Cultures in Perspective
Historically, the relationship between Islam and the West has involved not only holy wars and schisms, but also healthy cross-cultural relations and shared concepts of faith and tolerance. Which raises the question—is there really a “clash” of civilizations? Has there ever been?
Photo by Terry Faust
Giancarlo Casale, assistant professor of history, led his students on a search for answers to these questions in his seminar “Crusade vs. Jihad? Muslim-Christian Relations in Historical Perspective.”
To help them put current events in historical perspective, Casale brought students back to his research specialty—the history of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to 17th centuries—and helped them connect the dots to current events such as the war in Iraq, Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, and moves toward democratization in the Middle East. The historical backdrop brought home to students a simple but significant lesson: Conflict is nearly always more complex than you think.
“It’s not black and white,” says student Katina Petersen. “There aren’t ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys.’ Yes, the cultures do have differences, but I no longer think that a clash between civilizations is inevitable.”
Student Kirsten Johnson, whose husband was serving in the army in Iraq, says she learned a lot about “the other side of the story.” In her Minnesota high school, she says, she had studied the Crusades, but not the Muslim experience. For still another perspective, Johnson’s husband visited the class to share his experiences.
The class of 20 was a world in miniature, with students from Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, and India, as well as from Minnesota. The many voices and points of view underscored the complexity of the issues. Those differences may have left students with as many new questions as answers, but they also put a human face on the larger political issues.
Freshman Ayah Helmy says the blend of voices from across cultures made the class especially worthwhile. On a practical level, she adds, the ample reading list helped her learn how to juggle all of the demands of being a college student.
That reading list ranged from the verse of 13th-century poet Rumi to an account by an Englishman taken captive by Muslim pirates to a speech by Atatürk (the founder of the Turkish Republic). So why study these arcane texts? Petersen says they push you “to make connections between time periods and to think about ‘big picture’ ideas.”
Next year, Casale will teach another seminar, “From Mongolian Hordes to Corporate Boards: Turkey Past and Present”—a close-up look at the first Muslim nation to seek membership in the European Union.
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