Many
may believe in intercultural dialogue as a promised way to dispel the
myth of the “Clash of Civilizations,” but such a dialogue should go
through different challenges and examinations to prove it so.
It
has always been like that; culture is a component of both conflict and
dialogue. But nowadays, the importance of culture as a main factor in
determining international attitudes is more obvious. An international
conference, The Image of Arab-Islamic Culture in European History
Textbooks, was held in Cairo, Egypt, to elaborate on the idea that
security cannot be achieved without more cultural understanding.
Amr
Moussa, Arab League secretary-general, described the discrimination
against Islam and Muslims in school textbooks, media, laws, as
“Islamophobic.” According to him, the phenomena should be addressed
internationally and tackled in the same way as anti-Semitism. However,
the resemblance should not be taken at face value without profound
analysis and examination. Moreover, a recent United Nations special
seminar on Islamophobia put a spotlight on the same issues.
The
Image of Arab-Islamic Culture in European History Textbooks:
Read the Papers' Abstract*
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In
the same respect, the Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez
Zapatero launched his initiative, Coalition Between Civilizations, with
the assumption that “it goes beyond the politics but it cannot go
without it.”
Between
Macro and Micro
“For
Giddens, there are connections between the most ‘micro’ aspects of
society—an individuals’ internal sense of self and identity—and
the bigger picture of the state, multinational corporations, and
globalization, the ‘macro level.’ Sociology cannot make sense of
these levels by looking at them in isolation.”1
On the issue of European textbooks, we can understand the impact of the
micro daily level on the macro international level as Dr. Mustafa
Al-Halwaji of Al-Azhar stated in his paper, in which he discussed how
misrepresenting Islam and Muslims in the European textbooks has negative
effects on Muslim students: “These students might be psychologically
offended. They might even turn into fanatic defenders of their
misrepresented religion in attempts to prove the validity of their
religion.”
Choosing
a vivid specific topic, The Image of Islam and Muslims in the European
School Textbooks raised expectations that the conference would be a
different event, with a clear vision and technical recommendations.
Since the crisis of September 11, an almost continuous series of
conferences, symposiums, forums, and so on have been held regularly.
Overgeneralizations, celebratory atmospheres, monolithic visions, and
repetitive topics are a few of the problematic characteristics of most
of these meetings. As long as the conflicts are increasing worldwide,
these initiatives can be considered as a “dialogue of the deaf”!
Beyond
the Buzz: Experts Should Lead
Although
the influence of politics is inevitable, as has already been represented
above, the voice of the experts should lead the argument, especially as
the conference focused on European history textbooks.
In
this respect, academics and professionals should be the nucleus of
interrelated circles—governments, institutions, and communities.
Gerard de Puymege, responsible for the
UNESCO Mediterranean program, emphasized the same understanding by
encouraging the setting up of a database of researchers of history
textbooks in both Arab-Islamic and European spheres. The organizers of
the conference declared that they will seek individual experts across
the organizations. On the other hand, a lot of attention was paid to
subjective experiences. Dr. Joseph Huner, responsible for the higher
education and research division of the Council of Europe, for example,
presented an experience of the program “learn how to live together.”
Epistemological
Problems
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The
conference was jointly organized by the UNESCO, the Arab
League, the European Program, the ISESCO, and other national
and international organizations
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Reading
most of the abstracts of the conference papers, one can see the
significance of the topic and its implications. But at the same time,
one can easily observe the lack of adherence to a common theoretical
framework among the different contributions. The contributions varied
from using the qualitative to quantitative methodologies, from
subjectivity to objectivity. Several coordination and specialist
technical sessions should have been held first to address these issues
adequately.
Some
of the participants considered the textbooks as symptoms of
sophisticated epistemological problems, like the impact of the different
waves of Orientalism through space and time. These waves have largely
determined our approaches and terminology, and they have become the
reason for many misunderstandings.
It
is necessary to distinguish between the different levels of
intercultural negotiations; knowing “how much of Muslim legacy and
tradition is sacrosanct, and therefore non-negotiable or firmly
established (thabit in Arabic), and how much is a matter of
interpretive application and contextually bound to a particular era and
geography, and therefore subject to change (mutaghayyir) over
time and place.”2
Some
of the eye-opening experiences during the dialogues showed that theological
absolute answers to non-religious relative questions are one of the
reasons for miscommunication. We should understand the differences
between two words, language
and discourse when it comes to
address our own cause and convey our message to the “Other.”
Moving
from the theoretical framework to the actual discussions among the
participants, the discussions strayed from the topic. Most of the
contributors and the commentators, especially from the Arab side, showed
a preference for recalling repetitive mutual misconceptions and the
impact of the current international political scene rather than sticking
to the agenda and going in depth through the issues designated for each
session.
Of
course the issue should not be decontextualized, especially when it is
related to the complex relations between Islam and the West; but one
should know when to bring in related topics without mixing them up with
unrelated ones.
