Philosophers of the Arabs
Interview by Afra Mohamed
Qantara.de
publishe 18-6-2008
Tayyib
Tizini, Professor of Politics and Philosophy at the University of Damascus,
holds the view that the current strength of radical Islamist movements in the
Arab world is the product of a lack of freedom. Tayyib Tizini spoke to Afra
Mohamed in Damascus
|
Bild:
Why does the Orient look back, and the Occident look forward? -
The Syrian writer and philopher Tayyib Tizini in his study in Damascus,
Syria | People
often speak about Arab culture, even though there are major differences between
Arab countries. Would it not be better to speak of Arab
cultures?
Tayyib Tizini: It is certainly possible to speak of
both a unity and a diversity in Arab culture. The variety stems from the special
circumstances out of which we have grown. If we visit the Maghreb, for example,
we will be confronted with a particular Arab culture because the Maghreb has
experienced its own historical processes.
The more cultures a society has
assimilated into itself, the richer it becomes. That is much better than
speaking with one voice. Another example: if a Moroccan, a Mauritanian or a
Syrian all speak with the one voice, then their language becomes poorer, as if
one would play only on one instrument.
If we put the public and the
private in our conversation into a context, then we have to speak of a private
public space and a public private space within a global context. And that means
too that we have a unified culture, but our ability to express ourselves within
that culture is as varied as the differences between our social, political,
human and psychological relationships and our understanding of artistic
education.
| Bild:
A new world order of uniformity? - According to Tayyib Tizini,
globalization transforms man and nature into products
|
What are the problems and conflicts today
with which Arab intellectuals feel they have to deal?
Tizini:
Since the birth of a globalised world order, the rate at which change takes
place throughout the world has speeded up. The new world order is a child of the
twentieth century. If you look at the issues in Arab culture before the birth of
the new world order, you will see that we were above all confronted with
questions about progress and freedom. But now we are speaking about new problems
which are calling our entire existence and our entire history into question.
The new world order influences all world cultures, of which one is the
Arab culture, and now that it has come into existence, we are confronted with a
power which we are unable to understand.
The globalised world order
consumes nature and man in order to transform them into products. It's working
at rebuilding the world so that it functions as a globalised market. That's why
different cultures identify themselves with the globalised world. Arab history
too is being rewritten by the globalised world, so that it is being reduced to a
single globalised language, English. That's why we are nothing compared to other
cultures, as long as we profess only one way of life.
What do you see
as the task of Arab intellectuals if they are to confront this
problem?
| Bild:
Syrian society has to
open up her political discourse, business and society in order to be
able to face globalisation and its effects on the country, says Tizini
| Tizini: The central
question, which was the one asked by intellectuals and reformers during the
period of the renaissance, is: why does the Orient look back, and the Occident
look forward? My answer is: we should move forward with history and make freedom
a reality.
Even so, the Arabs look back to a past in which lack of
freedom was firmly ensconced. That doesn't mean to say that Arab culture is
caught up in itself and that Arab people can't be creative. The modern Arab
renaissance could not reach its great goals because Western capitalism got there
first.
Do you think that the choice of Damascus as Arab cultural
capital can contribute to making culture an important part of Arab society, or
perhaps to making it into an important part once more?
Tizini:
If Damascus becomes Arab cultural capital, then the Syrians will have to deal
with Arab culture and its damaged condition. We experience however a reduction
of all this to a matter of facades, folklore, festivities – but such things
don't promote culture.
That's why we have to open up political discourse,
business and society, in our own most fundamental interests, since we are
confronted with a project of globalisation which wants to destroy them. The
answer to this can only be to open the circle up, from inside to
out.
The term "Islamisation" with reference to Arab societies
dominates both the Arab and the Western debate. How can you explain this
phenomenon?
| Bild:
Submitting society under a single dogma leads to destruction,
says Tizini. "One has to confront the Islamisation of society with national,
democratic and laicist alternatives"
| Tizini: When there is no cultural,
political or social movement in a country, alternative forces emerge. That's the
reason the Arab laicist renaissance has failed to take hold. Religious
fundamentalism has emerged instead, rejecting variety and proclaiming a unity of
being according to which everyone has to be Muslim.
In addition to that,
those who support this ideology want to subject social, natural and economic
sciences to this dogma. No doubt, Islam and other religions have their own
dignity and significance. But that they should dominate society and force it to
submit to a single dogma condemns them to destruction. One has to confront the
Islamisation of society with national, democratic and laicist
alternatives.
Who is responsible for the increasing religious
radicalisation of Arab society?
Tizini: The Arab elites are
mainly responsible, since they have not dealt with the essential problems of
Arab society: the problems of unemployment, restricted freedom and a culture
under censorship. Millions of young people are not in a position to satisfy
their daily needs. That has the consequence that they look for alternatives.
These alternatives can be divided into three journeys. One is the trip to
paradise for those who find no solution here. For them, the extremists are the
preachers of a better world on the other side – and Islam is the solution to all
problems.
The second journey is into oneself. Someone who can't come to
terms with the real world escapes into the infinity of his inner
world.
The third journey starts in front of the gates of the Western
embassies, in the illusion that the trinity of liberty, dignity and financial
security exist only in the West. But the situation in the West has become more
complicated. And these people live in a circle of hopelessness, since their
homeland cannot support them, and the rest of the world does not want them. It's
precisely in this pond that the "Islamist movement" fishes – and lays the
foundation for its theory of death, which starts from the conviction that a
return to our ancestors will solve all problems.
How do you see the
theory of the clash of civilisations? And can a dialogue of cultures and
civilisations mitigate this clash?
Tizini: Huntington divides
the world into eight civilisations. Two of them are dangerous: the Muslim and
the Chinese. He prophesies that the next century will be dominated by a clash of
religions. To start with, he certainly wants to say that there are religions
which have huge amounts of crude oil in their areas of influence.
So in
this conflict, it's all about the mineral resources of rich regions – and not
about Islam, as it exists in poor countries like Mauritania.
On the other
hand, we can't speak about the clash of religions, since every religion has its
own homeland in which it has spread. It is certainly possible for religions to
coexist peacefully, since all share the same absolute truth. So the solution is
to recognise this reality, without interfering in the internal affairs of the
others, since every religion believes that it holds the key to the truth. There
is no clash of cultures, although many of those involved in political conflicts
clothe them in religious and cultural language. In that sense Huntington is
right when he speaks of a conflict of interests which happens to find itself
being worked out in countries in which Islam plays a major
role.
The
Syrian writer and philopher Tayyib Tizini is one of the most prominent
intellectuals of the Arab world. He studied and got his doctorate and his
professorship at the Humboldt University in Berlin. Tayyib Tazini taught for
many years at the University of Damascus. Among his works are an "Introduction
to Arab-Muslim Philosophy in the Middle Ages" and many studies on the history of
Arab-Muslim thought. In 2003, he called on the Syrian regime to enter into a
dialogue with critical forces in society.
Translated from the German by
Michael Lawton