Globalization and Religion: Identity and Power
INAES (Institute for North American and European Studies), University of Tehran
15-16 November 2005
Abstract
Globalization and Religion: Coexistence and Conflict
Mohammad Ali Mousavi
Faculty of Internal Relations – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
mamousavi@gmail.comMohammad Ali Mousavi completed his PhD in Political economy at Dorham University, UK. He now teaches in the faculty of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In the aftermath of September 11 and in the midst of the expanding war on terrorism, some academics have argued that Islam ardently opposes globalization and all of its ideological, economic, and cultural manifestations. This polemic contest between Islam and globalization—a dichotomy in which these two phenomena cannot coexist due to their mutual, antagonistic opposition to each other—is the discursive premise for many global chaos theories about Islam’s dark future and its impending conflict with the rest of the world.
While Islam and globalization are not abstract elements locked in a vicious contest, they engage one another on different planes, and they actually reflect unique aspects of each other through their constructed differences. Thus Islam can be portrayed as a critical element of globalization rather than its most intractable opponent. Islam will certainly not recede from globalization’s horizons. It is very much a part of its heritage and future, and therefore a crucial strand in the universe of possibilities that awaits the globalizing world. Ultimately, Islam does have a place in globalization, as much as globalization has a place within Islam.This paper teases out some historical and philosophical contexts in an attempt to assuage contemporary uncertainties on Islam. It argues that at every level of this conceptual chain, the relations with globalization constitute interdependence and mutual reinforcement rather than categorical denial and opposition.