Harvard Political scientist, Samuel Huntington, published an article "The Clash of Civilizations?" in the Summer 1993 issue of Foreign Affairs, followed in 1996 by his book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.
.Among other things, Huntington put forward the thesis that there is a clash of civilizations between Islam and the rest of the world. This conceptual framework for viewing the post-Soviet world has provoked much controversy; and it is vehemently denied by all Muslim advocacy organizations and by their supporters among non-Muslims.
While it may be comforting to believe that the conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims in many countries is all a misunderstanding based on lack of knowledge, mutual trust and mutual respect; we must be careful to avoid making policy based on wishful thinking. Instead of just answering "Yes, there is" or "No, there isn't", we should put Huntington's thesis to the test. How? First we need to define our terms, and then we need to look at the evidence.
Civilizations involve rules for social organization and interpersonal relationships, the role of government and the role of religion. These rules and roles are based on shared values; so we can say that a civilization is defined by its basic values.
Our western civilization is defined by the values which are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Our American values are defined by our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, especially the First Amendment. These values are, in short: limited government, individual freedom, freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, freedom to change religion, equality before the law, gender equality.
By contrast, not a single Moslem-majority country supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! ALL 57 Moslem-majority countries have subscribed to the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam which declares that Islam is superior to all other religions and that all human rights must be subject to Islamic sacred law, Shariah. Sharia law, based on the Koran and the sayings of Muhammad, prescribes a complete organization of society, religion and personal relations. There is no separation between religion and state. Therefore, whatever is considered to be a sin in the religion of Islam becomes a crime in the Islamically-ruled state. Shariah law legally subordinates non-Moslems and women, and punishes freedom of conscience (apostasy) and freedom of speech (blasphemy) with death. Shariah law is most strictly implemented in Saudi Arabia, Iran and areas controlled by the Taliban; but it is implemented to one degree or other in every Moslem-majority country.
Let us see what some leading Islamic leaders have to say on the subject of human rights:
-- 1981 - Iranian representative to United Nations: "UDHR is a secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition" which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law.
-- AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI: "What they call human rights is nothing but a collection of corrupt rules worked out by the Zionists to destroy all true religions."
-- AYATOLLAH MOUSSAVE-KHOMENEHI: When we want to find out what is right and what is wrong we do not go to the United Nations; we go to the Holy Koran..."
-- MUHAMMED NACERI, member of Morocco Council of Religious Scholars:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was for complete equality for man and women. For us, women are equal to men in law, but they are not the same as men, and they can't be allowed to wander around freely in the streets like some kind of animal."
-- Iranian Supreme Leader and former Iranian president, ALI KHAMENEI, said: "When we want to find out what is right and what is wrong we do not go to the United Nations; we go to the Holy Koran. For us, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is nothing but a collection of mumbo-jumbo by disciples of Satan."
-- ABUL MAUDUDI -- perhaps the most widely read, respected and influential Islamic writer of the 20th Century, said: "When we speak of human rights in Islam, we mean those rights granted by God."
Let the reader decide, now, whether there is a clash of civilizations. From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that the values of Islam as incorporated in Sharia law are incompatible with our Western and American values as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the American Constitution.
All of this sure seems like a clash of civilizations to me!
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Carl Goldberg
Chapter Leader for Arizona
ACT!For America