Experiences
Speak Louder Than Words
Regularly,
the only way out from the dilemma of recycling old arguments is to share
real experiences with others. We could learn a lot if we tried to
examine our theories and values with people from different backgrounds.
This could be an example of good practice in intercultural dialogue and
a form of cooperation that should be developed adequately.
Dr.
Wolfgang Hoepken of the George
Eckert Institute shed some
light upon one of these experiences as he presented a joint textbook
project between Germany and France. According to the mission statement
on its Web site, the institute “continues to contribute to the effort
of overcoming conflict and prejudice and to encourage peace and
education.”
As
the institute strives to diminish prejudice, it offers recommendations
for the improvement of textbooks, depending on different methodological
techniques. Reading between the lines and analyzing underlying
assumptions of texts are some of these techniques.
For
the George Eckert Institute, Franco-German collaboration is a
precondition for achieving European integration. The goal is to produce
teaching materials on a variety of topics such as “Regions Within
Europe,” “The First World War,” “From Traditional Enemy (Erbfeind)
to Partner,” and “Routes to Modernity.” Hoepken emphasized the
possibility of achieving mutual understanding and changing the
stereotypes between Muslim and Western societies by adopting the same
techniques.
The
Black Sea Initiative on History is another experience that challenges
the dividing lines caused by conflicts or prejudices. What is really a
benefit of this project is its approach; it does not try to give the
final word on every incident, but rather represents the different
narratives about historical events. The project’s teaching pack
“takes into account the ongoing debate concerning controversial issues
in the history of the Black Sea region.” It “has not been designed
to provide a definitive answer to these issues but to provide an
understanding of the complexity of the historical process.”3
Dr.
Michael Reily of Bath University, United Kingdom, decided to face the
misconception about Islam and Muslims in British textbooks through
teamwork—producing a textbook on the same themes for 11- through
14-year-old-students.
Reily
tried to explore the image of Muslims through space and time by showing
that their unity is in their diversity. Some titles in the book are
“Prophet Muhammad,” “Capital Baghdad,” “North Africa,”
“Crusades,” “Ibn Batouta: The Most Renowned Muslim Voyageur,”
“Palestine and Israel,” and “Muslim Minorities.”
The
Weakest Link
The
representation of Muslim communities in European countries was the
weakest link of this conference. Although there are many challenges
facing the Muslim minorities, their opportunities, especially among the
younger generations, are increasing, too.
For
the Muslim minorities in the West, refuting misconceptions about Islam
and Muslims is not merely a theoretical problem but a pressing social
need to survive in their societies. Given this, non-governmental bodies
and alternative solutions should have been more obviously represented.
One important organization that is concerned with the problems of Muslim
minorities in the West and that should have been present is the UK-based
Books For Schools.
The
Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) launched this initiative as they feel
that it is “time for British Muslims to act to make the most of this
immense opportunity and to turn the tide of negative stereotypical
portrayals of Islam by ensuring that every school child in Britain has
access to high-quality Islamic resources within their school.”4
Their aim is to place high-quality Islamic resources (to include books,
materials, CDs, DVDs, videos, and accompanying teaching aids) into
school classrooms. This project has already been demonstrated by similar
ventures of this kind in other countries where Muslims are a minority
community, such as the project by CAIR in Washington, DC.
Using
the media is an important tool to empower the people. The information in
the media does not merely reflect the world, but constantly shapes it as
well. In this regard, the Internet can play a key role; it has helpful
characteristics that give people the chance to speak out about their
fears, feelings, and views. The impersonal medium makes it no more a
just one-way traffic, but we must remember that we constantly influence
others and we are constantly influenced by external factors.
Accordingly,
IslamOnline.net made use of this interactive characteristic and asked
people to contribute ahead the conference.
These
changes and alternatives may send out powerful, clear signals to show
that people themselves have windows of opportunity. With more commitment
and awareness, there will be a ray of hope and a touch of optimism in an
otherwise deeply troublesome scenario.
Back
to the Issue—History
Jihad,
women, the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)
and the Qur’an are keywords in the classical misunderstanding of Islam
and Muslims. Deliberate distortions, simplifications, exaggerations, and
neglect of cultural plurality in the Muslim world are the most important
characteristics of the misrepresentation of Muslim societies. When
searching for the reasons, another dimension should be clarified; as
Edward Said stated, “it’s a clash of ignorance.” Hatred, fear, and
ignorance are all components of the negative portrayal.
However,
avoiding a monolithic and static portrayal of Islam may lead us into the
trap of fragmentation. Since Islam is not a single homogenous
phenomenon, a more subtle approach should be taken.
The
diverse Muslim cultural expressions that can be seen around the world
are obvious.
However,
this does not mean that there are many ‘Islams,’ but that there
are many expressions of the Muslim way of life. Islam encapsulates
values and ideas that lead to a cultural manifestation in the context
of the particular area of the world where those values are implanted.
