Islamophobia in the Context of the Practice of Multiculturalism and the Theory of the "Clash of Civilizations"

Abstract

The article is devoted to the comprehension of the concept of Islamophobia, conceivable in the practice of multiculturalism, and the theory of the "clash of civilizations" by S. Huntington. The author analyzes the reasons for the emergence and spread of the phenomenon of Islamophobia in the context of modernity, the theory and practice of multiculturalism, and the potential of the Islamic world to overcome modern challenges and threats. The author pays special attention to the comprehension of the problems surrounding the relationship between civilization and religion and the formulation of the question of the mission of people-civilization in the modern world. Islamophobia, in scientific literature today, is defined as a collective concept for a whole range of negative reactions manifested against Islam and its followers, Muslims. As a modern phenomenon, Islamophobia is clearly manifested in social life, often being the result of many military conflicts taking place in the countries of the Middle East as well as mass migration from the South. In such a situation, any multicultural society faces questions about peaceful inter-civilizational coexistence and its value foundation. The most visible of them in terms of theory and practice, but not effective in terms of overcoming Islamophobia and eradicating its manifestations in society, is the political concept of multiculturalism. The failure of the latter in its practical implementation, in the author's opinion, lies in the fact that the principle of tolerance taken as a basis, coupled with the lack of clearly verified management, including the stages of planning and control over the situation in a society faced with mass migration, ultimately does not contribute to solving the problem of Islamophobia and, in some places, exacerbates it even more. As a new vision of building multicultural societies in modern realities, the author proposes taking into account the religious and cultural components of the civilizational process. In view of the fact that in S. Huntington's theory, religion (Hinduism, Buddhism), along with national (Chinese and Japanese civilizations) and supranational characteristics (Western, Latin American, and African civilizations), is thought of as the core of civilization and a source of possible conflicts in the world, this paradigm requires a shift in emphasis from the clash of civilizations in favor of their dialogue. The advantage of dialogue is that it is possible to implement a fruitful multicultural exchange of views, the subject of which could be discussions about the structure or architecture of the modern world, as well as to use the cultural potential that a priori all peoples-civilizations have. The presence of such a potential, inextricably linked with nation-civilization, the awareness of each of them of their mission in building a multicultural world, and internal openness to dialogue and mutual exchange are all important conditions for a new paradigm of the world order. In this paradigm, conflicts and hegemony are replaced by the idea of dialogue between distinctive cultures. With such a dialogue, it is possible to successfully resolve the problem of Islamophobia and to form a tolerant attitude towards religious and cultural diversity, supported by systemic knowledge. In conclusion, the author concluded that it is necessary to recognize the right of each nation-bearer of its original culture to contribute to the global cause of building peace, not only at the level of theory but also in practice as such.