest the development of “free space” where youth can “rid themselves of preconceived notions and stereotypes and develop their own methods of understanding.”
(Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 3 July 2007)
3) Islam once led world in science, art by Mohamed Elmasry
Mohamed Elmasry, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Waterloo and national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, reminds us of the inventions and traditions of the Muslim world that continue to shape the West today. While invoking the Prophet Muhammad’s affirmation that “the ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr” and lamenting the Muslim world’s current state of affairs in this regard, he argues that “knowledge brings people - irrespective of gender, age, race or religion - into the highest rank of human accomplishment.”
(Source: Middle East Times, 26 June 2007)
4) Youth Parliament and Euro-Med understanding by Nicole Hamwi
Nicole Hamwi, a Chilean writer living in Beirut, captures the impressions of Lebanese participants in the European-Mediterranean Youth Parliament in Berlin this Spring. They describe not only the impact of the conference on their lives, but also the impact their participation had on other conference attendees.
(Source: Daily Star, 23 June 2007)
5) Iraqis find common ground – on a soccer field by Dan Murphy
Christian Science Monitor staff writer, Dan Murphy, describes how “a soccer pitch in a foreign country is one of the few places that Iraqis can now find common ground and divert their attention from the relentless violence back home.” Despite the strong and diverse turnout, he notes, perhaps surprisingly, “no signs of the violent nationalism sometimes seen during matches between European football powers.”
(Source: Christian Science Monitor, 19 June 2007)
1)Clash or synthesis of civilisations?
Ali Noer Zaman
Jakarta - According to Samuel Huntington, wars between civilisations are arising because of differences in the foundation of history, language, culture, tradition and religion among nations of the world that eventually shape the particular worldview of a certain group toward another. Globalisation has made the world smaller, allowing people to meet more often and increasing awareness of differences, as well as similarities, that separate would-be enemies from allies.
However, Huntington’s prediction of a clash of civilisations is rather difficult to apply in Indonesia, which has long been a meeting place for the world’s great civilisations. The first foreign influence to infiltrate the region was Indian culture, which spread Hinduism and Buddhism. It was followed by other civilisations, namely the Chinese, the Muslim and, eventually, the Christian West, brought by colonial countries such as the Netherlands.
Interestingly, these great civilisations have converged with each other peacefully, generating a synthesised culture that is uniquely Indonesian. Ensuing wars were mostly rooted in political and economic issues.
The ability of Indonesian culture to absorb various world civilisations, in the words of Clifford Geertz, an American anthropologist studying religions in Java in the 1950s, derives from the existence of the animistic tradition among local communities, allowing a synthesis of elements of animism, Hinduism-Buddhism, Christianity, as well as Islam. This flexible nature has been able to tame the radical nature of foreign culture. According to Geertz, Islam in Java, Indonesia is a dynamic, adaptable, receptive and pragmatic religion that moves slowly.
Examples of the receptivity of Indonesian culture can be seen in traditional puppet plays, which for the most part are taken from India’s epic poems, Ramayana and Mahabharata, that have been repackaged and enriched with Islamic teachings by the wali songo (the nine religious leaders) who spread Islam in the archipelago in the sixteenth century. By blending the two, we find interesting stories that go beyond the struggle between good and evil which characterised the Indian original. Moral messages on issues such as the relations between the individual and God become apparent, particularly in the story of Bima Suci (The Sacred Bima), which reflects the influence of Islamic teachings on tawhid (union) or, in Javanese, manunggaling kawula gusti (the unity of the individual and the Creator).
In bridging the differences between tawhid, the supremacy of one God as the essence of Islam, and the polytheism of Indian Hinduism, the gods in Indian culture are reinterpreted as the various different names of the one God, or as spirits that are no different than angels or ancestor spirits who are placed under the absolute supremacy of God. Arab prophets have also been linked to the Hindu Gods through mythological genealogy by considering both groups as descendants of Syis (or Seth), the third son of Adam and Eve. In Java’s mystical culture, the gods are often considered saints. Therefore, in order to further strengthen the position of the one God in Islam, these mystical beings are considered to have lived in a place where mortals could communicate with them and, in fact, ask them for help.
In the modern era, the synthesising receptivity of Indonesian culture can be observed in the case of Muhammadiyah, a socio-religious organisation established in 1912 by KH Ahmad Dahlan in Yogyakarta, which is the very embodiment of the amalgamation of Islamic and Western cultural values. Muhammadiyah tries to synthesise for today’s world the teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad’s Hadith - a collection of his sayings combined with accounts of his daily practice or Sunna - which constitute the major source of guidance for Muslims after the Qur’an.
