Dr. Michael Vlahos of the Joint Warfare Analysis Department consistently pens essays and analysis that I can only describe as "out there." The thing is, they have a funny habit of making you go 'hmmm'. "Enemy Mine", for instance, remains one of the most perceptive essays about the War on Terror I've read. Not to mention one of the more perceptive essays I've read about America. So, what to do for an encore? Try this:
bq. "France, Italy, and Spain together could be called "Roman Europe," as they once formed the core of the old Western Empire. Or perhaps we could say "Latin Europe," as they speak what amounts to demotic Latin. Two generations hence, however, France, Italy, and Spain might be called something quite different, like Arab-Muslim Europe -- but in a way no one has thought of before."
Actually, it has been thought of before. It has even been practiced. To find out where, however, you'll have to read Dr. Vlahos' article. It's an interesting take on a possible future.
UPDATE: Norwegian Blogger Vegard Valberg is back, with a bit of perspective on Vlahos' article.
The idea is intriguing, but as is so often the case, the writer does not address the serious theological differences between Islam and Christianity (and Judaism), nor the fact that Muslims are insistent that their understanding is the ONLY authentic one, and that non-Muslims are really just Muslims who have not yet "reverted" to the "natural religion of mankind." And there is that dicey bit about Muslim men who marry women from the "peoples of the Book" (Jews and Christians). This is always done with the full expectation that the wife will eventually convert to Islam. Intermarriage is thus not at all an opportunity for Muslims to come to appreciate non-Muslim culture; rather it is an opportunity to bring more people into the Islamic fold.
History, of course, is full of surprises, but I can't really see the blending of European and Islamic cultures occurring in this century.
Thing is, though, what he describes has occurred before. So obviously people found a way around all that.
If the power of the Wahhabi sect is broken and its ties to oil moneys severed (key victory condition in the War on Terror), it could change a lot of the conditions on the ground.
RE: Intermarriage... the same expectation holds for Jews who intermarry. Current intermarriage rate in the USA is over 50%, and many do not convert. Usual compromise position is that the children will be raised Jewish, though many are raised in BOTH traditions - which is to say the semi-practicing version of both traditions, rather than their orthodoxies.
I think that tends to confuse the kids, myself, but all of this (intermarriage without conversion, raised in both faiths) is quite popular despite the organized efforts of synagogues et. al. to halt the bleeding.
Never underestimate the power of hormones.
huatou:
Muslims are insistent that their understanding is the ONLY authentic one
So are Jews and Christians, at least the more orthodox among them. I can't speak much for Judaism, but it's the rare Christian denomination that doesn't consider itself the "ONLY authentic one"--even to an extent between "mainstream" Protestant churches (e.g. Presbyterians, Lutherans, Methodists...).
Claim to authority is pretty universal among religions. Where they begin to differ more significantly (and importantly) is in how to deal with the un/non-believer, both in this life and the next. For example, Catholics believe that you have to be Catholic (in good standing, natch) to get into heaven--however, the idea of conversion by the sword is now thankfully passe within the Holy Church. Among Wahhabis it's a different story...
huatou,
All Christendom used to be like Northern Ireland still is. People can change. You just have to make it worth their while.
...And also, very expensive NOT to change.
That may mean searching for something that better meets your TARGET's definition of "expensive." Their idea of same may not be yours, ditto their idea of rewards.
This is is essential lunacy of the "give them foreign aid and it will stop terrorism" argument - it absolutely refuses to engage with our enemies and an "other" in their own right, and instead projects onto them a fantasy caricature to substitute for their real identity.
To change your opposition's mind, you must first know it.
Joe,
I thought that's why we have the State Department, to know the opposition's mind. What do they do all day, go to cocktail parties?
Richard: People who don't even know their own country's mind, aren't likely to accurately figure out anyone else's.
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