''Western'' assumptions about Islam

[Travis]

Western assumptions about Islam predominately revolve around Islam's use of violence to obtain political objectives and Islam's treatment of women. However, much of what is reported on Islam is to an extent sensationalised and severed from any academic principals.  For example the hypothesis presented by David Landes' (1998) that the Islamic world is in an economical stagnation due to its treatment of women (pg 410-413) lacks any academic merit. The potency of his claim did not come from research that can be quantified and checked, but rather from personal anecdotes that confirm to a presupposed image of the Islamic world. In addition the phenomena of 'Global terrorism' and the claim that Islam is used as an ideological base to justify acts of violence against the 'innocent' has been the centre of much analysis both in academia and the media. This has resulted in the assumption that Islam is used to justify acts of violence against non-combatants (terrorism) for the purposes of political gain. Furthermore this notion has been widely condemned as immoral and as an act contrary to western democratic thought and practice. However, ignoring the accuracy of such claims against Islam, the evidence suggests that such an act ,'terrorism', is not unique to  'Islamic' residence groups but rather has been predominately used by western nations. And the assertion that these acts are abhorrent to western thought is as much as a myth as is the claim that Islam's treatment of women is the primary cause of the economical stagnation in the Middle East.
According to the dominant theory of international relations realism, moral norms should be suspended in pursuit of national interests. This concept is termed as 'ethics of responsibility' which '...involves the weighing up of consequences and the realization that positive outcomes may result from amoral actions (Baylis and Smith 2005 pg 773)'.  Mearsheimer and Walt (2007) argue that 'The United states has overthrown a few democratic governments in the past and has supported numerous dictators when doing so was thought to advance U.S. interests' (pg 87 2007).
The manifestation of this principal can be demonstrated by observing the tactics of war employed by the allied forces during World War Two. The British were responsible for initiating the tactic of targeting civilian populations during air raids (Taylor 1991 pg 16). The aerial attack alone against Hamburg in 1943 yielded the first 'fire-storm' in history and killed in the region of 50000 civilians, whose main cause of death was burning and asphyxiation (Irving 1985). Therefore, if ethics and morals can be suspended in pursuit of political objectives according to western theory and practice, what basis remains for condemning opposing ideologies that, allegedly, employ similar tactics?



Baylis, J. and Smith, S. (2005) The Globalisation of world politics: An introduction to international relations. New York: Oxford University Press.

Irving D. (1985) The destruction of Dresden. London: Papermac

Landes, D. (1998) The wealth and poverty of nations. London: Abacus

Mearsheimer, J and Walt, S. (2007) The Israel lobby and US foreign policy. London: Penguin