Barbarism v Civilization? Paris, Beirut, and Beyond
In November 2015, the Center for Narrative and Conflict Resolution hosted an event titled, Barbarism v Civilization? – Paris, Beirut, and Beyond. This event was framed around the question of whether recent attacks represent not a clash of civilizations as Samuel Huntington posited, but rather a clash between what John Rawls calls the Society of Peoples versus Rogue States. The barbaric acts target Arab and Western Civilization alike so clearly the battle is not so simple as one between the Muslim and Non-Muslim world. The following introduces some of the contributions of the group.
Professor Sara Cobb agreed that this was not a simple battle between these two-civilizations. She cited an exploration she undertook of ISIS propaganda, noting that this preliminary narrative analysis of ISIS materials (English-only) talked about the group’s desire for the return of the caliphate. The caliphate is a form of Islamic government directed by a successor of Muhammad — the Muslim Prophet. They believe a return of the Caliph would help realign Islam, which they believe is now corrupted by “shirkers.” They believe the majority of the Islamic world is shirking their responsibilities to the faith. Their frustrations with secularism and free choice promoted by the Western world are seen as a threat to pure Islam. That said, destruction of democratic regimes only seem to be part of the overall plan. They want to raise their children in their own system and not have them exposed to or influenced by outsiders.
This moved us into a discussion about voice and legibility. ISIS, at this point, has no legitimate voice on the global stage. Their acts of violence are their voice. Their suicide attackers are killing without saying a word. Violence is how they become visible if not legible. A possible form of praxis would be creating a space for legitimate speech, though this is quite difficult given that engaging with ISIS is considered a crime. We are left with the question: “If speech is required to provide other modes of visibility beyond violence, how can we do this if they do not speak and we cannot speak to them?”
Other participants highlighted the Western world’s attempts to position itself as only capable of “clean war” or legitimized violence while considering the violence of others extremism or terrorism.
A number of students expressed concern that national conversations circulated around the Paris attacks, neglecting those in Beirut, Bagdad, and even India. There was a feeling that all countries needed to come together in order to face this violence.
There was an activist agenda in the room as well with students wanting to have a voice on a national and international stage. Buzz McClain – who provides this intersection between George Mason University and the media – was in attendance and provided some insight on how to make voices heard.
A few individuals felt the discussion was too intellectual and did not speak to the pain in their hearts or the general confusion they felt. In response, the Center for Narrative hosted an ISIS: World Café.
The Narrative Center staff both present and former, organized an evening of candlelight and café music where students and community members could come in and have informal, café-style conversations that enabled people to share opinions as well as feelings. The World Café style event created "shifting conversations" by having participants change tables after fifteen minutes of conversation. The format not only generated a different tone of discussion, it also helped people interact with one another in more connected ways.
The World Café concluded with participants requesting that more cafés be held with a wider community group. If anyone is interested in participating in or organizing such a group please contact [email protected]. More information of this event can be found at www.languageofconflict.com
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