Keeping the Peace

Why? Three factors come to mind: history, political leadership and media. Historically, relations between Islam and Christianity -- the West's dominant religion -- have been downright bad more often than they have been passably good. Brutality often results, as happened during the Crusades -- as well as in Byzantium, Palestine and, most recently, in the Balkans. The latest round of historical confrontation is fueled by a resurgence in recent decades of the clout of Muslim nations as a result of oil. The developed West relies on the substance, while the developing Islamic world sits on most of it -- a recipe for fretful ties. Nor is the great divide merely doctrinal in nature. Recent societal changes in the West have made the face-off less one between two religions than one between Islam and a liberal, secular Western credo.

Political leaders, unfortunately, tend to think in the short term. To galvanize support, they find it expedient to stoke animosities based on ideological, economic, religious and racial differences. Many Judeo-Christian leaders invoke the image of the mad mullah, the Kalashnikov-toting fundamentalist, the bizarre towelhead who cuts off hands and stones women to death. Likewise, Islamic leaders reinforce archetypes of Gotham's lawless streets, of hedonistic and decadent Westerners bereft of communal and family values. Sadly, religious figures often echo these canards. Such demonization is evident in a range of direct or indirect clashes between Islam and the West: Bosnia, Sudan, Chechnya, Kashmir, Nagorno-Karabakh, Nigeria, East Timor, Afghanistan.

The process is vigorously propagated by the media on both sides. After the bombing of a government building in America's Oklahoma City, one popular British newspaper headlined that the butchery had been done "In the Name of Islam." A rival daily said the bloodbath bore "all the hallmarks of Islamic fundamentalists with a fanatical hatred of America." They were wrong. As Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad pointedly noted: "When it was discovered that it was not a Muslim who did it, the fact that the bomber was a Christian was ignored. It was not described as Christian terrorism." None of the Western papers, with their multi-million circulations, apologized for the outrageous slur against Muslims.

A similar bias occurs in the media of Muslim countries. And not only in the peddling of Western stereotypes -- with husbands fornicating while wives turn into alcoholics and kids into dope fiends -- but in the skewed nature of opinion pieces. Last week, a moderate Malaysian daily blasted Israel and its ally, the U.S., for the recent bombing of a Lebanese refugee compound under the headline "Getting Away With Murder." Entirely unmentioned were the missiles raining down on Israel from Hezbollah bases in Lebanon. Of course, the press in many Muslim countries like Iran and Syria are much more flagrantly anti-Western.

Biased and factually inaccurate media reports stem from an ingrained, antagonistic attitude, a pre-story mindset. It is underpinned by a conviction that Western and Muslim societies are so different that they are almost destined to collide. Such a view was enunciated by the American academic, Mr. Samuel Huntington, in his controversial essay, "The Clash of Civilizations." For the West, a fresh villain was needed after the defeat of communism. "The new enemy is Islam and the Muslims," says Dr. Mahathir. "They are shifty, unprincipled, given to violence and terror." Added the Malaysian prime minister last week: "In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chechnya, Palestine and Lebanon, Muslims who were weak were attacked mercilessly by enemies of Islam." For their part, many Muslims view the Western "infidel" as an implacable foe.

Clearly, the seeds for conflict have not merely been sown, they are sprouting. What to do? Political leaders must play the key role in efforts to bridge the differences and reduce misunderstandings. Mr. Huntington calls for civilizations to co-exist, and Dr. Mahathir urges mutual cultural enrichment. As a first step, both sides might do well to recall that Christianity teaches people to treat others as they would like to be treated. Another fact to bear in mind: Islam means "Peace."