Author discusses Western misunderstandings of Islam

Addressing the tensions which exist between Western and Islamic cultures, a professor from Holy Cross University spoke Monday night to over 50 people about possible Western stereotypes of Islamic politics. John Esposito, author of The Islamic Threat, said that Westerners typically believe the mixture of politics and religion in Islamic societies is dangerous. In his lecture, titled The Challenge of Islam, Esposito addressed the confusion and misunderstanding that surrounds the nature of Islamic organizations. Many Westerners equate Islamic politics with terrorism, Esposito said. But he warned the audience about stereotyping all Muslim groups and governments as "fundamentalist extremists." Esposito explained that the press and the Western analysts have contributed to this "selective" view of Islamic organizations. "A minority got confused with the majority," he said. In fact, Esposito said, there are now many Muslim-based organizations that have "gone mainstream," offering public services. Esposito pointed to the 1979 coup d'etat in Iran as the event that triggered the current Western paranoia. "For many in the West, the image was a sudden Islamic resurgence, which meant a revolution, which meant Americans held hostage," Esposito said. "[Now] we see organizations demonstrate that they are willing to participate within the social framework," he said. "This has changed the challenge of Islam." Esposito said in the past that the West felt threatened by the violence of radical Islamic groups. Now that these once-radical groups have entered the mainstream of Islamic society, he added, they are seen as even more of a threat. "In recent literature, Islam has been presented as a triple threat -- a demographic threat in Europe and America as well as a political and civilizational threat," Esposito said. Esposito also spoke about the double standard that exists in the press, saying that the media perpetuates stereotypes about Islam. He said people would be offended if the same approach were taken with Judaism or Christianity. According to Esposito, the West has to be careful not to group all Islamic movements together. "We have to learn to distinguish between the majority who want to separate politics and religion and the minority that are anti-system," he said. "By our inability to judge populace movements by their actions, we may decapitate a movement but may in the long term splinter it and make it more radical." The lecture was followed by a question and answer session and a reception at the Faculty Club. Many in the audience said they were impressed by Esposito's lecture and students from other area universities attended the event.

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