Karim H. Karim, Professor of Communication Studies and Director of Carleton University’s Centre for the Study of Islam. Co-editor with Mahmoud Eid of two books: Re-imagining the Other and Engaging the Other.
The Objective: To identify examples of Western and Muslim societies that successfully coexisted— both contemporary and historical—and offer alternatives to the current use of militarization.
The Researchers: Professors Karim and Eid solicited essays for their books, Re-imagining the Other and Engaging the Other, from scholars around the world and across disciplines. The essays detail 1400 years of mutually beneficial and productive relations between Western and Muslim societies.
The Findings: The dominant impression that’s emerged over the last few centuries is of a fundamental clash between East and West. However, the authors identified numerous exceptions where Muslim, Christian, and Jewish societies intermingled within art, literature, architecture, governance, and philosophy.
For instance, Professor Karim surveyed the breadth of Muslim civic organizations that practice maslahah, Islamic ethics related to serving the public good. He discovered these organizations can actually be traced back to Christian Byzantine models and are very much a part of the broader social, cultural, religious and intellectual exchanges between Muslims and other people.
These organizations also provide vital services in most Muslim-majority countries and have become an increasingly important feature in several Western societies.
In addition, Karim found groups of ordinary believers are actually meeting quietly in places like Lebanon, Egypt, and our own country to reach out across religious divides to find common ground. Some are even praying at each other’s shrines.
Quote: “We need to know each other better. We need to understand what causes ignorance about each other and move forward to solve this conflict, which is gripping the entire world.”
Friday, September 9, 2016 in Field Notes, FPA Voices
Share: Twitter, Facebook
