Islam-phobia, Xenophobia, and Milad Hanna

Islam-phobia is nothing but an anxiety and misunderstanding. That’s what I get from the 2^nd International Conference of Islamic Scholars (ICIS) held in Jakarta few months ago. The Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and the Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono shared the similar anxiety about this phenomenon. On the one hand, Muslims observed that Islam-phobia has risen among the Westerners, but on the other hand, the Westerners also noticed that xenophobia (fear of strangers or foreigners) has risen among Muslim society. Muslims’ xenophobia is so deep so that it leads to their rejection of the ideas of modernism, liberalism, secularism and pluralism, which are regarded as Western ideas. These two kinds of phobia become the main driving forces behind today’s international tension.

How should we combat these two phobias? I would never stop encouraging everyone to read Milad Hanna’s book, Qabul al-Akhar (translated into Indonesian as Menyongsong Yang Lain, Membela Pluralisme, published by Jaringan Islam Liberal). In this book, Hanna, an Egyptian Coptic intellectual, introduced the terms Qabûlul Âkhar (Welcoming the Other). I share Hanna’s concern, i.e. this outlook of accepting and welcoming the others is necessary if humans want to live in peace and harmony. Every conflict and violence in human’s history has as its roots in the hatred and rejection of others (karâhiyah wa rafdlul âkhar). To me, Islam-phobia and xenophobia are the real manifestation of this karâhiyah wa rafdlul âkhar. 

Hanna believes that a driving force behind the pendulum swing in human history has been “human collective sentiment” (al-masyâ’ir al-jamâ’iyyah lil insan). This sentiment originates from human various affiliations: i.e. family, tribe, religion, as well as social, economic, and political interest. If this collective sentiment is smeared with hatred, it could be the effective ammunition to destroy other affiliations.

However, this rigidity, fanaticism and the claim that one’s affiliation is the truest will dissolve whenever one recognizes other affiliation or has plural affiliations. A member of particular religion who joins an interfaith association will respect and honor other religious people. Thus a healthy association is the one where diverse affiliations of human life encounter with each others. One should not be a narrow-minded person, like a frog trapped under a coconut shell (an Indonesian proverb: seperti katak dalam tempurung); he is trapped and drown in limitation and he therefore should get out of this shackle and accept diversity.

A fundamentalist Muslim may have prejudice against the Christians, since he read and study about Christianity from Muslims who discuss other religion’s defects and mistakes. The subject of comparative religion (muqâranah al-adyân) in most Islamic schools does not study and introduce other religions; rather, it directs the student to blame and regard other religion as false. The subject of Islamic da’wah does not introduce Islamic teaching but method to Islamicize the members of other religions. This could also be found in an antipathetic attitude toward Islam in some “extremist” orientalists’ works that used to repeat the thesis that Islam is the religion of violence, terror and sword. These provocative theses have sparked the hatred toward others among religious people and have led them to be involved in an endless conflict, clash and war.

Hence, in order to combat an Islam-phobia and xenophobia, we must appreciate Milad Hanna’s notion.  This is especially important given the diversity of beliefs in this country. Indonesia is not identical with one tribe or religion. Indonesia came out of a diversity; therefore we have to accept this diversity as a final principle (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika – Unity in Diversity). It is impossible to dream about unity if we are unable to understand and accept others. Nothing is wrong with diversity and difference in this life; what is wrong is our inability to welcome and accept others.