The age we live is a period that people define themselves with the concepts of the west. Today even if we talk about the Islamic world, we have to use the terms of the west. Where is the Islamic world? Where does its border start and finish? What kind of place is the Muslim territory? What kind of people are those who live in this territory?
Even as the Muslim mind tries to answer these questions, the initial concepts that come to the mind are: Middle East, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somali, Palestine, chaos, Taleban, Al Qaide, terrorism, dictatorship, military regimes, backwardness, unculturedness, misery and oil… Here with these codes the image of the Islamic world in the subconscious of the world including the Muslims is emphasized.
Since there is an “East” that the west defines, the region that is defined as “East” has another interpretation and definition of it within itself. Today the image that the world has about the “east” is a work of a general view point. The news regarding the “east” or the “Islamic world” on the foreign policy pages of the newspapers are mostly biassed and include clashes. Unfortunately the interest of our intellectuals in this world is consisted of the exposures presented by the newspapers or televisons. However the Islamic world is one that is different from the one which is wanted to be presented.
ISLAMIC WORLD IS NOT THE “MIDDLE EAST”
Today the word irresponsibly used “Middle East” is still being discussed. Even generally the Islamic world is stressed with this world, we do not accept this. Because even you apply the geographical rules, you can easily see that this is not true. Futhermore no part of our world is a “central” point compared with another point.
The word “Middle East” initially was used by the Britons after the fall of Ottoman first to point out Iran and Iraq. Before that the Britons were using the word “Near East” intending the Ottoman.
In the ancient times this region named as “Mesopotamia” was only forming a little part of the Islamic world. By defining the Islamic world with the “Middle East”, a vast geographical area will be out.
SO, WHERE IS THE ISLAMIC WORLD?
Islamic world is including a region from the Gibraltar to Malay Strait, from the Danube to the Arab sea. The Islamic world that is consisted of 1.5 billion people includes an area of 15,000 thousand kilometers from the west to the east, from the North to the South 9,000 kilometers spreading from the Urals to Mauritania.
As we take into account the Islamic world in this axis, you will clearly see how the people as initially Samuel P.Huntington who poses the “The Clash Of the Civilizations” thesis, take out the Hindu and Budist world and clash the Muslims and Christians.
This general view will emerge how a rich culture the Islamic world that is established on the inheritage of the ancient civilizations as Yellow River, Indian,Mesopotamia, Egypt and Rome is.
The Islamic world having the rich lakes and seas as Nile, Mediterranean sea, Aegean Sea, Euphrate, Tigris, Basra, Caspian and Amu River, has the richest lands in the world with the underground sources.
Shortly, from the Atlantic shores of Africa, to the South Pacific, from the steppe of Siberia to the far islands of the South Asia, the Islam world shelters many races as Chinese, Indian, Mogol, Malay, Peshtun, Tacik, Turk, Persian, Chechen, Arab, Kurd, Rum, Berber, Swahili and many races within Africa.
This article is translated by M.Hasan UNCULAR for TIMETURK.
