Pakistani journalist Irfan Husain yesterday discussed his new book, "Fatal Faultlines: Pakistan, Islam, and the West," which focuses on the division between the west and the Muslim world.
The lecture, sponsored by the Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies, was held in Mugar Hall.
Husain has written a column for Dawn, an English daily newspaper in Pakistan, for 20 years. He worked for the Pakistani government for several decades, during which he wrote for different newspapers employing various pseudonyms.
Husain gained a unique perspective on the relationship between Muslim and western nations through his work as a civil servant and travel through out the region, according to Ayesha Jalal, director of the Center for South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies.
"He provides a moderate voice in a country that used to be moderate but has since lost its way," she said during her introduction.
Husain explained that when he began writing his newest book, he did not foresee an optimistic end to his book. "There was little on the horizon to give me reason for optimism," he said.
The Arab Spring, however, has since changed his opinion and given him something for which to hope. "While these political changes will hopefully make for greater freedom and better lives for citizens of these countries, we can also expect them to transform the relations between the Islamic world and the west," he said.
Husain emphasized that the division between Islam and the west is rooted in hundreds of years of history.
"Going back two−and−a−half thousand years, we can see the sense of this epic conflict in the Greek−Persian wars," he said.
He devoted much of the lecture to highlighting the key differences between western and Islamic culture that have contributed to the prejudices felt on both sides.
Muslims, he said, often feel tension toward the west that has lingered since the injustices carried out by the west during the Crusades.
"These ancient conflicts, old symbols, names and places resonate in the modern jihad," he said. He quoted parts of Osama bin Laden's rhetoric as an example.
In contrast, the west has developed prejudice against the Muslim world through the widespread use of negative images of Muslims in western media, Husain explained.
He suggested that hatred of the west in the Muslim world may also stem from the political relationships between autocratic governments in Muslim countries and western governments.
"A lot of the hatred against the west has to do with the animosity toward their own dictators and the support the dictators received from west," he said.
The differences between the roles of women and the idea of secularism also serve as major sources of tension between the west and the Islamic world, Husain noted.
He brought up the contrast between the way the west views burqas, headscarves and full body burqas and the significance of these clothing items in Muslim culture.
"Let me urge a little caution in reaching fast and hasty conclusions, because the way people express themselves with clothes does differ greatly from place to place," he said. "For many in the west these concealing garments are symbols of oppressed womanhood, while for many Muslims they are concealing garments and for many others they are defining statements about identity."
He also pointed out that some Muslim groups throughout history, such as those in Moorish Spain and the Ottoman Empire, oppressed women less than Christian−ruled countries during the same time period.
During the question−and−answer portion of the event, Husain explained that the U.S. sanctions have created a feeling of distrust among the Pakistani people towards the United States.
"Pakistan has often been called the most sanctioned ally of the United States," he said.
He added that he does not think Pakistan knew of Osama bin Laden's location before U.S. forces discovered him in Pakistan.
It is necessary for the United States and Pakistan to understand each others' culture and compromise for the future of their relationship, he explained.
"Misunderstandings will continue until there is a mature review of each−others needs," Husain said.