The Muhammadiyah movement is largely inspired by the missionary movement of Protestant Christianity, establishing schools with Western-style education, teaching general sciences and languages including Dutch, English and Arabic, and founding hospitals and other social institutions. Muhammadiyah is also known for its emphasis on rationality, and on its anti-tradition and anti-personality-cult stance, unlike what has dominated more traditional religious organisations. In addition, Muhammadiyah shares the Protestant work ethic of Western Europe and the United States. It is the main driver of the economy and of employee-owned cooperatives in North Java, particularly in the batik (Javanese traditional painting) industry.
The world’s civilisations have the potential to generate a creative synthesis of cultures such as exists in Indonesia. It is with such an attitude that we should look to the future of human relations.
* Ali Noer Zaman is a Jakarta-based writer. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 3 July 2007
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
2)Me versus you = me versus me
Sarah Al Borji and Isabelle Maras
Beirut/Brussels - While watching media coverage of controversial issues and bloody conflicts taking place between the West and the Arab/Muslim world, one may think that two kinds of human beings exist on the globe.
On one side, people might seem to be lovers of life, peace and prosperity. On the other hand, people might seem to cultivate a taste for death, martyrdom and violence.
To what extent is this assertion simplistic? A few months ago, people in war-torn Iraq, the most striking example of violence of our time, took to the streets to cheer - not for their Sunni, Shiite or Kurd leaders but for their young “Mesopotamian” singer Chaza Hassoun, who won the Arabic version of “Star Academy” (an international reality television show). In this simple yet interesting act, Iraqis declared their love for life and their ability to find common ground despite the divisions.
In fact, people all around the world generally share common values. As the American journalist Linda Ellerbee states: “People are pretty much alike. It’s only that our differences are more susceptible to definition than our similarities.” Indeed, we all care for our line of descent by protecting our children; we all desire to be treated with dignity and to have a prosperous life; and, unfortunately, we all tend to do harm to others for a variety of reasons.
Furthermore, globalisation has brought our world closer. Although increased interaction can be featured negatively, as in the case of hatred-oriented websites such as anti-Arab or anti-Zionist sites, the similarities between people also becomes clearer. For example, looking at online blogs and shared spaces, it becomes obvious that young people around the world care about their education, hope to find suitable jobs and have in one way or another the same aspirations vis-à-vis their future. Even the youth who surf hate-based websites or join, for instance, a pro-Hizbullah group (a party viewed as terrorist in most Western countries) on the shared website Facebook also share interests in music and books and similar social activities with other young people.
In that regard, it becomes a bit puzzling to talk about people with conflicting cultures, religions or “civilisations”.
Conflicts in the world arise from our tendency to react to harm “the other” when one’s survival is threatened or when one’s dignity is not recognised. We, as young people, have two options before us: we can either continue on the path of our ancestors, developing ways to fight each other and becoming the “puppets” or “hostages” of political movements; or we can use the opportunities we have and choose the great challenge of experiencing “a brave new world”.
Whatever our culture is, lasting and anchored habits of dialogue learnt at a young age have a greater chance of becoming life-long habits. In this regard, many of us have in mind working-class neighbourhoods in European, North African or American states, where children from various backgrounds live, play and grow together in peaceful settings. However, it is time for all youth to be empowered to learn about and interact with other societies.
How can this be achieved? The answer lies in focusing on human value and all its facets from childhood onward, in understanding thoroughly what it means to be human. By doing so, we begin to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves, of the cultural, social, and religious dimensions determining the way we define our identity, thus leading us in turn to understand “the other” and see how similar we are in our shared humanity.
In situations of conflict, youth are under the influence of divisive ideas and extreme opinions. In situations of poverty, young people often do not have access to information about, or exchange with, foreign cultures. They might view Western or Arab societies as “enemies” since “the other” values and religious symbols are not always compatible with their way of life.
In these situations, youth often become an easy target for propaganda and can be manipulated by all types of movements and radicalism. That’s why young people must be provided with the proper tools enabling them to gain genuine keys of understanding of each other. Acquiring such tools can be achieved through education that is truly centred on human values and human rights. This education would be inclusive, open to people of different cultures and religions, leading to an enlightened generation of autonomous people capable of critical analysis, understanding and pro-active initiatives.
At a more practical level, international youth conferences and “reverse role” workshops could have a strong impact. Such opportunities for cultural and educational exchange on a neutral basis should be developed, so that young people can have a free space to rid themselves of preconceived notions and stereotypes and develop their own methods of understanding. Step by step and far away from all dogmatism, this might well be the only lasting means to develop free spirits among youth from both sides, as they search for the truth with a small “t”.