This manifestation takes on the color of the society it resides in and
remains willing to change with time.5
Images
and Counter-Images
In
his paper “Religious Commitment: Images and Counter-Images,” Prof.
Jan Henningsson of the Swedish Institute in Alexandria asserted
[The]
teaching of religion in governmental and private-schools requires
sensitivity and courage. Sensitivity in order to respect the feelings
of the ‘Other,’ courage in order to ask straight questions about
the ‘Other’ and accept difficult questions about myself.
You
can find the same message in the contribution of Dr. Fawzia Al-Ashmawi
of the University of Switzerland:
It
is obvious that one of the ways to create peaceful societies is the
development of curricula that teach young pupils to respect
differences between people and to appreciate common values which can
help them to overcome prejudices.
Ironically,
one does not find one uniform image for Islam and Muslims in these
sophisticated European textbooks. In his paper, Al-Halwaji concluded
History
books taught in Hungarian schools present the Islamic culture of the
Middle Ages as a great culture, yet the image of the religion of Islam
is presented negatively in the books.
For
Abdel Mohsen Bin Salem Al-Ukely—head of a team that analyzes British
schoolbooks for the General Directorate of Educational Research,
Ministry of Education, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—the image of Arabs and
Muslims in the British textbooks was neutral and generally positive, but
becomes negative when dealing with the Crusades and the Arab-Israeli
conflict. This negative image is also clear in some books that connect
Islam and terrorism and misunderstand the concept of jihad.
Schoolbooks
in Italy acknowledge the achievements of the Muslim civilization. These
books agree that the Muslim civilization preserved the Greek and Persian
cultural and scientific heritage; it updated this heritage and added to
it. However, the Italian history schoolbooks handle the concept of jihad
and the personality of Prophet Muhammad in a negative way, stated Dr.
Salah Ramadan El-Sayed of Al-Azhar University.
Dr.
Mohamed Mansour, also of Al-Azhar University, placed the spotlight in
his paper “Image of Islam in Austrian Schoolbooks” on an issue that
is difficult to avoid: understanding and interpreting the Qur’anic
verses that address jihad, women, and other such issues. “It is clear
that the verses were removed from their correct historical,
geographical, social, cultural, military, and political context,” he
said. In addition, Al-Halwaji defined the precondition that “a verse
from the Qur’an should be read in the light of the Islamic principles
and the rules of the Arabic language and rhetoric.”
Moreover,
Al-Ukely pointed out that the British textbooks may create a discourse
that is too reductionist in nature:
It
minimized the religion into orders—do that, do not do that, this is
forbidden, this is permissible—so that the Western reader does not
see the reality of Islam as a religion that carries a complete
civilized message. The reader only gets a feeling that Islam is a
religion of strict orders.
Although
most of the classical misconceptions relate to historical backgrounds,
Al-Ashmawi argued that after September 11, 2001, the European curricula
of secondary schools were mainly concerned with contemporary Islam. This
emphasizes the fact that portraying Islam and Muslims is not only the
mission of historians, but of many others too, such as museum curators,
filmmakers, television producers, and journalists, to mention a few.
Presenting
a counter-image, Al-Ashmawi, in a comparative study about the image of
the “Other” in the history textbooks of some Mediterranean
countries, discussed that “the Muslim presentation of Europeans
contains more critical views of Western culture: sexual liberty,
disintegration of the family, gay marriage, and so on.”
She
compared the two different discourses:
While
European authors use omission and neglect as weapons in order to mask
historical truth, Muslim authors make use of an emphatic terminology
and overvalue historical facts in order to stress the Muslim’s past
glory.
What
You See Matters Less Than How You See It
The
discussion of images and counter-images above paves the way for
introducing “Multiperspectivity,” a term more often used than
defined, especially in this conference. K. Peter Fritzsche has
emphasized that it is a process, “a strategy of understanding,” in
which we take into account another’s perspective (or others’
perspectives) in addition to our own. In this respect,
multiperspectivity means to be able and willing to regard a situation
from different perspectives.6
Dealing
with a wide range of sources and facing many narratives of the same
historical incidents produces many questions concerning the techniques
that should be adopted. How should we handle topics and issues that are
likely to be controversial and sensitive in a multi-national and
multicultural society? There is a "greater emphasis in the history
classroom on students learning how to analyze, interpret and synthesise
evidence obtained from a variety of primary and secondary sources."7
“History
education has all too often been taught from a perspective that was
monocultural, ethnocentric, exclusive rather than inclusive.”8
Many researchers nowadays are trying to review these approaches. The
precondition is a willingness to accept that there are other possible
ways of viewing the world than one’s own, and that these may be
equally valid and equally partial. Or, as has been transmitted by Imam
Al-Shafi`i (b. AH 150/767 CE): “My view is correct though it is liable
to error, and another view is wrong though it is liable to be
correct.”
Read
The Papers' Abstract
Other
*The
international conference The Image of Arab-Islamic Culture in European
History Textbooks was held in Cairo,Egypt, from December 12 to 14, 2004.
