Banning Entry: West’s Unworded Plea

In banning the entry of one or the other of our speakers there is an unmistakable message from the West. The West, in other words, is asking the Muslims to change the discourse from polemics to research. From confrontation to collaboration. The West is telling the Muslims that do not react emotionally. You are capable of much more. As your history proves. It says it without saying that you are a pale reflection of your former self. In other words, the West wants the discourse at a more informed and intellectually higher level. And deservedly so – in this time and age.

The West is telling the Muslims that we want something more from you. We want the essence of your religion – Islam. It is saying that instead of gathering thousands of people for public lectures go back to laboratories of the society and give us gems of knowledge as you did earlier – in the heyday of your civilization. It is appealing (at the unconscious level) that do not think always only of yourself. Think of others, too. Think of contributing to the entire humanity.

There is a question here, though; Why the West ‘invades’ other nations? It does so because of the fact that even if it may not believe in God’s existence (as the Muslims do) it does believe in the existence of man. That man it wants to protect at all costs. It is proactive in doing so because of the value it attaches to the individual who is endowed with the greatest gift – the reason and intelligence. In order to safeguard its individuals in whom it has invested a lot, the West is proactively reaching out to the faraway places. So that any ‘dangerous elements’ do not get even closer to its shores. Why, however, they go to faraway places is still debatable.

Let us get back to something else. To collaboration. To learn what is best that they have produced. What we can benefit from them. Let us offer what best we have which they can get from us. Let us listen to Dr Zakir Hussain who suggested that civilizations do not clash with each other. They only learn from one another.

Let us think of making this world a better place to live – together with the spirit of coopetition. Finally, let us replace emotional outbursts with CONCERN – so strikingly missing except in the dictionaries.