Topic 1: Clash Of Civilisation

1. Introduction
Clash of civilization is a theory referencing the clash of cultures. So the term
civilization is therefore, “cultural entity” (Huntington, 1993, p. 23). According to
Huntington (1993, p. 25), civilizations distinguished from other culture “by history,
language, culture, tradition and most important, religion”. Therefore, conflicts
between civilizations are likely to be caused by religious means. As a result, saw the
clash between the Western culture and Islam culture. To illustrate further, this clashes
was between the mainly secular view and religious view. Meanwhile, Ahmed (2002,
p. 2) illustrated “Muslims are invariably seen as the main opponents of the West”.
Viewing from Ahmed and Huntington’ journals, both illustrated Muslims as a threat
to the West.
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2. The 9/11 attacks
The clash between the West and the East is clearly emphasised ever since the attacks
on the U.S on the 11th of September 2001. These attacks marked towards the
prediction of Huntington’s concept of a civilize clash between the West and the
Muslim populace.
Islamophobia- Fear of the East
Following the attacks on September 11, the connotation of the Muslim populace
changed vastly. Islam became the core threat towards the West. Ahmed (2002, p. 21)
conveyed “Islam as a predatory civilization threatening the west”.
Hate Crimes
After the 9/11 attacks, hate was established by Western civilization against the
Muslim populace. Meanwhile, those potentially sighted as Muslims were also faced
with this problem as well. Ahmed’s article (2002, p. 23) illustrates “reports *on+
harassment of Muslims [with an] attacks on mosques began to circulate. Girls
wearing the hijab were attacked and abused”. Stereotypes were used by the west to
mark Muslim as terrorists.
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3. “Multiculturalism is bound to fail”
Multiculturalism is deemed to fail in this context of Huntington’s view. As mention
earlier, the Muslim and the west cannot lives peacefully after the 9/11 attack.
Consequently, multiculturalism is therefore dysfunctional in attempting to promote
diversity and acceptance. Besides, Farrar et al (2012, p. 33) further demonstrates
Islam as “incompatible with the west civilization… Islam cannot be accommodated
within Western societies”. Therefore, it is clearly portrayed that both civilize cultures
cannot exist together without any conflict. Since, the east is strongly religious and
they cannot assimilate into the secular view of the west. So, the clash of civilization
between the Western secular views will inevitably come into conflict with the
religious view of the east.
Another aspect to the crisis of multiculturalism is associated with the notion of too
many Muslim within the confines of the west bringing an increase in terrorism. This
can be threatening towards the western civilization overall. All in all, it is clear to say
that multiculturalism is deeming to fail.
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4. The conflict between the west and the east is clearly illustrated by gender distinction
especially within the female role. This female distinction is a great example on
conveying the clash of ideology between the two civilizations, mainly, in how women
are perceived under both civilizations. It goes without saying, the Muslim portrayal is
strongly related towards religious ideologies where women are mandated to wear
the hijab. They seem to be un-liberated as opposed to the west, where women are
deem as free, liberal and unrestricted in how they present themselves within
societies. Conflicts between both civilizations underpin a very different way of life,
especially in regards to gender role in women.
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5. Issues towards female distinction for Muslim women wearing a hijab are a matter of
debate. In the western viewpoint, Muslim women are seen as fundamentally unfree
or oppressed. Lughod (2006) demonstrated that “Western imagination…the veiled
Muslim women stands for oppression”. The hijab in the western viewpoint is
perceived as an oppressive means to control women's rights. Nevertheless, some
female Muslims believe that wearing a hijab is part of expressing their Islamic
religious belief or even part of a religious ritual. It is part of Muslim religious duty and
a choice chosen by female Muslims. In short, Abu- Lughod’s article (2006) argues that
the position of Muslim women and Western women are “creating a seemingly huge
divide between ‘us’ and ‘them’. The statement is clearly illustrating the clash between
both civilisations.
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