Do you think the tension between Islam and the West is more about religion or politics? Why?

Program Coordinator

4 comments:

  1. It seems that Muslims blend religion and politics. Since I do not do that it is confusing.
    Sansa Morse, Tucson, Arizona

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  2. Pardon--that last comment was written by Jennie Durant, in Isparta, Turkey.

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  3. I think Americans blend religion and politics as well--A LOT. I think the tension between Islam and the West is probably more religiously based, stemming from ignorance about both religions. But more than anything, I think a lot of tension comes making generalizations about who Westerners are or who Islamic people really are. When it comes down to it, people are people--and most of us have good hearts and live good lives, no matter what our religions are.

    I think if people who were Islamic met more actual Westerners (Christian or not) and if more Westerners had friends who were Islamic, that there would be more dialog and commonalities found than differences. I'm living in Turkey right now and all of my colleagues are Muslim. We've both learned a lot about each other's cultures and cleared up a lot of misunderstandings. I just wish this could happen more often.

    I don't know if I've answered this very well, but it's a wonderfully thoughtful and thought provoking question. What do YOU think?

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  4. I believe that the tension between Muslims and westerners has been created by politics but sustained because we just don't know that much about each other. In history it has always been the fear of the unknown that has provoked animosity between two different people because each party feels the need to protect themselves and their way of life. For example in American history during the cold war many immigrants from all backgrounds were persecuted because people feared that they were communists and during that time period communism threatened the American way of life. I believe that that is what is happening today. Because of 9-11 in particular Muslim societies and western societies started to clash. Americans began to feel threatened by this unknown entity, meaning Islam, and so tensions between the two groups grew.

    I also believe that, like Jennie Durant said, if we took the time to learn about each other we would be able to eliminate the tension between these two cultures (eliminate the unknown factor). I am currently participating in the Soliya program where college students from all over the world are brought together in order to learn more about each other and through this program I have learned so much about Middle Eastern culture and the wonderful people who live there. By taking the time to understand each other we can eliminate these tensions that have been created by politics.

    Hailey Sands
    Colorado, US

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