The shareef don't like it (Clash...of Stupidities, Part II)

Two recent articles have recently reminded me how far we've come in the self-fulfilling prophecy of the clash of civilizations. A New York Times Op-Ed columnist, Roger Cohen, recently wrote about the struggle between Islam and democracy in Turkey. Islam is a young religion, he noted, and we should not be too impatient with Muslims cutting their teeth on democracy. But, spare the rod and spoil the child -- he concluded that "[t]he fight for Turkey’s soul is not about to abate: it’s salutary as long as it remains open. The West should do all it can to safeguard that openness — and that may involve an occasional dose of “secular fascism.”"

'Scuse me? When did that become our goal? Fight fire with fire, you might be thinking. Well, before I launch into a discussion about why militant democracy is not the answer, let's unpack this a little more.

First of all, why do we care so much? More than we care about cultural divisions in China, Zimbabwe, South Africa, or any host of other countries? You'll notice that the auto-response to this is familiar: If Islam wins the cultural war, Islamists will be elected. Islamists 1) want to kill us and 2) hate freedom. Ergo, we must fight [the good fight] to stop it.

The first argument is the root of the paranoia that will always make the West's supposed democratic agenda a catch-22. The second is more interesting. It lies in the background of the article - the comments about head-to-toe swimsuits and headscarves. It's an appeal to the liberal humanitarian in every red-blooded college grad. It is not made as an argument -- it sets the background for any story about Islam. But it's often employed to underpin the first argument -- that there is danger.

Today, it seems that we are obsessed with the clash within civilizations. We wait with bated breath to see "which way" Algeria will go. But for all the debate about it, all the articles, in depth analysis, and philosophizing we forget one thing -- it's not our fight. And it's especially not our place to turn it into a battle between good and evil, whatever the disclaimers that we understand the subtlety.

Meanwhile, here at home, cheering for secularism has turned Islam into the demon. The debate is so polarizing that calling a presidential candidate a Muslim is considered a smear that he will risk isolating voters to avoid. We have plenty to deal with here in the US regarding relations with Muslims.

The divisiveness breeds a radicalization of both sides. There is a push and pull going on in Islam, even here. To be a Mulsim in the US today is to be caught between being a haraami and committing cultural suicide; to be considered radical instead of pious or a traitor instead of a secularist. There is plenty of room for improvement and debate here at home.

All I'm saying is, it ain't your job to rock the casbah.