Islam Under Siege—Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World

American University, Washington DC, USA
Contact: Todd Sedmak Date: 06/03/2003
Phone: (202) 885-5951 Release Type: School of International Service News

By Akbar S. Ahmed

Examines The Turmoil in the Muslim World

WASHINGTON, DC (June 2, 2003)—A new book by Muslim scholar Akbar S. Ahmed examines the turmoil currently facing Islam around the globe. In Islam Under Siege, Ahmed explains what is going wrong in the Muslim world, why it is going wrong and how Muslims and non-Muslims can work together to create global stability.

According to Ahmed, one of the principal culprits behind the misunderstanding between Islam and the West is the media. Ahmed criticizes how the media portray the debate on Islam. He writes that the debate is “too often little more than a parading of deep-rooted prejudices.”

Islam Under Siege answers many of the question Americans are asking after September 11: Why do they hate us? Does the Quran preach violence? Do Muslims hate Jews and Christians? Are we at the start of a final crusade between Islam and the West? Ahmed responds to common criticisms: that Islam is a violent religion and it encourages the subjugation of women. He also explores how the war against terrorism is perceived in other countries. For many developing nations, Ahmed writes, the war against terrorism is seen as a violent expression of a threatening Imperial America.

Ahmed argues that it is vital that Islam reclaim its meaning and messages from personalities such as Osama bin Laden who distort and discredit Islam. Islam is currently in conflict with all of the world’s major religions: Judaism in the Middle East, Christianity in the Balkans, Chechnya, Nigeria, Sudan and sporadically in the Philippines and Indonesia; Hinduism in South Asia, and, after the Taliban blew up the statues in Bamiyan, Buddhism. The Chinese, whose culture represents an amalgam of the philosophy of Confucius, Tao and Communist ideology, are also on a collision course with Islam in China’s western province. Islam Under Siege looks at how this has come to pass and what must be done to develop interfaith dialogue and reconciliation.

Ahmed writes that Muslims and non-Muslims can work together to create a dialogue of civilizations that will counterbalance the clash that scholars such as Samuel Huntington and Bernard Lewis predict. Even before September 11, Ahmed worked to foster interfaith dialogue. Ahmed is particularly interested in how the three Abrahamic faiths—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism—can bridge their differences. According to Ahmed, mankind needs to build a global sense of community and not just consider one’s tribe, nation, or faith.

Akbar S. Ahmed, the former High Commissioner (Ambassador) of Pakistan to Great Britain, is the chair of Islamic Studies at American University. According to the BBC, Dr. Ahmed is probably the world’s best-known scholar on contemporary Islam. A distinguished anthropologist, writer, and filmmaker, he has been actively involved in interfaith dialogue and the study of global Islam and its impact on contemporary society. For more information, go to www.american.edu/media.

Islam Under Siege—Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World is scheduled to be in bookstores in July.

E-mail the Contact Person:
tsedmak@american.edu

Akbar Ahmed