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The current world population of Muslims is in the range of 1.2 to 1.6 billion (20% of the world¡¦s population), and their numbers are spread out over various geographical areas and religious groups. After the Cold War, America has experienced several international conflicts with the Islamic world at large. Huntington, an American scholar, wrote a thesis ¡§The Clash of Civilizations¡¨ to explain the cause of conflict. While there are significant culture differences, it is difficult to conclude that it is a simple case of conflict in culture. Upon closer inspection of the conflict situation, we find that the American dispute with the Islamic world has largely been focused on the Middle-Eastern group of countries. It would be dangerous to take a stand point that the basis of conflict is in terms of culture, because it over-simplifies the situation and leaves an undesirable stereotype on the Islamic civilization. Using a historical sociology perspective, the author found that there have been several different changes at different times in the international relationship between the American and Middle-Eastern Islamic countries after the Cold War. In fact, before the Cold War, Afghanistan was a crucial ally in the Anti-Soviet movement. It is therefore worth pondering why Afghanistan became the first Middle-Eastern country target in the war against terrorism. This thesis serves to use a geo-political perspective to further examine and explain the intricate transitions and changes in the American-Islamic relationship, in order to demonstrate that the conflict is a struggle for power, rather than a mere ¡§Clash of Civilizations¡¨ as in Huntington¡¦s paper.

The purpose of my thesis was to counter Samuel Huntington’s argument that the world’s conflict is over differing civilizations, religions, or cultures. Whether or not religion is declining or growing, it cannot be used to portray the world in a 'cosmic war,' or a battle between 'good and evil'. Natural resources, not religions, rest at the basis for the Islamic fundamentalist and militant movement due to its response to the Western structural pressures that are modernizing Muslim societies. Oil and water become vital tools for exercising power and authority of one nation over another, and are identified as the true culprits for a conflict that is often furtively concealed.

This thesis offers a comparison, which rarely, if ever, has been made between Isaiah Berlin and Charles Taylors account of the ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder on the relationship of language, culture and nationality. It argues that Berlin misrepresents Herders ideas in emphasizing the extent to which differences in language and culture necessarily result in ethnic and national conflicts between incompatible cultural worldviews, while Taylor does correctly understand that Herder sees no reason for why such conflict between cultural entities should be inevitable either within a single state or between states. The thesis concludes by offering reasons for why Herder, properly understood, allows us to be optimistic about the future of both intrastate and interstate relationships among diverse cultural groups.

This thesis offers a comparison, which rarely, if ever, has been made between Isaiah Berlin and Charles Taylors account of the ideas of Johann Gottfried Herder on the relationship of language, culture and nationality. It argues that Berlin misrepresents Herders ideas in emphasizing the extent to which differences in language and culture necessarily result in ethnic and national conflicts between incompatible cultural worldviews, while Taylor does correctly understand that Herder sees no reason for why such conflict between cultural entities should be inevitable either within a single state or between states. The thesis concludes by offering reasons for why Herder, properly understood, allows us to be optimistic about the future of both intrastate and interstate relationships among diverse cultural groups.

The purpose of my thesis was to counter Samuel Huntington’s argument that the world’s conflict is over differing civilizations, religions, or cultures. Whether or not religion is declining or growing, it cannot be used to portray the world in a 'cosmic war,' or a battle between 'good and evil'. Natural resources, not religions, rest at the basis for the Islamic fundamentalist and militant movement due to its response to the Western structural pressures that are modernizing Muslim societies. Oil and water become vital tools for exercising power and authority of one nation over another, and are identified as the true culprits for a conflict that is often furtively concealed.

The portrayal of collective identity of Muslim populations in Europe presents an increasingly important issue within identity politics. While European Muslims represent a diverse population that has experienced longstanding socio-political concerns, they are also increasingly portrayed in light of wider global perceptions of Islam in a post-9/11 era. Consequently, there is growing concern over a confusing of such pre-existing domestic issues and larger international problems of radical fundamentalism and Islamic terrorism. The misrepresentation of European Muslims as linked to such issues in turn often exacerbates domestic problems and contributes to an evolving sense of oppositional Muslim identity in Europe. In light of these concerns over inaccurate depictions of Muslims and their harmful effects, many of which will be expounded upon below, a more critical and deliberate approach is necessary in scholarly assessments of Muslim populations. This thesis examines the situation of European Muslims amidst such portrayals of commonality and international influence. After discussing some facets of political identities and critiquing other approaches to this issue, the study focuses on the case of Muslims in France. Using the lens of universalism, I examine the context of Muslims in France and evaluate the accuracy of assertions of common identity. After illustrating the diversity of French Muslims, the study then turns to the situation of Muslims in Europe, comparing the French case with those of Great Britain and Germany. Finally, it returns to the recent French national identity debate for concluding remarks. The study demonstrates that, while portrayals of Muslims as a uniform threat to European identity are at present inaccurate and misleading, such assertions also carry potentially harmful effects in stigmatizing Muslims and contributing to oppositional identity formation.

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In this thesis I address the topic Islam and democracy. I argue that rather than asking whether Islam and democracy are compatible, Western theorists should be seeking out how Muslims practice democracy. The ultimate aim of this thesis is to present a groundwork for meaningful and inclusive cross-cultural democratic dialogue to use as a basis for a global discourse on democracy. My main argument is that the Islam and the West paradigm has occluded dialogue by miring the topic Islam and democracy in debate over whether the two are compatible. Accordingly, the contents of this work are dedicated to (1) deconstructing the Islam and the West paradigm and demonstrating its inadequacy as a viable approach to the topic Islam and democracy, and (2) presenting arguments for, and exploring sites of, Muslim democracy and post-Islamism as starting points for cross-cultural dialogue between Muslim and Western societies and theorists.

The case of Kosovo conflict serves as tool to test the validity of Huntington's theory. Owing to the fact that Mr, Huntington himself described the Balkans and Kosovo as an example of a fault line war, my aim is to verify his assumptions that the roots of the Kosovo conflict are to be found in the religion. During this work the conflict is reconstructed using Mr. Huntington's hypothesis and claims as well as interpreted by three hypothesis. Firstly, Kosovo could represent a conflict at the fault line, which would mean that the theory of the clash of the civilizations is verified. Secondly, the intervention of NATO implies participation of the third civilization in the conflict. To put in differently, the democratic West (NATO) intervened against the orthodox civilization (Serbia) in order to prevent the humanitarian catastrophe the Albanian population of Kosovo (Islam) was to face. Verification of this theory would imply that if there was a conflict between the civilizations in Kosovo, it was between the West (and Kosovo as an integral part of it) and the orthodox civilization. The third hypothesis interprets the Kosovo conflict as a war of the Civilization to promote its own values. Despite the fact that this explanation of the Kosovo conflict could possibly be the most probable one, original assumption of Mr. Huntington stating that the problems of Kosovo are of religious character would be falsified.