* Isabelle Maras is a French citizen and PhD student in European security studies at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Studies. She holds two Masters in European Politics and Political Science from the Free University in Brussels. Sarah Al Borgi is a Lebanese citizen and an economics student at the American University of Beirut. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 3 July 2007, www.commongroundnews.org
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
3)Islam once led world in science, art
Mohamed Elmasry
Waterloo, Ontario - It is becoming more widely known that the first university of Europe was established in Spain by Muslims. But how many of us - whether academically inclined or not - know that university professors’ formal black gowns originated with the kaftan, the traditional outer robe worn by Arab men since ancient times?
Six centuries before Christopher Columbus sailed westward to prove the earth was round - only to be “interrupted” by the New World - Muslim mathematicians from Kufa in Iraq not only knew that our planet is a globe, but had also calculated its circumference with remarkable accuracy. It’s no wonder that crusaders who trekked from Europe to the Holy Land to liberate it from “heathen” Muslims returned home with many new lessons in civilisation, as well as practical inventions and scientific insight.
From the 8th to the 10th centuries, Baghdad flourished as the world’s most civilised city. Its university was attended by 6,000 students from all over the world, and it boasted an endowment equivalent to millions of dollars. Baghdad streets were also paved, drained by covered sewers, and illuminated.
For some four centuries (roughly AD 700 through AD 1100), Arabic, not Latin, was the universal language of knowledge. During this Islamic golden age, many Christians studied Arabic and attended Muslim universities.
Aristotle and Plato were rediscovered by Muslim scholars who translated many Greek manuscripts into Arabic. They were the originators of modern chemistry, meteorology, mathematics, sociology and geography. Muslim surgeons were also the first to dissect the human body.
Muslims, during this period, had a renowned passion for intellectual and scientific pursuits; the first known telescope was built for a Muslim caliph.
Without the Arabic numbering system, which included decimals and the cipher (zero), modern science and business would be impossible.
Many of today’s finest cotton fabrics - including muslin, damask and cambric - were developed by Muslim agriculturalists and artisans. And bearing testimony to Muslim metallurgy, Damascus swords and Toledo blades are still highly prized. Sugar, coffee, rice, cherries, citrus fruits and numerous other culinary delicacies and seasonings reached European and, ultimately, Western tables because of Muslims.
One of the greatest contributions of Islam to the Western world was the art of papermaking, adapted and developed from techniques pioneered by the Chinese. Without good quality, affordable paper, the spread of printing and the availability of books for universal education would have been impossible.
In addition, the duty of every Muslim to perform the Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, at least once in a lifetime brought together scholars from the most distant countries. Thus, scientific knowledge spread rapidly and new discoveries were easily shared and exchanged throughout the Muslim world and beyond.
While Europe was still in the Dark Ages, Muslims had established a highly advanced and sophisticated civilisation that historians, to this day, have not satisfactorily explained. The Belgian-born American writer May Sarton, referring to Islam, said: “The creation of a new civilisation of international and encyclopaedic magnitude, within less than two centuries, is something that we can describe, but not completely explain … It was the most creative movement of the Middle Ages down to the 13th century.”
Islam encouraged free thought and developed the rational experimental method, which is the foundation of modern science and philosophy. Before the Prophet Muhammad, people did not dare conduct experiments for fear of reprisal by evil spirits. Muhammad dealt a mortal blow to many false superstitions and elemental fears and helped prepare human society for the great potential of scientific inquiry.
In one of his most memorable sayings on the subject, the Prophet affirmed that “the ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.” He taught Muslims that ignorance was humanity’s greatest poverty, that a mind without education is like a brave man without arms, and that knowledge brings people - irrespective of gender, age, race or religion - into the highest rank of human accomplishment.
The greatest Jewish treatise of the Middle Ages was written by Maimonides not in Hebrew, but in Arabic. And, in another example of interfaith engagement at that time, a Christian served as head of a college in Damascus.
Islam also developed its own distinct architecture, whose influence can be traced through India, to China, Africa and Russia. While the Tartars transmitted Islamic culture and art to Russia, the Turks brought it to the Balkans, Austria, Poland and Southern Germany. Bavarian native costumes, Hungarian rugs and Prussian helmets still reveal their Islamic origins in design.
Europe was, admittedly, slow in recognising Islamic culture as the originating source of the Renaissance. But through the influence of Islamic scholarship, especially in Sicily and Spain, European civilisation was transformed.
