Christianity shouldn't take all the blame

Dear Editor:

The article 'What have we learned since 9/11' in the September 13 Spectator contained some prescient observations and an accurate conclusion, stating that it will take time to heal the rifts between Christianity and Islam but that this struggle for coexistence is one that must be continued, for the benefit of us all.

However, there are a couple of statements which are historically inaccurate and should be addressed. First, the implication is made that it is exclusively the Christian world's fault that Christianity and Islam have difficulty coexisting because "we in the West have historically looked upon adherents of Islam as inferior to us." The truth is that from the 14th to the 19th centuries, Western scholars studied Turkish, Arabic, and Persian languages, culture and literature and travelled extensively in Muslim lands for purposes of research, diplomacy and trade. Middle Eastern studies, as we might now designate such, were offered at most of the universities of Europe. In contrast, studies in European language, culture and literature were a rarity in the Muslim world. Fewer Muslims travelled to the West.

The documented, prevalent reason was that these cultures deemed non-Muslim studies unnecessary, because it was believed that nothing of worth could be learned from non-Muslims, particularly Europeans. Who is viewing who as inferior? Europe's advances in technology in the 15th century and beyond were viewed with jealousy in the Muslim world. The freedoms and license granted European women also grated upon Muslim sensibilities. It is clear that both Christian and Muslims regarded each other with suspicion and disdain, but please, let's not take Western political correctness to the extreme and blame the Christian West for every ill-informed or bigoted opinion.

Secondly, to state that the Afghan mission is analogous to the Crusades is just plain wrong. The Crusades were provoked after the caliph of Jerusalem banned Christian pilgrims from visiting their holy sites (up to this point the Christian pilgrims had been welcomed, as they brought in the equivalent of "tourist dollars"). So initially Christians were simply fighting to regain access to their holy sites. The Afghan mission was provoked by that country's harbouring a terrorist organization which attacked the West directly, killing thousands of people, including Canadians. The West did not ban Muslims from their holy sites. Granted, the Crusades later devolved into a land-grab, but attrocities were committed by both sides, not just by the Christians.

(References for my points were gleaned from What Went Wrong: the Clash Between Islam and Modernity in the Middle East by Bernard Lewis of Princeton University, one of the world's leading Middle East scholars.)

Joy O'Neill Naime

Annapolis Royal, NS