Manual for the Clash of Cultures

In the mid 1990s when Samuel Huntington presented his theory on the clash of cultures, he was met by widespread repudiation. Meanwhile, the conflict with Islam has estab-lished itself in the media as an ongoing issue and one cannot but speak of a real clash of cultures.

The conflict has shaken our selfconfidence no less than that of Muslims because it mercilessly exposes that the two sides are themselves the relativized result of past discussion when seen against the mirror of the other. Stefan Weidner's essay attempts to find reasons for why Islam, of all things, is playing this role for us and why Muslims cross the borders of what is acceptable for us as often as we do for them. What is interesting here is not the respective question of who is right, but according to what laws the conflict takes its course, where the blind spots can be found on both sides and how we gradually change ourselves in this conflict and in which direction.

The essay is a reflection on what we find fascinating, difficult, original and provoking about our encounters with Islam in the history of ideas and politically. This manual for the battle of the cultures also provides readers lacking in specialist knowledge with the tools they need to better understand contemporary discussions and be able to form their own judgment.

»With great acuity the author gives a short and concise account of the complex antagonisms between Orient and Occident, exposing the circular logic at the heart of the currently prevailing arguments.« Lukas Wick, Neue Zürcher Zeitung