Today, it would seem that the civilisations of East and West, or the Muslim and non-Muslim world, have become reversed. But, perhaps, it is more a case of having forgotten those former glories in the pursuit of present-day material and political agendas. A re-discovery and renewed appreciation of Muslim accomplishments would benefit all of humanity, allowing us to see - and hopefully resolve - present conflicts within the wider spectrum of human history.
* Mohamed Elmasry is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Waterloo and national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress. This abridged article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org . The full text can be found at www.metimes.com .
Source: Middle East Times, 26 June 2007, www.metimes.com
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
4)Youth Parliament and Euro-Med understanding
Nicole Hamwi
Beirut - “When we asked the Europeans if they know anything about Lebanon they said, ‘Yes, it’s always at war,’ but we showed them that there’s more to Lebanon with our language skills, knowledge and punctuality,” said Nader Huella, who represented Lebanon at the European-Mediterranean Youth Parliament (EMYP) in Berlin from May 28 through June 3. Huella, one of five members of the Lebanese delegation to the event, made the remarks at a news conference Thursday held to review the project’s results and the representative’s personal experiences. Huella travelled with Nora el-Mokdad, Randy Nahle, Sara Mourad and Bernard Sadaka.
The Euro-Mediterranean Parliament is based on the 1995 Barcelona Declaration, which committed municipal authorities to a wide range of action for change. The parliament was conducted in cooperation with the Goethe Institute.
Some 103 youths representing 38 nations met in Berlin to discuss controversial issues affecting societies today such as migration, employment, globalisation and energy.
The annual event seeks to overcome prejudice and create understanding that will build bridges of communication between countries along the Mediterranean and in Europe.
Delegates discussed current political and social issues and developed 10 non-binding resolutions detailing how to confront global problems.
“It was very interesting because there were a lot of prospects and a lot of people who wanted to support the event,” said Huella. “I feel it’s the beginning of many things, but there is still a lot of work.”
The Lebanese participants described the EMYP as an enriching experience that let them demonstrate to their European colleagues that Lebanon is not just “war”.
While speaking about the resolutions they developed, the participants highlighted the friendly atmosphere at the seminar, which let them enjoy themselves as they learned about different nations and their cultures. “We had a very strong bond with the Lebanese participants and with some Europeans,” said Huella. “We didn’t expect it to be that way, especially with the Europeans, so that’s pretty significant.”
The resolutions developed by the participants were one of the most important characteristics of the EMYP; however, they were not the main goal.
“The event was not about the outcome or the resolutions; it was about the process,” said Mokdad. “The resolutions were a framework to engage in dialogue.” The parliament also touched on a range of sensitive topics including European colonialism in the Middle East, the Arab-Israeli conflict, discrimination against Islamic wear in the European Union and the Middle Eastern portrayal of terrorism.
“Even though we came from 38 different nations, there was a lot of tolerance,” said Huella.
“We need more cultural institutions and more student exchanges, in order to have closer ties among regions,” said Mokdad, the only female moderator from the Mediterranean region.
The work may not have been enough to save the world, but members settled on many proposals for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that could address problems encountered by Europeans and citizens of the Mediterranean.
Europe, for example, has a problem with immigration because “there are so many immigrants that take the jobs of the European people by working for lower salaries,” said Huella. “The solution could be a better relationship between those who want to work and the place they want to work, so that Europe wouldn’t feel threatened.”
Mokdad said any progress would be significant. “We suggested the creation of NGOs to create more job opportunities in the regions,” she said. “Even if it’s for a small sector, it will help.”
Several members also proposed a Euro-Mediterranean bank that could help fund NGOs and facilitate loans for civil and societal projects.
“Until now it’s just a dream, but like the World Bank, why don’t we have a Euro-Mediterranean Bank that can help civil society organisations and NGO’s?” asked Mokdad.
The conference is done for this year, but in certain ways it has just begun. “Its continuity is through the follow-up projects that participants came up with and which shall be implemented,” said Mokdad.
“We are concentrating on the countries’ partnership. Lebanon has a project for the Mediterranean women’s legacy, but we shall also take part in all of the rest of the projects,” she continued. “And we are also going to implement the Mediterranean Youth Parliament” which will make Lebanon the founding committee.
“We will recruit Lebanese participants and will send them to the Mediterranean Youth Parliament,” Mokdad explained.
The EMYP will be held again next year to work for better understanding between societies, letting youth express themselves on a large and professional scale.
* Nicole Hamwi is a Chilean writer living in Beirut. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Daily Star, 23 June 2007, www.dailystar.com.lb
Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.
