by Miguel Guaglianone
A wave of indignation runs throughout the Muslim world and has ceased as a consequence of the death of an American ambassador and several others. The video presentation of a virtually unknown author entitled "Innocent Muslims" savagely mocking the Prophet Muhammad and his ideas, has sparked multiple protests across the Middle East and other areas of Muslim presence. This has served to give rise again to review the array of Islamic intolerance and fanaticism, reflected by the chains of the corporate media.
The truth is that the progressive drift towards the right of the western powers, mainly caused by the deepening economic crisis, the repeated military failures, the growing social problems in the developed countries, always find a good scapegoat in Islam, with which to distract its citizens from growing everyday problems. Added to that this justifies the constant aggressions on this area of strategic geopolitical importance and natural energy resources of the Middle East and bordering.
The gradual rise of the far right, that is assuming increasing power within the crisis, and that is always xenophobic, encourages such actions. The video referred to has been supplemented these days with a series of mocking cartoons edited by the French press, which only further exacerbate the process, so much so the French government, anticipating the reaction, has already closed consulates and embassies in Islamic countries.
This produces an acceleration of the spiral of hatred, the indignant reactions of Islamic populations (these provocations reach deep making them forget their internal differences and reacting homogeneously) again serve as a "test" of intolerance of fanatics who understand neither "democracy" or "freedom of expression" and the responses stimulate new hostility on the part of the right in the west.
Arnold Toynbee, the late English historian, devoted most of his work to study the civilizations in human history. Included within these studies are examples of clashes between civilizations. In regard to the conflict between the west and Islam, we heard him say at a conference back in the early sixties of the previous century, that it was still too early to know how the confrontation would be elucidated.
He said that in the last few centuries the west had subjugated Islam, and that when that happened in history between two civilizations, there were several possible alternatives. One was that Islam would disappear against the onslaught of the west. Another was that it was adapting itself and culturally influencing its aggressor. And another was that it had finally recovered from the ashes developed and was preparing an unusual response force.
Samuel Phillips Huntington, from the totally ideological right perspective, was considered as a disciple of Toynbee and developed the model now known as the "clash of civilizations," calling the conflict as inevitable and providing a theoretical model to justify the need for the west to finish not only with Islam, but with the rest of the other civilizations that still exist (including our "peripheral" cultures .
He was developing a modern theoretical justification for imperial expansion (not coincidentally, he has always worked for the U.S. government, becoming a presidential advisor to Lyndon Johnson and advocating the bombing of rural areas of Vietnam).
Ultimately, these events are a product of what seems almost an inevitable crisis, the power and progressive ascent of barbarism to a large powerful level, when they see their hegemony stumbling.
The balance cannot be other than negative. On the one hand, the violence increases from the side of Islam, thus leading to the most radical and protective response under the provocation of lack of respect for their beliefs.
On the other hand, western rights will continue to provide the justification for ncreasing combat with Islam (using the policy of that old French proverb that says "This animal really is irrelevant, one attacks and they defend themselvess").
More fuel to the fire of a troubled and chaotic global picture. We are living in times of great change. We can only hope that all will eventually end up being for the good of all, despite its fierce face.
Original source:
http://barometrointernacional.bligoo.com.ve
Translated from the Spanish version by:
Lisa Karpova
Pravda.Ru