Author: Priyadarsi Dutta
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: June 20, 2003
Edward W Said's debunking of Samuel
Huntington's clash of civilisations theory ('The Clash of Ignorance'; The
Pioneer, June 9, 2003) conceals a bitter irony. Israel-baiter Said is no
different from our Hindu pseudo-secularists and proxy- Islamists who preach
"secularism" safe in India defended by a Hindu-Sikh army. But they dare
not undertake that exercise in Pakistan for even though "secularism" is
dear, life is certainly dearer. Said, who claims to have been displaced
by Israeli "aggression" of 1948, is an Arab Christian.
Given that he is a passionate campaigner
for the Palestinian cause, it is ironic that Said's own Christian community
is being squeezed out of West Asia by Muslims. Bethlehem is today two-third
Muslim majority. In Jerusalem, Christians had edge over Muslims in 1920,
but today they have been pummeled to a meagre two per cent. Christians
formed 55 per cent of Lebanon in 1920. In 1970s they felt the ground beneath
their feet slipping away against the rising population of Lebanese Muslims
and the influx of Palestinian refugees. The only way they felt the disaster
could be avoided was to carve out a lesser Lebanon for Christians in East
Beirut, the Northern part of Mount Lebanon, and the coastal area north
of Beirut. This was the crux of the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) in which
Christians suffered discomfiture. In post-war Lebanon, Christians have
not only lost their influence in every field but their population share
has plummeted to 25 per cent.
Hailing from an affluent background
and based in America, Said could be an Israel-baiter. But was it indiscreet
that Lebanese Christians had constantly sought good relations with Israel.
In 1940s, Archbishop of Beirut Ignatius Mubarak publicly voiced his sympathy
for Zionism. In 1976, fiercest Christian militia Guardians of Cedar argued
publicly that the Christians should ask Israel to save what was left of
Lebanon. If Israel were successful in its attempt of creating a Christian-dominated
Lebanon, Christianity's last bastion in West Asia could have been saved.
Edward Said was aware that the title
of Samuel Huntington's essay later expanded into a book. The Clash of Civilizations
was derived from an expression of veteran exponent of Islamic history Bernard
Lewis (1990). But what Said seems to fudge or not know is the first person
to acquaint America with nature of radical Islam was Daniel Pipes, whose
book, In the Path of God - Islam and Political Power (1983), was written
on the backdrop of Islamic Revolution in Iran and the US embassy staff
hostage crisis in Tehran. That was the first time the Americans felt targeted
by a militant interpretation of Islam.
A perusal of the Mediterranean history
would demonstrate that the clash of civilisations is not new and still
less somebody's individual invention. It predates the Crusades but is epitomised
by the fall of Byzantine capital Constantinople and its metamorphosis into
Turkish Istanbul 550 years ago in 1453. Even pre- Christian civilisations
like Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Jewish, Phoenician (and Punic), Greek
and Roman etc., had vigorously struggled and interacted with each other.
But often harmony surpassed struggle like amity between Phoenicians and
Jews. Emergence and spread of Christianity had a positive Hellenic dimension
to these civilisations. But Islam brought it definite power struggle against
pre-Islamic civilisations and Christianity. A Greek Alexander was welcomed
in Egypt in 331 BC since he brought them liberation from inclement Persian
rule and paid obeisance to Egyptian religion. But in 1798, Napoleon, though
he liberated Egyptians from rule of Mamluk Turks, was looked upon as a
Christian usurper in Muslim territory though he paid homage to Islam. Between
Alexander and Napoleon two proselytising religions viz Christianity and
Islam has emerged and clashed with each other around the Mediterranean.
Said confuses readers with his silly
example that Muslims don't abjure western dress and hence not anti-Western.
Unlike Indian Muslims of the early 20th century, today's radical Islamists
are highly tech-savvy. Just see how many websites are there in support
of the Shariat law. Osama bin Laden had a British degree in Mechanical
Engineering and was amongst the first to use Global Satellite Telephony;
Omar Sheikh attended the London School of Economics; Mohammed Atta, who
rammed the airplane in the WTC on 9/11; studied in Hamburg. Hamas Chief
Abed-el Aziz Rantissi is a Pediatrician who speaks impeccable English.
Radical Islamists are not only using
Western inventions but also Western systems like democracy and freedom
of expression paradoxically to create a world without democracy or free
speech.