5)Iraqis find common ground – on a soccer field
Dan Murphy
Amman - The new Iraq that America’s “neocons” once dreamed of – undivided by sectarian animosities and proudly looking toward the future – was finally on display at a soccer match.
Flags waved amid a sea of Iraqis Saturday night. A middle-age Shiite shop-owner and the Rolex-wearing Sunni businessman sitting next to him joined the throng in the latest chant of “We’d give our blood so you can live, Iraq.”
Hamid Shukri, a doctor from Baghdad, leaned over to me when he realised I’m an American. “Don’t worry,” he shouted above the din, grinning ear to ear. “There are no terrorists here.”
I’m not worried, though not because I’m brave or a fool. Instead “here” is about 200 miles from the Iraqi border, in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
A soccer pitch in a foreign country is one of the few places that Iraqis can now find common ground and divert their attention from the relentless violence back home.
And it’s not just the Iraqis who will be seeking solace in soccer this week. The Palestinian territories, Syria, Iran, and Lebanon are also lining up at the West Asian Football Federation Championships here, which is shaping up to be something of a World Cup for weakened – or at least threatened – states.
The Iraqis on Saturday night were making the most of it.
A fetching teenage girl with green stars representing the national flag spray-painted into her long black hair sat with two women in shapeless black abayas and headscarves. They all groaned in unison as Kirkuk-born striker, and national team heartthrob, Younis Mahmoud missed one of Iraq’s best chances of the match.
At least 700,000 Iraqi refugees have fled their homeland to this city of 2 million. So, for the Iraqi national soccer team, Amman is what Los Angeles is for Mexico’s: Their favourite home away from home.
International soccer matches inside Iraq are of course, for the moment, impossible.
The fans efforts weren’t enough to push the shabab, or boys, over the top in a lacklustre 0-0 draw with Iran in the opening round of the West Asian Football Federation’s championship, but no one really seemed to mind.
They chanted, they beat on drums, they chattered animatedly among themselves during breaks in the action, without seeming to have a care in the world.
But Mr. Shukri, a 31-year-old who grew up in Baghdad’s upscale Mansour district, which has become a playground for kidnappers and sectarian death squads in the past two years, frowns briefly when I ask him what caused him to flee the country.
“Let’s not talk about that today,” he says. “That’s not why we’re here.”
Indeed, the ongoing tournament here is a rare and welcome source of entertainment for the exiled Iraqis. And while they fought a ruinous war with Iran for most of the 1980s, and many Iraqis believe Iran is responsible for at least some violence inside their country, there were no signs of the violent nationalism sometimes seen during matches between European football powers.
Here in Jordan, the Iraqis increasingly feel like unwanted guests, not allowed to work, unable to move on. Returning home would be a death sentence for many, and being accepted as a refugee by the rich countries of the West is an uncertain lottery; the United States will accept only 7,000 Iraqi refugees this year.
But on nights like Saturday, the exiles’ shared common plight allows them to set aside whatever sectarian animosities that might linger below the surface and just be Iraqis. “Shiite, Sunni, no one cares here tonight,” says Mohammed, who asked that his full name not be used. He is from just outside Baqubah, Iraq, which has been the scene of major sectarian cleansing in the past few years.
But Iraq’s next match here is against the Palestinian team on Monday, a game which promises to have strong support for both sides, given the nearly 2 million Palestinian refugees who live here.
The Palestinian players are mostly based in Gaza, 100 miles east as the crow flies from Amman, but also a world away when it comes to peace and security. They couldn’t drive to the tournament. Instead, they drove 200 miles west to Cairo, then flew back east to Amman.
But at least they got out of Gaza; the teeming strip has been sealed off by Israel since the Islamic political movement Hamas routed the Fatah party in a violent struggle to control Gaza last week. With the Palestinians divided effectively for the moment into two fragments – the Gaza Strip of Hamas and the West Bank of Fatah – they will share similar distractions as their Iraqi opponents on Monday night.
But teams and fans face yet another test of whether they can put aside political and sectarian animosity.
Shortly before the Lebanese team departed for Amman, a car bomb that killed anti-Syrian Member of Parliament Walid Eido also claimed the lives of two professional soccer players heading home after a club match on June 13. Many Lebanese have since blamed Syria for the murders.
Lebanon’s first- round opponent? Syria, of course.
* Dan Murphy is a staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor. This article is distributed by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews) and can be accessed at www.commongroundnews.org .
Source: Christian Science Monitor, 19 June 2007, www.csmonitor.com
Copyright (c) The Christian Science Monitor. For reprint permission please contact lawrenced@csps.com .
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