Islam and the West: Clash or Dialogue of Civilisations? 1

In the century just begun, how we organise our lives, view our own cultures, and interact with others will be shaped by the outcome of a struggle between two diametrically opposed ideas. These ideas are further separated, and the differences between them sharpened, by the process that has come to be called globalisation. ² The first of these opposed ideas is the so-called “Clash of Civilisations”, in which Muslims are invariably seen as the main opponents of the West. This Muslim–Western opposition is not a new idea. ³ In fact, it is a continuation of older ideas about Islam as a predatory civilisation threatening the West. ⁴