Someone said to me one day, “Science put humans on the moon and religion put planes into buildings”. It is a very easy conclusion to jump to, especially when we are angry and we want to blame something for a tragedy on the scale of 9/11. Observing areas in the world where tension and war dominate lives, it is too easy to assume that religion is to blame in almost every case. What we must do is examine the genuine background to these wars.
Religion is such a sensitive and vulnerable part of our cultures, and it can be abused, misrepresented and manipulated in order to lead people into violence and hatred supposedly in the name of God. When we understand this, then we can begin to be aware of the danger of blaming religion for everything. It was not religion that flew planes into buildings but fear that led to fanaticism that brought about such horrific atrocities. When people feel desperate, threatened in their identity and pushed to self-defence they often react in an unpredictable and hostile way.
The rapidly changing world has put communities under enormous pressure through what many consider to be cultural invasion and economical domination. It should not be a surprise that fanaticism and outrage are some of the results of this unusual and explosive situation. It is our responsibility to understand what is going on in troubled areas like the Middle East if we want sincerely to defuse the tension and promote harmony and peace in our world.

This letter was published in the Evening Standard on Wednesday 27 January 2010
If UCL Provost Malcolm Grant believes “colleges must let extremists speak”, his inquiry into the Christmas Day bomber’s time at his institution will be a waste of time and his appointment as chairman of a national review is highly questionable.
As a former senior chaplain of the United Reformed Church to London’s universities and colleges, it became clear to me a long time ago that many universities live in fear of Islam and do not know how to handle issues of extremism.
At one gathering of a university Islamic Society which I was invited to attend, the speaker praised the two planes hitting the Twin Towers on 9/11 as heroic acts. I felt terrified. When I asked the university how it could allow such a speech to be given, I was told nothing could be done because of the laws of freedom of speech.
To build a safer society with greater integration, we need to stop looking the other way and start addressing the issue of fanaticism boldly, without exaggerated political correctness. Educational institutions should be at the top of our priority list.
The Rev Nadim Nassar, director, Awareness Foundation.

Differences matter as much as similarities, if not more. The more our world shrinks in ways of transportation and communication, the more urgent it becomes that we have the time to be aware of our differences. For centuries people in the East and the West alike did not see the necessity to get to know each other properly. Countries in the Middle East or the Far East have felt for a very long time that the West is interested in them only in as much as they can bring their culture and or religion with them. The technological revolution on every level forced everybody in the world to rethink the way they view this planet. It is not anymore a matter of luxury to travel or to know about other cultures and religions. It has become almost an inevitable step of development to get out of our comfort zone and face the fact that we live in a diverse world which needs our attention and examination whether in business, pleasure or education.

It is definitely not enough to look only at the similarities between cultures and / or religions. Given that these are often very complex relationship, that sort of assessment is just not enough. When people live in communities which include different cultures and religions, it becomes absolutely essential that they become aware of the things that distinguish them from the others. Living together means facing the political, social, economical and religious challenges together. And that means we need to know each other beyond simply being polite with each other, and also beyond jumping to quick conclusions about each other. Getting to know someone is a long, hard process which involves dealing with some real differences in the most fundamental aspects of life. Walking away is not an option let alone ignoring those differences. The only way forward is to present ourselves as honestly and as genuinely as we can, and let the other do the same.

In order to do this we need to raise the awareness of people about their own faith in order to combat fear which is the result of ignorance. Education is the cornerstone to equip people to be secure in their cultural and religious identities so that they can move to learn about others without prejudices. It is dangerous to judge other people without knowing them and it is even more dangerous to live with someone you do not know or you do not see the need to know.

God has created an extremely diverse world beginning with the structure of life through to the content of the universe. Therefore it is imperative for us to respect the creativity of God and embrace His creation by widening our horizons and getting excited about God’s work in all its forms. Unfortunately there are still people who are threatened by difference and afraid of diversity and that makes a fertile ground for extremism and violence. Hard-line fanatics can only recruit those who are naive, less educated and needy. Education here does not mean necessarily having a degree from a university but rather having the appreciation of diversity and believing that differences do enrich our lives in every possible way. I am definitely richer when I learn a different language and appreciate different styles of food or clothing or fine arts. I am richer when I know different religions without feeling threatened or having to compromise mine. I am richer when I can live side by side with different people who do not look like me or live like I do. The secret of understanding God’s love lies in the ability of loving different people with the excitement of a child opening a big gift.

Islam, at the moment, is going through a difficult time because it suffers from internal identity crises. It is, like any other religion in the world, divided into denominations and schools of thought. After more than fourteen centuries of history, Islam goes into what I call ‘religious puberty’. This period carries with it all the turmoil of moving from childhood to enter the age of maturity. Christianity passed through the same period of religious puberty in the Middle Ages and had its share of dilemmas and identity crises for centuries. Today, however, the situation is different because war is not anymore horses, swords, spears and castles. In war today, individual people and entire counties use the most sophisticated and complicated technology ever known to humanity. Such technology controls weapons of mass destruction - even the ability to destroy the entire planet, or at least the human race.

In this situation humanity cannot afford waiting for centuries to see how Islam would emerge from this critical period in its history. It might be too late. I hope I am not painting too dark a picture of our situation. The solution to the identity crises in Islam does not come from the American style of war against terrorism or the American style of democracy imposed on the countries of the Middle East. The American and the British invasion of Iraq has not helped the region to move on to a more peaceful time. On the contrary, it inflamed the whole area and proved to be an ignorant, foolish and childish decision taken by superpowers. The bloodshed, poverty, health crises, hunger and many other problems have increased and the country has entered into a maelstrom of violence and death. The only solution is education, dialogue and listening. Before we try to impose a certain way of resolving political conflicts on any part in the world, we need to understand the cultural – including language, art, philosophy, history and religion.

Islam is an evolving religion. It is searching for its proper foundation so that it can build its existence alongside other religions in the world without trying to eliminate them or exist in continuous hostility and conflict with them. It has to face the most problematic issue – which is the relationship between state and religion. The West has an important role to play, not by military and cultural invasion, but rather by listening, understanding and respecting the context of every country.