Islam and the West A Light on the Horizon

This groundbreaking tome by Sudibyo Markus provides a comprehensive analysis of the history of Muslim-Christian relations, from the early spread of Islam to the present day. The author identifies four historical events that have profoundly affected these relations, beginning with the Crusades War, explained as the catalyst for the ensuing hostilities that persist between Muslims and Christians today. With references to the Qur’ an, the work of notable scholars, and relevant statistical data, Markus details the causes and effects of prejudices and makes a case for peace. He points to several successful intercivilizational dialogues for religious peace in modern history: The Nostra Aetate Declaration of the Second Vatican Council, the open letter to Pope Benedict XVI “ A Common Word” (“ Kalimantun Sawa” ), the 2016 Agenda for Humanity, and the Dubai Declaration on “ Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” along with the Encyclical, “ Fratelli Tutti.” He insists that religious congregations worldwide must transform themselves into instruments for peace, especially in a time where so many people are displaced due to religious and ideological conflict. In addition to a broad discussion of the phases and processes of the global interaction between East and West, the book integrates a case study of Indonesia, the country of Markus’ s birth, from the era of colonialism until its independence. He attributes much of his perspective to his years of work with a team of anthropologists in Indonesia. Islam and the West is an important and necessary read for not only religious scholars, practitioners, and workers in religious and civic activities, but anyone who seeks to foster a more peaceful world.

Sudibyo Markus is a humanitarian activist born in Pare, in Kediri, East Java, Indonesia. Upon completing his studies at the School of Medicine of Gadjah Mada University (Yogyakarta), he worked for the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia until 1988, when he joined the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to broaden his humanitarian vision and networks. He served as chair for several departments of the Muslim organization Muhammadiyah, of which he founded the youth wing and which has enhanced his connections with many civil society and interfaith communities worldwide.

Contents Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 A Reflection for Peace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Life of Sudibyo Markus: A Short Sketch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Western and Muslim World: An Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 A Light on the Horizon: An Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Executive Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 PART 1 ISLAM AND THE WEST. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 1 Socrates, Jesus and Muhammad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Two Big Problems 45 Long Historical Interaction 46 Subconscious stereotype 47 The Western View of Muhammad in the Past 48 Indonesia’ s Case 52 2 The Western-Christian World and Islam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Historical Grudges 55 Gallup Polling Challenges the Clash of Civilizations Theory 57 Shift of the West-Islam Pendulum 59 Three Challenges of Islam Against European-Christianity 63 Five Theories of Philosophy of History 66 3 Toward a Europe-Arab Axis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Is Islam the Fastest-Growing Religion? 68 Growing Number of Muslims in Europe 71 Pew Research Center’ s Prediction for 2050 72 Summary 73 4 The Future of The Western World and Muslim World Relations. . . 76 Europe as a Christian Continent 76 Current and Recent Attitudes in the West Toward Muslims 81 Measuring the Future of Western World and Muslim World Relations84 Eurabia: Reviewing the New Beginnings of the West-Islam Relationship 89 Longing for a new spiritual renaissance 91 PART 2 THE STAGES OF RELATIONS BETWEEN THE WEST AND ISLAM. . 95 5 Europe’ s Dark Ages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 The Peak of the Roman Empire 97 State’ s Church 99 Church in The Dark Ages 101 6 The Encounter of Islam and the Western World. . . . . . . . . . . . 112 The Early Encounter of Islam and the Western World 112 Direct Encounter between Islam and the Western World 119 The Encounter of Two Civilizations 122 Toledo as Europe’ s Cultural Center 128 Zero: The Development of Algebra 129 Medical Science Development 130 7 The Crusades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Pre-Crusades 131 Beginning of the Crusades 134 Stages of the Crusades 136 Periodization of the Crusades 141 The Impact of the Crusades on the Muslim World 142 Lessons from the Crusades 144 8 Renaissance and Reformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Renaissance 147 Some Renaissance Figures 148 Reformation 153 Letters of Indulgence 154 The Schism, the Rift of the Church 155 9 Colonialism Era. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 Reform and the Rise of Modern Capitalism 163 The Rise of the West and its Invasion of the Muslim World 164 Colonialism in the Indonesian Archipelago 167 Perceptions of Christianity in Dutch East Indies 171 Between Toynbee and Steenbrink 173 10 Orientalism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 Inaccuracy of Studies 175 Three Dimensions of Orientalism 177 Pre-Orientalism 178 The Turning Point 181 The Error of the Orientalism Approach 181 Muhammadiyah and the Relationship between Islam and Christianity 186 11 Missionary Adjustment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Van Lith: the Father of Change 192 The Demands of the Times 195 12 The Second Vatican Council. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 From Inward-Looking to Dialogue 201 The Result of the Second Vati