Encountering the 'Other'

by Meena Sharify-Funk

From both humanistic and practical standpoints, the current estrangement

between Islam and the West is unsustainable. The events of September 11th

and the subsequent American military campaigns have left Muslims and

Westerners increasingly distrustful both of each other and of the more

humanistic and life-affirming values within their traditions. At the same

time, Westerners are finding that they cannot retain a fully "Western" way

of life without peaceful relations with Muslims - insofar as the term

"Western" is intended to evoke respect for free open societies, democracy,

human dignity, and human rights. Democracy, after all, cannot be protected

or projected through undemocratic means. Likewise, many Muslims are

discovering that they cannot fully realize the potential of their faith

tradition as long as they find themselves locked in antagonistic relations

with a "Western Other." Such relations empower extremist factions that are

willing to jeopardize the rich and diverse heritage of Islamic civilization

in their pursuit of an elusive ideal of cultural purity.

Individuals on both sides of the cultural divide have much to gain from

moving beyond preoccupation with tired images, symbols, and postures, and

toward genuine openness to a new experience of the Other. Narrow

attachment to preconceived images, inflexible doctrines, and fixed

political positions prevents dialogue. Most important for both communities

at this time is the need to move beyond reactionary impulses triggered by

solipsistic discourse-- that is to say, self-serving and ethnocentric

"either/or" value dichotomies that split the world into opposing camps.In contrast, dialogue as a tool for transforming conflict implies seeking

power with the Other rather than power over an alien culture. Ideally, such

egalitarian cultural engagement should not merely be an elite endeavor, but

rather a more broadly participatory process in which members of estranged

cultures rediscover their respective traditions and motivations. Rather

than focus primarily on the negative task of debunking stereotypes (as

manifest in tendencies of Orientalism and Occidentalism), dialogue seeks to

develop new, mutual understandings on a collaborative basis. Such active

engagement through sustained dialogue can help us to discover shared

meaning amidst fear, anger, insecurity, and incomprehension.

Dialogue across cultural boundaries makes it possible for members of

communities that are in conflict to rediscover their own traditions. By

seeking ways of understanding that accommodate present realities as well as

external criticisms, practitioners of dialogue allow their traditions to

speak to new contexts. In the process, they gain access to empathetic

understanding of other cultural systems, and thereby begin a process of

broadening and reconstituting the cultural foundations of their own

identities. Though this need not mean sacrificing one's own original

loyalties, at a minimum it does require more intercultural habits:

experiencing other contexts into one's own identity.

Moving beyond reactionary attitudes and ethnocentric behavior requires that

the West and Islamic world know one another. Retreating from the

challenges of active engagement only serves to strengthen the position of

fundamentalists in both communities. In the modern world, retreat to a

cultural or political ghetto by any group - be it Muslim, Jewish,

Christian, Buddhist, or Hindu - is not only a denial of the rich diversity

of the contemporary experience, but also a rejection of responsibility for

future generations. We need to develop processes of intercultural

communication capable of generating respect for diversity within our own

communities and outside of our own communities, trust in difference, and

critical self-critique. Participants should not expect immediate rewards,

a decisive end of conflict, or "definitive" understanding. Rather, they

should seek to help each side understand how the other community reads its

identity into the world, while encouraging both sides to work together in

the discovery and creation of shared meanings and priorities. Dialogue of

this nature would challenge Westerners and Muslims to better understand

their own values and ideals as they learn to share them in new ways.

Because the present world affords no scope for authenticity in isolation or

security through rigid boundaries, Muslims and Westerners need to

experience themselves "in relationship" rather than "out of relationship."

Fostering relations of peaceful dialogue in the present climate of mutual

recrimination and renewed claims of inherent cultural superiority will not

be an easy task. Dominant American and Middle Eastern narratives are

remarkably similar in the ways they construct enemy images through

selective appropriation of history. As products of ethnocentric behavior,

such narratives make war appear natural. Peaceful dialogue, in contrast to

war, is proactive and requires deliberate effort to move from the

superficial to the relational, from morbidity to creativity, from

defensiveness to openness, from a competitive focus on the negative to a

cooperative affirmation of positive possibilities, and from the politics of

fear and projection to the politics of hope. Positive dynamism requires

full engagement of the Self with the Other, together with an awareness that

"Islamic" and "Western" relations bear within themselves not just the

burdens of past conflicts but also resources for peacemaking in the present.

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Meena Sharify-Funk is currently an adjunct faculty member at American

University's School of International Service in Washington, DC where she

co-teaches a course on Islam and democracy. This article is part of a

series of views on the relationship between the Islamic/Arabic world and

the West, published in partnership with the Common Ground News Service

(CGNews).

Source: CGNews, November 5, 2004

Visit the CGNews website at: http://www.sfcg.org/cgnews/middle-east.cfm

Distributed by the Common Ground News Service.

Copyright permission has been obtained for publication.

This article

is part of a series of views on "the relationship between the

Islamic/Arabic world and the West" distributed by the Common

Ground News Service (CGNews).