“When the clashes of modern times have come, they have most often grown out of particular political circumstances, the twists and turns of power relationships and economic ambitions, rather than deep theological divides. Yet sadly, what is highly abnormal in the Islamic world gets mistaken for what is normal. Of course, media perceptions of our world in recent years have often been conveyed through a lens of war. But that is all the more reason to shape global conversation in a more informed direction.”
The final topic of the Diamond Jubilee International Education Themes explores what it means to be an Ambassador of Islam in the global context of today, and how we can act as Ambassadors in our everyday lives. This article will review misperceptions and misrepresentations of Islam commonly held in today’s world, particularly in North America and Europe.
How are Islam and Muslim societies sometimes perceived by people in the West?
In the global media, Islam and Muslim societies are frequently linked with acts of violence, terrorism, and the oppression of women that do not represent the true character of Islam. These misrepresentations, when left unchecked and uncorrected, easily lead to feelings of suspicion, animosity, fear and hostility.
Do some people in Muslim societies also misunderstand the Western world?
Mawlana Hazar Imam has often described this lack of understanding as a mutual problem between the West and the Muslim world. In many Muslim societies, ignorance and stereotypes about the West also exist, which can feed into anti-Western sentiments. In extreme cases, this results in acts of violence targeting symbols that represent the West.
What contributes to the misperceptions of people, including Muslims?
The misrepresentation of people, including Muslims, is not a new phenomenon, and is rooted in simplistic stereotypes, rather than understanding the diversity and complex factors that shape human activities. Since early European exploration of the East, Western misperceptions of the Muslim world flourished and these harmful stereotypes have survived until today. These misperceptions are spread due to various factors.
The first is a lack of understanding and education. In Western education systems, there is almost a total absence of teaching about Islam, the diversity of the Muslim Ummah, and the history of Muslim societies. Similarly, Muslim education often fails to understand the diversity and history of the West.
The second cause of misperceptions is the failure to understand or discuss the historical, political, economic, and cultural contexts from which actions, beliefs and traditions arise.
Third, events and actions that make the news in the Muslim world are often the result of political and economic interests rather than theological or religious factors.
What does Mawlana Hazar Imam believe can be done to correct these misperceptions?
In June 2002, Mawlana Hazar Imam spoke of the need for greater education to correct misperceptions and improve understanding in his speech at the Banquet Hosted in Honour of Governor Perry in Houston, Texas:
“For a number of years I have voiced my concern that the faith of a billion people is not part of the general education process in the West – ignored by school and college curricula in history, the sciences, philosophy and geography. An important goal of responsible education should be to ring- fence the theologising of the image of the Muslim world by treating Muslims as it treats Christians and Jews, by going beyond a focus on theology to considering civil society, politics, and economics of particular countries and peoples at various points in their history. This will reveal the fundamental diversity and pluralism of Muslim peoples, cultures, histories, philosophies and legal systems… Within the Islamic world there is work to do as well, starting with a better understanding and appreciation of the pluralism of cultures and interpretations among Muslims.”
Individually, when we each understand the root causes of these misperceptions, we are better positioned to correct them.
Learn more:
- Speech: Mawlana Hazar Imam, Commonwealth Press Union Conference, 1996
- Speech: Mawlana Hazar Imam, Opening Ceremony of the Ismaili Centre, Burnaby, 1985
- Article: Karim H. Karim, “The Historical Resilience of Primary Stereotypes: Core Images of the Muslim Other,” 1997
- Article: Carl W. Ernst, “Introduction: Islamophobia in America,” 2013
- Article: Ameer Ali, “From Islamophobia to Westophobia: The Long Road to Radical Islamism,” 2016
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