Islam's liberal force
From Mr Peter Emery Sir: A thesis in Frederic Raphael's review of books by Gore Vidal and Roger Scru ton, 'What will the oracle answer?' (Books, 7 December), cannot be left unchallenged. Such misconceptions and distortions could lead to appalling consequences in a volatile (and potentially nuclear) international scene. Raphael agrees with Scruton that 'Islam . . is of its essence anti-Western' and says that there is `no common ground' between it and the West since in Islam there is no separation between religion and state. No one would deny the validity of the latter point although, in practice, its realisation in a pure form is only rarely achieved (e.g., in the late — and unlamented — Taleban regime in Afghanistan). But what Raphael does not appreciate is that this difference between Islam and Christianity need not preclude understanding or co-operation. A recent article by King Abdullah of Jordan (True voice of Islam', Gulf News, 11 December 2002) quotes the words of the First Caliph Abu Bakr, enjoining tolerance (towards Christians) and respect for the lives of old men, women and children. These words are part of 'the most basic religious education that Arab and Muslim schoolchildren receive'.
For seven centuries, such tolerance and mutual respect were practised towards those of Christian and Jewish faiths in Muslim Spain. The modern radicalisation of views of the West and Westerners among Arabs and Muslims stems not from religious sanction but rather from political injustice. To say this is not to be unpatriotic or soggily liberal, or any of the other labels pinned on those who dare to dissent from the 'clash of cultures' orthodoxy prevalent in the West, but merely to state an unassailable truth. If Western public opinion continues to be informed by such misleading half-truths, then the outlook for the world is bleak indeed.
Peter Emery
Sultan Oaboos University, Sultanate of Oman
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