"You
find irrationality and prejudice everywhere, but this case is
outrageous. The comments show this man has no culture and serves some
racist ideology," professor William Shea, Galileo Professor of
History of Science at the University of Padua in Italy, told Gulf
News paper Monday, January 19.
Attending
a conference on "Cultural Contacts in Building a Universal
Civilization" in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) city of Sharjah,
Shea said Islam's contribution to international culture is obvious.
"Anyone
who says 'We owe Arabs nothing' has probably not considered the
importance of Islamic art, which you can see just by opening your eyes
when you travel. The Holy Qur'an itself is a literary masterpiece
apart from being a very sacred document," he said.
On
the issue of repression of women, Shea said the idea was extremely
unfair.
"I
have traveled in Islamic countries and do not think that women are
oppressed. Generally speaking, Muslims treat women much better than
those in other parts of the world".
On
branding Arabs as "suicide bombers", the Italian
intellectual said terrorists are everywhere in the world and they are
not just Muslims.
He
testified that in the U.S., school killings are common but we don't
say all Americans are terrorists.
"There's
no way that Islam has more terrorists than others".
"I
think, we have to reinforce the influence of Islam in our institutions
in Europe, the U.K. and the U.S.," he added.
The
conference has been organized by the American University of Sharjah in
collaboration with Research Center for Islamic History, Art, and
Culture of Istanbul.
Professor
Ziauddin Sardar, writer, broadcaster and cultural critic from the UK,
said that Kilroy-Silk was rather "airing views of some racist
elements in British society".
Sardar,
however, admitted that there are some Muslims who are terrorists or
extremists.
"But
the presenter's remarks were racist because based on a few
individuals, he branded an entire society," he told Gulf News.
"You
can criticize an individual, but you can't label a whole society. By
saying 'We (west) owe Arabs nothing', he is airing ignorance," he
continued.
The
author of several books, Sardar said there would have been no West
without Islam. The West as it exists today is the product of Islamic
science, civilization, culture and learning, he added.
"The
West owes its origin and development to Islam. We cannot imagine a
West without history and western history is related to the history of
Islam," he said.
 |
|
"We cannot imagine a West without history and western history is related to the history of Islam," Sardar (Courtesy of Gulf News)
|
Kilroy-Silk
was forced
to resign in the wake of the outrage created by his
inflammatory remarks among Muslims and MPs in Britain.
Sardar
said that these views exist not just in Britain but also in the West.
Kilroy-Silk's
statements came a few days after the American famous syndicated radio
commentator Paul Harvey backtracked
on earlier defamatory comments saying that "Islam encourages
killing".
In
October, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence William Boykin went
back on his earlier claims that Muslims worship an
"idol", saying the remarks had been "taken out of
context".
'Sort
Of Agenda'
David
Lea, associate professor of philosophy at the American University of
Sharjah, said the TV presenter's views misrepresent facts.
He
called the comments as dangerous and inflammatory because it is all
right to have a personal opinion but to print or broadcast that to
influence thousands of people shows that "he may be having some
sort of agenda".
"I
think the best way to counter such racist comments is to bring people
from the West and the Arab region together through frequent cultural
links. There should be a frequent exchange of groups to educate each
other and remove misconceptions".
'Ignorant
Of History'
Professor
R. Rashed from the National Center for Scientific Research University
of Paris agreed, saying that Kilroy-Silk's views show that people in
the West are not well informed about history.
"A
man who passes such racist remarks shows that he is ignorant of the
history of Europe and not just the history of the Islamic
civilization," Rashed told the paper.
The
Paris-based scholar called on Arabs "to take measures to remove
such misconceptions by educating people and 'rediscovering' their
contribution to the West".
Kilroy-Silk’s
comments also had drawn flack from British lawmakers.
"The
BBC needs to consider very carefully whether it's appropriate to have
Mr. Kilroy-Silk presenting a program which is supposed to be objective
and impartial in looking at topical issues," Labor MP Lynne Jones
has told BBC Radio 4's Today program.
The
Independent reported Wednesday,
January 14, that the BBC's suspension move had boosted the network's
viewing figures.
Audience
figures released Sunday, January 13, reveal 150,000 more people were
watching BBC1 Monday morning - when Kilroy first came off the
air - than tuned into the network at the same time a week earlier, the
British daily said.
