Islam and Its Discontents
An Interview with Frank Berberich
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7936648 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Abdelwahab Meddeb (corresponding author) |
| Translators | Pierre Joris |
| Year | 2002 |
| Volume | 99 |
| Pages | 3-20 |
| Publication date | 2002-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | October (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0162-2870 • E-ISSN: 1536-013X |
| Publisher | MIT Press - Journals (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1162/016228702317274611 |
| OpenAlex | W2173872251 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
OCTOBER 99, Winter 2002, pp. 3–20. © 2002 October Magazine, Ltd. and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Frank Berberich: How can one describe, five days after the events of September 11, the situation in the Arab world? How are the New York events received? The Arab and the Islamic world seem torn, but it is clear that this action has some sympathizers; on the one hand it is certain that the majority of those opinions are opposed to a Western military reaction. On the other, one has the feeling that the manner in which Americans interpret this action ignores that these events are inscribed in a history to which it is indispensable to return. Abdelwahab Meddeb: The Islamic world is complex and multiple. Those who judged this act barbaric and condemned it without hesitation are the Westernized in the Islamic world. And they are numerous, more numerous than one would think—in quantitative terms maybe ten percent; they are Westernized in their minds and in their habits, they accept occidental modernity and have chosen it as their way of living and being. Further, there is a majority that thinks otherwise—without necessarily rejoicing, as was shown in certain Palestinian camps in Lebanon or on a street in East Jerusalem; those manifestations must have been very limited because even if such a feeling corresponds to an immediate emotional reaction, those who have a modicum of political vision very quickly realized the catastrophic scope of such images—for it is also a question of a war of images and the question of the image is central to this whole affair. But everyone thinks that this act is a response to an American foreign policy based on a partisan application of power. This opinion is not only expressed by Muslims or Arabs, I’ve also heard it developed by Europeans. If a country, a people, or a state wants to become the leader of the world, it needs to be equitable in its management. To be clear, I’d say that a choice needs to be made between an imperialist policy founded on war and an Translated by Pierre Joris
Art · Art history · Islam · Sociology · Theology · Islamic Studies and History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Philosophy · Religious studies · Religious Studies
| Citations per year | 0.13 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2002 - 2008 (7) |
| Highly cited | No |