ISLAM THE WEST AND TOLERANCE CONCEIVING COEXISTENCE pdf

Islam The West and Tolerance Conceiving Coexistence by AARON TYLER

ISLAM THE WEST AND TOLERANCE CONCEIVING COEXISTENCE

For many in the West, Islam has become the scapegoat of terrorism.

Deemed the impetus behind recent terrorist attacks on Western soil, Islam—more pointedly, its perversion by militant extremists—has become the chief fear of many Westerners.

With the new “enemy” identified, attempts to excise Islam’s radical elements, whether through banal discrimination upon Muslim immigrants in the dar al-kufr (“jurisdictions of the non-Muslims” or “abode of disbelief”) or military, economic, and diplomatic pressure against the dar al-Islam (“jurisdictions of Muslims” or “abode of peace”), are now underway.

One must remember that the Islamic world consists of much more than the Middle East. Muslims comprise a majority in over a quarter of the world’s States, from the African Continent to Central Asia.

South Asian countries such as Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, as well as South East Asian countries such as Indonesia, host a significant majority of the world’s Muslims and remain some of the most volatile regions of geopolitical concern to the West.

 Indeed, the over 1.3 billion Muslims scattered across the globe are diverse and not easily encapsulated.

Islamic civilization covers a wide range of political and economic systems, as well as a vast array of ethnic groups, cultures, local traditions, languages, beliefs, and family and social values.

Theological and ritualistic differences abound, making a universal umma an elusive reality.