Introduction
Authors, such as Samuel Huntington, claim that cultural differences in the world will lead to greater conflict in the future. This assertion is becoming a reality today owing to increased global interactions, which perpetuate civilization consciousness and stoke cultural animosities. The evidence is particularly conspicuous when Christian and Islamic civilizations conflict.
How civilizations clash
Huntington (23) defines civilizations as cultural identities. These are levels of identities to which people relate. Some of them may be religious, regional, ethnic, or national. Clashes between civilizations may be a serious problem today because intercultural differences are real and quite distinct. They stem from people’s history and traditions, so it is difficult to eliminate them.
Some of the most prolonged conflicts in the world stem from intercultural or interreligious tensions (Huntington 25). Globalization is also perpetuating this trend because more diverse communities are coming into contact with one another and becoming conscious of their civilizations. Differences between these groups can spark animosities between them.
Various countries are undergoing radical political and economic change, so most citizens are losing their commitment to national identities. Religion is filling this gap through fundamentalist movements. Previously unconventional groups, such as college students, are at the forefront of the un-secularization of their societies. Consequently, this sharpens the divide between persons that belong to one religion over the other.
Non western countries want to resist domination by the West, so a number of them are embracing their own civilizations even more strongly. Economic regionalism also perpetuates the divisions between civilizations because the survival of these groups depends upon the similarities between their cultures.
It is difficult to erase the differences that exist between cultures, so this leads to a clash between the groups (Huntington 26).
The above author is the pioneer of the class of civilizations, but there are several incidences that prove his assertions. Tribal or religious fundamentalism is one such occurrence. Ethnic or religious hatred is a reality in several countries of the world today.
This nature of thinking manifested itself during the nine-eleven bombings and several other acts of terror against the West. Such radical actions have occurred owing to reactions from local populations. When global capitalists enter into different cultures, their presence may threaten the natives, who may respond by counteracting those sources of capitalism.
In most cases, such persons will give their tribes or religions a sacred quality that causes them to engage in radical acts (Barber 230). Many of these fundamentalists consider the West as the source of those global forces, thus explaining why they confront them violently.
Lewis (19) explains that one of the most distinct cultural clashes that have ever occurred is between Muslims and Christians. It should not be assumed that all Islamic countries reject the West or that opposition to the West is distinct to this region; however, some of the most alarming incidences of hatred have occurred in these areas.
American, foreign policy has revolved around several Islamic states and has thus necessitated the presence of combatants in these countries. Recent examples include Libya and Iran. The American presence has perpetuated an increase in animosity and hatred against America and its allies. This instance of disdain goes beyond mere dislike of the Americans.
Several of these nations have altered their national policies in order to counter American interests; a typical example is Iranian policy. Several Iranian leaders have called Americans enemies of God, and made political decisions that go against this perceived enemy. The dualistic ideal of the moral and evil is quite inherent in Islam, and this explains why Iran took confrontational stances against the West.
Several Middle Easterners experienced tumultuous periods in history when western-based political institutions led to dictatorships. Even economic styles from the West did not lead to prosperity, but poverty. Besides this, a number of locals became casualties of wars that Westerners initiated in their land. Therefore, it became appealing to these individuals to return to their original faith.
Islamic ways became their only source of salvation, hence explaining why many fundamentals regard modernism and secularism as the main enemies of the Islamic faith. They teach followers that modernism has destroyed their dignity, beliefs and livelihood; consequently, followers have experienced a re-ignition of dignity and hope. However, during tumultuous times, these sentiments may sometimes become explosive (Lewis 24).
A number of clashes are also occurring in subtler forms owing to mass immigration of certain cultures. One such incident exists in France, where Islamic North Africans are forming subcultures, which dramatically counter French values. These immigrants are asking for the right to access Sharia laws, yet the rest of the French population feels that Islamic laws contradict their own.
The struggle to maintain western style secularization has undermined relationships between the North Africans and the native French population as seen through a number of laws. The lawmakers designed them to prohibit religious expression in public, especially through adornment of Islamic dressing.
These reactions from the French majority have sparked serious opposition from the Islamic population and thus perpetuated tensions between the two groups.
In order to understand how serious the clash between the Muslim and Christian civilizations is, one needs to look at some of the manifestations of these tensions with regard to the entire Middle Eastern region. Discontentment and opposition to western ideologies is prevalent in pan Islamic organizations such as Hizb – ut –Tahrir. This is a political organization a Palestinian judge created as far back as 1953.
It has members from forty countries and about one million supporters. It does not exist in the Middle East alone, as its members are quite active in Central Asia and the United Kingdom, as well. The major aim of this political party is to set up or institutionalize Sharia laws throughout the world.
Members believe that it is necessary for Muslims to have such laws in order to gain stability and safety. It also calls for the preaching of Islam to all corners of the world. While ideas about spreading one’s beliefs are common in other religions, what makes this entity unique is the anti-Zionist stance it possesses.
The movement’s leaders maintain that Israel is an illegal nation and has no right to exist. Such strong positions have led to serious tensions between Palestine and Israel over the years (Taji-Farouki 105).
The notion of antizionism does not just revolve around Israel and Palestine; it also encapsulates the Muslim members of Hizb – ut -Tahrir. Although the latter organization has not explicitly stated that it will fight Israel, it has mentioned that it will support a one-state solution between these two conflicting nations.
Nonetheless, the unitary state it refers to is not a secular one in which Muslims and Jews live together; it is one in which all members adhere to Sharia law. This has perpetuated increased tensions between the non Islamic and Islamic civilizations in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Members of the above radical group have uttered a number of anti-Semitic sentiments during the recent past. In 2007, the head of the movement told attendants of its annual conference that they must wage a war against the Jews (Taji-Farouki 54). In fact, several countries have banned this organization because of endorsing racist propaganda. In 2003 Germany banned the organization by asserting that it collaborated with neo-Nazis.
In other countries, such as Denmark, authorities have arrested members of this movement and imprisoned them for their racial stances against Jews. These reactions stem from the problems between Israel and Palestine.
The members of the movement claim that theirs is not a racial attack against Israel but a call to Palestine to defend itself. Whatever the reasons are for these differences, it is clear that a clash of civilizations does exist between Islamic groups and Jewish-dominated Israel.
Conclusion
A clash of civilizations is present today as witnessed through various occurrences around the world. The surge of anti-American sentiments in countries such as Iran and Libya is indicative of this trend. Perceptions of Americans as enemies inspire policies in these countries.
Additionally, immigrant populations in western nations also clash with locals. A case in point is the internal conflict between North African immigrants and French citizens. Lastly, the phenomenon is prevalent in para-muslim organizations such as Hizb- ut -Tahrir, which have perpetuated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Works Cited
Barber, Benjamin. Jihad vs. McWorld. Chicago: Ballantine Books, 1995. Print.
Huntington, Samuel. “The clash of civilizations?” Foreign Affairs Journal 72.3(1993): 22-40. Print.
Lewis, Bernard. “The roots of Muslim rage” Atlantic Magazine Sept. 1990: 19-24. Print.
Taji-Farouki, Shaker. A fundamental quest: Hizb – ut – Tahir & the search for the Islamic Caliphate. NY: Grey Seal Books, 1996. Print.