Reference: Pushed too far, Soul Searching, Bangkok Post, September 30, 2007

The article argues that Islam gets bad press because militant and confrontational Islamic leaders have not been able to make their case in a credible manner in the world stage while the intellectual elite of the Muslim world, who could have made a difference, appear to have sold out to the West. It is possible that the reason things appear this way is that the educated elite have studied other traditions and have developed a more inclusive approach to other cultures, particularly to the dominant culture. Islamic fundamentalists who insist on Sharia law see the world only in terms of the Quran and therefore necessarily have a confrontational attitude toward other cultures. Their case is not credible and cannot be made so by waving magic wands. The intellectuals in the Islamic world are not guilty of being in the "pockets of the West", as the article claims. They are guilty only of being educated. The solution is not for the educated elite to become more confrontational but for the fundamentalists to become more educated and thereby to embrace the knowledge and positive values of other cultures instead of painting themselves into a corner.

Cha-am Jamal
Thailand