“Civilisations can’t thrive without sharing and exchanging”

Oct. 5, 2010 - PRLog -- From October onwards, Mustapha Cherif will be in charge of the new master’s degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the Open University of Catalonia. In autumn of 2006, Cherif gave the inaugural lesson for the academic year 2006-2007 at the UOC and, a few weeks later, was given a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican, in the course of which the former Minister for Education for Algeria and current Professor of Philosophy at Algiers University spoke to the Pontiff of his conviction that Islam does not thrive on violence and intolerance, but on reason and dialogue. In this interview, this specialist in intercultural and interreligious dialogue spoke of the need to create a new, common civilization for the whole of humanity and referred to the “exceptional” opportunity that, in his opinion, Obama’s election as president of the United States represents.

A Muslim thinker, received by the Pope at the Vatican. Why are interreligious or intercultural exchanges such a rare occurrence?

The responsibility lies both with the North and the South, with the Muslim and the Western world. The Western world believes that its model is the only valid one and the Muslim world withdraws into itself in the face of what it considers an external aggression. Faced with this, the only other alternative possible is dialogue. Dialogue means living together and refusing to dialogue brings confrontation. Individuals dialogue within their neighborhoods, in cities, in universities... Dialogue is established by Christians, Muslims and Jews, although this rarely comes to light. It needs to be highlighted, because every day people discover that they can’t exist alone, that they need others.

“We can’t possibly progress without someone else looking at us”. That’s another thing you said.

That’s right. I need other people. If I am to correct my mistakes, someone else looking at me will help me understand myself and produce ideas and make progress. I progress in relation to other people. Discussion helps me see the light.  

Do you think Israel has a right to exist, or do you accept its existence as a consummate fact?

In 2002, the 22 states in the Arab League said “we recognize Israel’s existence and agree to establish normal diplomatic relations providing it returns the territory it conquered in 1967”. The UN split Palestine in two in 1948 but Israel took Palestine’s share and is still colonizing land. Israel has a right to exist, but the Arabs refuse to live next door to a colonizing state which considers itself to be above the law. And that’s just not possible. The problem is not the Palestinians, but Israel, which forces people to act blindly and violently.

You have said that Zionist policy is part of the West’s strategy to control the Middle East.

Many Jewish intellectuals think that Zionism is a kind of anti-Judaism and anti-humanism, that it is partly a nationalistic ideology which supports colonization. We can see that the colonization and oppression of the Palestinian people is still occurring. Everyone is aware of the insufficiencies and the contradictions of the Arab world, but the Arab position has been clear since 2002: a return to normal relations and recognition in exchange for the land colonized in 1967. There is no alternative to diplomacy. But so far Israel has rejected the idea. It has been applying the philosophy of “might is right”.

What influence can the new media have on the future of non-democratic Muslim countries?

They represent an opportunity. Debating issues leads to solutions. These days, people and countries, particularly Arab ones, are being attacked: Palestine, Irak... Statistically, Muslims are the main victims. How many Muslims have fallen to the extremists’ bombs? And how many Westerners? There’s no comparison! The Muslims are the main victims. That’s the proof that extremism is anti-Islam! These days, we can’t find solutions without negotiation, without discussion and without the support of international public opinion, thanks to the media.

Islam is often associated with fanaticism and violence.

Ever since the Berlin wall came down, the predominant system has been to look for a new enemy. Bush did, and he and his cohorts encouraged extremist views, the instrumentalization of religion for political ends, to create a scarecrow which would make people forget about the real problems of colonization and unlawful actions. All extremist groups which use violence feed this propaganda. Extremism is the result of the contradictions of our times. Most Muslims are open-minded and refuse to mix politics with religion. They believe that the problems are only political ones.

What can the masters degree course that you lead in the UOC contribute?

The Masters course was created to spread certain target knowledge to put an end to ignorance and confusion and to invent new values for a better world.

Isn’t this idea a little utopian?

Science has an obligation to push beyond all human limitations. Science and knowledge must accept this responsibility, just like politicians and the media. It is both a collective and an individual responsibility. In the West, some people say that it’s a Muslim problem and that the Muslims need to change. Some Muslims say that the West is the problem and it is the West which needs to change. We all need to change! We need to change to learn to live together on the basis of law and diplomacy, not on the basis of force.

Video of Mustapha Cherif explaining the objectives of the master's course in Islamic and Arabic studies - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWu-6ReMuSc



Tell me about the faculty who are taking part in the Masters Degree course in Arabic and Islamic Studies.

Each one is the leading specialist anywhere around the Mediterranean in their area. We have decided to go with diversity, because there is no single way of thinking. At the same time, there is coherence and unity in the fact that science is the only ideology. We need debate, discussion, comparison, perspective to be able to transmit knowledge to reach meeting points. The key word is interpretation. We need to help the peoples of the north and south to interpret, so that they aren’t swayed by everything they see and hear. They need to learn to form their own opinion, to make their own judgments. That is what the science of knowledge does. It is not a matter of imposing a point of view. Truth is a perspective and no-one has a monopoly over it. An open university as evinced by the UOC offers an exceptional opportunity for creation and constructive criticism because there is a method for the whole group, without making a statement or denigrating anyone or anything. Constructive criticism and respect for others’ differences.

So you still have faith in the future of Humanity.

Yes. The opportunity for opening a horizon which appeared closed comes when times are hard. That’s the time for increased awareness. There is no other alternative. The only solution is for us to live together. We need to accept each other, with all our differences, providing we can agree on certain common values.

What does Barak Obama’s victory in the United States represent?

Obama represents an exceptional opportunity for redirecting our focus to the heart of the problems. Rejecting debate and discussion has led to a failure of unilateral politics. Obama is the chance to return to multilateralism instead of “might is right”.

Islamic and Arabic Studies Online Courses at UOC - http://www.uoc.edu/masters/eng/master/web/estudis_islamic...

All Online Courses at UOC - http://www.uoc.edu/portal/english/estudis/index.html

The Open University of Catalonia – http://www.UOC.edu

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The UOC began more than 15 years ago as an e-learning institution and solely as an e-learning institution. As a result, our teaching and learning model is flexible and innovative. Located in Barcelona, Spain physically and virtually around the globe, the UOC is an online university that has been winning international awards on e-learning since 1997.