The Hope of Liberation in World Religions

5: Islam

91 In the twentieth century, Western technology and scientific advancement were promoted to an unprecedented degree for the purpose of bringing about an equal distribution of its fruits. But in actuality, it was only an extension of the previous Western modes of hegemony and domination of the Third World (the “two-thirds world”). Scientific achievements of the West were being utilized, according to herbert Marcuse, “to serve the interests of continued domination.” Thus only “the modes of domination have changed: they have become increasingly technological, productive, and even beneficial” (1955:vii). When Marcuse wrote these words the economic globalization had not yet fully revealed its face, resulting in an unprecedented concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few. In the twenty-first century this objective of “continued domination” by some Western entities has become manifest at all levels of human existence: environmental, economic , sociopolitical, and increasingly cultural. At the same time, in the twenty-first century, it is futile to speak of the “West” (primarily understood in cultural terms) or even the “North” (understood in economic terms) as well as their opposites because these terms have lost a good deal of meaning. Today the West and North are found everywhere; they exist not only within their own historically claimed domains but also within the heart of their polar opposites, the “east” and the “South.” The rapid dissemination of Western culture through the mass media and the concentration 5 IsLaM —Irfan A. Omar 92 — IrfanA. omar of economic power through the globalized reach of the corporations have penetrated many other cultures, societies, and markets. These two have established themselves as a set of normative global cultural and economic patterns, demanding that all other systems must give way. Globalization has taken over. It is pertinent to speak of liberation theology as a phenomenon that has manifested and reappropriated itself in many parts of the “twothirds world” as a response to these systemic and structural processes. It is of particular importance to understand the different ideologies and movements that have provided a medium for such manifestations and reappropriations. Religion has played a key role in many such movements . While Latin American struggles were first framed in the context of Marxism and Christianity, the struggles in the Middle east and North Africa began in experimentation with westernization, secularism , socialism, and Arab nationalism, culminating in various forms of religious resurgence. Islam became the channel through which resistance and resurgence, revivalism and discontent were expressed. Islam undoubtedly remains one such powerful medium in the contemporary world. Today such struggles and challenges have lost all sense of geography and ethnic alliances. Today’s liberation struggles cut across national boundaries, as well as political and sectarian divides, and are marked by conflicts which are both internal—among Muslim groups, as well as external—between Muslim and non-Muslim groups. In the period after the cold war until the events of September 11, 2001, the Western political talking heads and some policy makers in both the legislative as well as the executive branches of government regarded Islam as the next “enemy” of the United States and the Western world. The earlier threat posed by the Soviet Union, which no longer existed, had been replaced by Islam. It was argued that Islam was a challenge not only to Western economic interests but also to its cultural interests, which are in the end one and the same. The alleged manifestations of these so-called challenges have been reported in many Western countries, such as france, the Netherlands, Germany, and the United Kingdom, for in these countries, due to incidents involving Muslims, the issue of cultural differences has been raised in racial and ethnic terms.1 The story of Islam in the West continues to be written with earnest speed, and more so now than ever before. With Western/American involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq and the impending designs for Iran, the geopolitical focus on both Islam as a religious tradition and the Muslim societies continues to be a source of anxiety and unease Islam — 93 for many Muslims, especially those Muslims who are part of the West (even though they may not necessarily be located in the “West”). In a post-September 11 world, the situation has worsened for many Muslims as they increasingly come under suspicion for being who they are. The countless attacks on Islam and Muslims have put many on the defensive. But...