ABSTRACT
European discourse on Islam is a microcosm of the debate on Islam’s compatibility with the West. Because Western countries generally associate Islam with the Al-Qaeda movement, the Palestinian issue, and Islamic Iran, their discussion of the religion involves an essentialized approach to a multifaceted faith. In his book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim, Mahmood Mamdani1
refers to this slant as “cultural talk,” or representing the religion as a unified ideology whether in Europe, Iraq, or Afghanistan. According to this perspective, Islam is steeped in history and absolutely incapable of innovation, and Muslims are defined by an almost compulsive conformity to their past and an inability to address the current challenges of political development and religious liberal thinking. Therefore, cultural talk justifies the artificial divide between modern and pre-modern religions and between secularism and Islam.2 Cultural talk has become prevalent in modern international relations discourse, in part because it refers to stereotypes that are familiar to the historical consciousness of Western politicians and intellectuals.
