An Italian origin orientalist- A looking in Mr Johan L. Esposito (1940- ) Viewpoint

Through his articles titled:

1-    Beyond the Headlines: Changing Perceptions of Islamic Movements

2-    Political Islam: Beyond the Green Menace

3-    Unholy alliances

Mr Johan Esposito same as some other orientalist predict rising and analysis Islamic movement in Islamic world and he feels it that Muslims are showing dissatisfaction of their situation in modern world. He correctly wants to make division between Islam and contemporary Islamic activists. And he is against some group-making by the West like “Fundamental Islam” and he believe that there are some elements in Fundamental groups that Muslims as whole don’t have sufficient characters to grouping in the same group.      

Mr Esposito also is with this view that there was a misunderstanding of Communists world and now this mistake also repeated against Islamic world by US.

 about Islamic world he believe that last four decades changes in Islamic world especially Iranian Islamic Revolution and some other event in another Islamic country, have big role in the West feeling toward Islamic world and something like Islam phobia after Soviet Union collapse is coming to emerge. So they see Islam equal Fundamentalism and Fundamentalism equal with extremism and terrorism.

 He says no to this theory and he is with this viewpoint that this kind of event in Islamic world does not so important and the “Islamic revivalism was not the product of the Iranian revolution but of a global reassertion of Islam that had already been under way and that extended from Libya to Malaysia” he also same as some other Orientalist believes that the failure of Nationalism that was not successful to funds a flourishes society, lead Muslim to such this actions.

He points to most Islamic countries government problems for example non-elected, authoritarian, dependent on security forces, unable to establish their political legitimacy, the failure to achieve economic self-sufficiency, to stem the widening gap between rich and poor, to halt widespread corruption, to liberate Palestine, to resist Western political and cultural hegemony,… as factor of feeling non-sufficiency among them and Islamic revivalism.

Mr Esposito also has a review in Islamic revivalism that is lead them to counter to some of Western‘s institutions, values, and culture. He opposite equation of violence with Islam and believes that there are some acts that it should analysis by actioner not Islam and he believes that majority of Muslims, love believers of other religious and wish to live in peace with them.

He makes aware and rings a bell of monolithic way of looking by US during its confrontation with USSR and it’s blindness against them and maybe it’s reputation of it toward Islam and Muslims and forgot the diversity among Muslims as they were blinded toward Communists world.

He acknowledges the West of double standard approach and don’t tolerate of opposition because of exaggeration the fear of them and forgetting promotion of democracy and human rights in between.

Unfortunately Mr Esposito also traps in this misunderstanding that for example Taliban is the symbol of political Islam, but it is a fact that Taliban is project that comes to exist by Pakistan and some Arab country in Persian Gulf and it is not a natural and pour Islamic movement to see them as political Islamic symbol. And it is the other mistake by Mr Esposito also when he puts Sept. 11, 2001 attacking against New York's World Trade Centre, as core of his theory to show continuous of Islamic movement in 21th because before this attacking also Islamic movement was going on and it is not stop, to show Sept. 11, 2001 attacking as reference point for continuing of it.

In some how Mr Esposito’s view show his awareness of what is going on in Islamic world and how they think about US action in Islamic country and what is their interpretation toward US agendas in Islamic world.

Although Mr Esposito believes that “President Bush’s axis-of-evil policy set back democratic reformers in Iran” I am with this view that American policy toward Iran from eve of Islamic revolution’s till now makes Iranian hardliner stronger and stronger. when US impose the 8 years long war against Iran by backing president Sadam Hussein just after some months after the victory of Islamic Revolution, they make a situation and prepare a heaven for Iranian pro-military agents to militarise our country’s atmosphere from its beginning and made violent a characteristic an necessity and imposed to pro-revolutionary men, by backing some Iranian-based terrorist group to have some terrorist attacks in Iran to stop Islamic Revolution, they lead Iranian government to develop their security system and now as result of their policies we face with vast and powerful security-Military structures and the West criticise Iranian’s expansion in security-Military basement. but it is in fact because of their wrong policies, that Iranian‘s shoulders should tolerate heavy price of two big armies and large and vast security system that imposed by incorrect US policy toward Iran.

 In contrasting of Mr Esposito that believe “President Bush’s policy set back democratic reformers” I want to say that US with just pharisaic Word-Backing of reformist defame them and give good opportunity and excuse to hardliner to deracinate and uproot the reformist in Iran’s political battlefield and the damage that reformist receipt from the west side was bigger than the harms that they take from their oppositions (Iranian hardliner).

 and I can say West with its fault policy toward Iranian Reformist and Iran’s people’s movement as whole, it appears in somehow in coordinated position with Iranian’s hardliner and this two (US-Iranian conservative) act like a scissors to confute Iranian reform’s movement, because they know that if Iranian Reformist’s Movement were successful, the lifetime of Imam Khomeini‘s pour Islamic-liberator movement would be extended and so Iranian and American’s conservatives find their common interest jointly to stop Reformist and American tricking and traitorous lodgement as software and Iranian conservative power as Hardwar make Iranian Reforms Movement abeyant. As result American government punishes its Embassy’s occupier in Tehran and Iranian conservatives also out their strongest rivals. One arrow, bring two goals.  

Another US betrayal toward Iranian Reformist was “getting tough” and imposing hard sanctions and pressure against president Mohammad Khatami‘s Reformist government, when it was under tough pressure by domestic hardliner. So I think with all respect that I pay to Mr Johan L. Esposito in this case he is completely wrong.

So I think the reaction of Iranian people was electing of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to say no to the west policy toward Iranian vast-supported Reformist government that new government make deeper Iran-West distrust wall and both side face with loss in between.

I also should announce that agree with Mr Esposito’s view about making deep gap and more misunderstanding between Islam and Christianity by the neo-conservatives government policy. It is also right in Mr Esposito’s viewpoints that all Islamic movements (political and social, mainstream and extremists, non-violent and violent) burdensomely parallel with terrorism in the West mass Medias.        

And he is right that:

-         Yet, a deadly radical minority continues to exist. Osama Bin Laden, al-Qaeda and other extremist groups are a threat to Muslim societies and to the West.

-         The short-term military response to bring the terrorists to justice must also be balanced by long-term policy that focuses on the core political, economic and educational issues that contribute to conditions that breed radicalism and extremism. 

-         The American-led war in Iraq has increased anti-Americanism; it is seen as part of a new American empire’s war against Islam and the Muslim world, an attempt to redraw the map of the Middle East.

-          Muslim world, religion will continue to be an important presence and force.

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John L. Esposito is a professor of religion and international affairs and director of the Centre for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. Among his books is The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality? (New York: Oxford University Press, 1992), Islam: The Straight Path (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), and Islam and Politics (Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, 1991).

+ نوشته شده در سه شنبه هفتم آذر ۱۳۹۱ ساعت 23:15 شماره پست: 210

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