Is Islam an Enemy of the West?

Abstract

Events in the current world and the nature of religious beliefs being followed by Muslims and non-Muslims have made many argue that Islam is indeed an enemy of the west. However, this topic has raised a serious debate all over the world in the past three decades with a splurge in journalistic publications prompted by international events such as the Iranian revolution, Gulf War, Rushdie affair and the revolution in Afghanistan (Shadid & Koningsveld, 2002). The debate has seen opponents and proponents of the notion that Islam is an enemy of the Western culture and diverse views have been formed based on critical analysis of the Islamic religion and several references have also been made to the societal happenings in the world, particularly with regard to terrorism. Ultimately, the debate has largely been inconclusive and often one sided based on stereotypes and prejudices about the Muslim culture and media reports have strongly described Muslims as either fanatics, primitive or belligerent and irrational (Shadid & Koningsveld, 2002). However, such generalizations are invoked by lack of knowledge and surge in fantasy and essentially this negative attitude of the West towards Islam is uncalled for and baseless.