Conclusion

We began this discussion talking about your discovery of the third faith, Islam, alongside Christianity and Judaism. I'm curious, as somebody who's thought a lot about religion, is it fair to say that in some ways fundamentalism, extreme fundamentalism in all three religions, is a major problem of modernity these days that is across the board?

Absolutely. Absolutely. We forget in recent decades there's been a religious resurgence, and it's mainstream in most faiths, but you have this fundamentalism. I like to put it as follows: Those people we call fundamentalists are generally people who subscribe to a rather exclusivist theology. They see themselves as right, and, therefore, "If I'm right, you're wrong. We're the forces of good; [you're the] forces of evil. Forces of God; forces of Satan." And that exclusivist theology tends to be weak on pluralism and on religious tolerance. That doesn't mean they're going to kill other people. They just know other people are wrong. Often for many of them, they know that when you die, you're going to go to hell. Doesn't mean I feel I have to dispatch you to hell. You see?

The extremist is the one who takes this exclusivist theology, this polarized world view, harnesses it into a "should" and says, "No. If we have the truth, and you represent untruth, we're the army of God, and you're the army of Satan, then we have an obligation to pursue." That struggle is not just a struggle of words and of missionaries, etc., it becomes an armed struggle. And, of course, they dovetail it with political, social, and economic grievances. And that's what you see.

So, for example, the assassin of Mr. Rabin would pore over religious texts to find a way to legitimate his grievance.

And he was Jewish, actually.

He was Jewish.

Your institute is addressing some of these problems on the domestic side, looking at the promotion of a Christian - Islamic dialogue. Tell us a little about that agenda and what it is attempting to achieve, and the possibilities there.

Our center was created in 1993, within the Walsh School of Foreign Service. The full title of the center is the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding: History, and International Affairs. So although we do some of it, we're not primarily interested in theological dialogue.

I see.

We address the whole issue of the relationship, therefore, in history of international affairs past and present. We run programs domestically and internationally. We run them in the United States, we run them in Europe, we run them all over the Muslim world. We speak and write about contemporary issues. We write briefing papers. We write books that deal with the role of Islam in Muslim politics, with regard to gender issues. We work with think tanks, we work with religious groups, universities, and even governments running workshops and conferences all over the world. And we do an awful lot with the media, domestically and internationally. For many of us, our writings are translated not only into European languages, or Chinese and Japanese, but into Muslim languages. We attempt an engagement not only in Washington and across America, but in fact, we attempt this kind of engagement internationally.

So what you're really talking about is elevating the consciousness in the same way that your consciousness was elevated as you began your pursuit of scholarly studies?

Precisely. Our whole idea is to open up that window, to say to people, "Yes, you know something, but often it's that something that's coming through what I call the 'explosive headline' events." Because the media is about grabbing your attention and selling newspapers, it's not about what the average person is doing, or where the average person is coming from. And trying to, for example, say to people, "Anti-Americanism is broad-based in the Muslim world. But it's also broad-based outside. Anti-Americanism in Europe and in the Muslim world does not mean hatred of America. However, that anti-Americanism does, in the hands of extremists, become a hatred of America that, in fact, advocates violence." We make those kinds of distinctions.

In a way, we're doing what post-9/11, the Bush administration tried to do in some of its public diplomacy. Regrettably, it didn't address sufficiently the foreign policy issues. But when it said, "We want to explain to people, because we believe that people out there really don't understand the whole picture. They don't really know what America is about." Well, we're trying to broaden that picture on all sides to the extent that we can.

One final question requiring a short answer. How would you advise students to prepare for a future where international politics is going to be important, the Islamic world is going to be important, and we have to deal with the challenges posed by America's enormous power in the world?

I think students are positioned today in a way that they weren't before. Post-9/11 has meant, whether it's the curriculum or our media, a far more visible set of opportunities to learn more. And students ought to be more motivated. America was attacked, and it is part of their future. This isn't a war that's being fought "over there." So, I say to students: "You have an obligation as a citizen, let alone the opportunity as a student, to explore international affairs and to attempt to make your contribution."

Well, on that note, we're very pleased to have had you here today, and thank you very much for joining us for this Conversation with History.

Thank you. It was fun.

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