The cartoon crisis and Western cultural hegemony

CARTOON CRISIS: The rapid spread of very often violent protests in parts of the Muslim world against what is seen as sacrilege committed by some Western newspapers through the publication of cartoons denigratory of Prophet Muhammad, is a fresh and disquieting reminder of the degree to which religious-identity based politics are shaking the world.

It could very well be that religious issues are once again being used as a tool of popular mobilisation by religious and political demagogues but there is no denying that they are exploiting already opened, explosive divisions.

A religious substance has been given to politics in particularly those parts of the world where hegemonic interests, both internal and external, are active and where Western consumerism has made deep inroads into traditional cultures which strongly defend their autonomy.

Hence the current protests are symptomatic of the invasive influence of religion in global politics. This may not be proof that a 'Clash of Civilisations' is upon us but there is no denying that religious identity is a galvanising current in international politics - both destabilising and explosive.

Religion becomes a defensive shield against those cultural and ideological influences which are seen as erosive of traditional cultures and needless to say, such forces could prove particularly pervasive in an era of globalisation and Western military, economic, and cultural hegemony.

Accordingly, a paradox of globalisation comes to be particularly pronounced at present: that is, both integrative and disintegrative tendencies assail the world as consequences of adopting this model.

What we are seeing in the present fierce protests against the controversial cartoons is a disintegrative current sparked by the perception that one's religious identity is suffering erosion in the wake of Western cultural hegemony.

Such a situation could be a happy hunting ground for demagogues seeking to expand their support bases through a fomenting of popular discontent although hurt religious sentiments also become a factor to contend with.

While economic globalisation in particular has tended to make the world a 'Global Village', consumerist values which accompany it, tend to trigger a violent reaction to them among those societies which see these values as threatening their firmly entrenched religious and cultural norms.

Needless to say, Islamic societies are in the eye of this turbulence. Such disintegrative tendencies and divisions take added strength and nourishment from Western military aggression against societies where a non-Western religious consciousness is particularly pronounced. Cases in point are Afghanistan and Iraq.

As often pointed out in this column, civilisational or inter-cultural dialogue should take the place of confrontational approaches in resolving controversies among societies, which have strong security implications and globally destabilising consequences.

Power politics could no longer be seen as a suitable base to regulate inter-state relations. Moves to have a UN resolution banning insults to religion constitute a step in the right direction.

In a sense what is at issue here is democratic development. Rather than allow cultural and religious hegemonism to be guiding influences in the formation of states, the peaceful co-existence of religious and cultural groups needs to be made the basis of state formation. What is essentially needed is democratic accommodation of plural identities.

Such a process is already on in Iraq although it is proving to be bloody and turbulent. The challenge before Iraq is to find a principle in state formation which would be accommodative of its religious and cultural diversity.

Such an order could be promoted through the principle of equitable power-sharing rather than power monopolisation by a single cultural or religious group.

There is a strong tendency among sections of the West to demonise cultures and religions which are seen as an obstacle to Western hegemony in all its dimensions. If this is curbed we would have less inter-cultural disputes.