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Interviews With William Zartman and Louis Cantori
The Middle East Affairs Journal (MEAJ) posed a series of questions regarding the Islamic revival to a number of intellectuals. Each scholar studied the queries and provided his interpretation of the questions and how they should be answered. While the views expressed are not necessarily those of MEAJ, or its publisher, they are an important reflection of how the Islamic resurgence is perceived. Dr. I. William Zartman is Jacob Blaustein Professor of Conflict Resolution and International Organization at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University. He is a consultant to the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Information Agency, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He received his Ph.D. in International Relations from Yale University. Dr. Louis J. Cantori was the Distinguished Visiting Olin Professor of National Security and Defense Studies at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado during the 1993 spring semester. He is professor of political science at the University of Maryland and adjunct professor at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, where he teaches graduate courses on development in the Arab world. He studied at al-Azhar under the tutelage of Sheikh Abd al-Halim Mahmud from 1965-66. MEAJ: What criteria are the base of Western value judgments as to what constitutes a fundamentalist movement from a legitimate, Islamic political force? Zartman: The distinction between an implicitly illegitimate fundamentalist movement and a legitimate Islamic political force lies in the use of violence. A political force is one that takes part in the life of a country without resort to violence against members of the body politic. In addition, a value judgment on the legitimacy of Islamic political participation that is not Western, but is based on Muslim countries constitutions, has to do with an attempt to monopolize the Islamic label. I would agree with this, but emphasize that it is not a Western judgment, but a judgment of the countries themselves. In a Western, or modern, view politics and religion are separate to the extent that one cannot trump the other, and therefore one cannot legitimately say that the other is a bad Muslim. This is also Western practice, and indeed in American political life, I have had experience with this very item that one cannot say the opponent was a bad Christian, or whatever. The distinction among Muslims should be on the basis of their faith, not on their political practice, and I believe there is something in the Quran about that. Cantori: The term fundamentalism has its origins in American Christian theology, where it is applied to the marginal grouping of evangelicals. Used by liberal theologians, it conveys a sense of extremism and dismissal. In reference to Islam, in the world of scholarship, and now internally within U.S. agencies, it is being abandoned as being prejudicial and polemical. Instead, the term Islamism is used increasingly to denote the political manifestation of the religion of Islam. islamism permits one to more dispassionately make distinctions between extremist and mainstream Islam. Unfortunately, journalists especially still use the term fundamentalism and, in the process, fail to recognize and appreciate the moderation of the Islamic revival's mainstream. MEAJ: How realistic is the goal of mutual respect and cooperation between the West and the Islamic revival in the form of opposition groups? Zartman: The goal of mutual respect and cooperation between the West and the Islamic revival is certainly realistic. Religious revival is a world phenomenon these days and I see no basis for objecting to any individual's increased faith in his religion. Islamic revivalism is not the business of the West in political relations, and it should be of mutual interest in dealing with Westerners who are religious in their own tradition. In other words, the more religious a person is, the more I would expect that he would be open to mutual respect and cooperation with others who are religious, even if in a different tradition.
Cantori: Mutual respect and cooperation between the West and Islamic revival opposition groups depends upon two things. First, the West must make distinctions between militant and violent Islamic opposition groups and those which are using moderate means to achieve political recognition. The second point has to do with such Islamic groups themselves. Understandably, they are primarily concerned with spiritual values and the achievement of a moral society. However, they must add to this a theological concentration upon the content and form of Islamic democracy. It is well known that democratic elements already exist in Islam and al-Quran in the concepts of shura and ijmaa. It is important that these be practically developed so as to embody tolerance of other ideologies and minorities. Democracy can be the meeting ground of the West and Islam. 
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