"The Clash of Definitions"

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how Edward Said in "The Clash of Definitions" counters the conclusions of Samuel P. Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" that cultural and religious ideologies and differences will serve as the major source of conflict in the 21st century. The paper explains Said's perspective that the true problem lies with religious nationalism, ranging from Christianity in the West to Islam in the Middle East and the problems linked to cultural identity. The paper includes an annotated bibliography.

From the Paper:

"Overall, Huntington puts forth the suggestion that all future conflicts, whether based on political, social or economic differences and attitudes, will revolve around the "clash" of various cultures with each attempting to come out on top of the other, resulting in one culture being subdued by another. As Huntington sees it, the main source of conflict within what some call the "New World Order" with the United States as the dominating power will occur between various national states and systems and those who control these states and systems, whether as a governmental body, a conglomerate of powers or as a single powerful group, such as Al Qaeda, Hamas and other Islamic militant groups spread out across the Middle East and other world "civilizations.""

Sample of Sources Used:

• Corbett, Julia M., Ed. The Coming Religious Wars. Boston: G.K. Hall, 2003, 245 pgs.
• Lewis, Bernard W. Islam and the West. UK: Oxford University Press, 2002, 256 pgs.
• Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. Ideals and Realities of Islam. Boston: Beacon Press, 1999, 276 pgs.
• Said, Edward. "The Clash of Definitions." Emran Qureshi & Michael A. Sells, eds. The New Crusades: Constructing the Muslim Enemy. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003, 70-80.
• Spencer, Robert. Religion of Peace? Why Christianity Is and Islam Isn't. New York: Regnery Publishing, 2007, 156 pgs.

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