CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A prominent imam speaking at Harvard University on Thursday rejected the notion of a fundamental “clash of civilizations” between the Muslim World and the West and called for greater cultural understanding.
The Aga Khan, spiritual leader of some 15 million Shia Ismaili Muslims, told a packed audience that society must strive to be more “pluralist” and “cosmopolitan,” meaning people should actively seek out difference and diversity and learn from it.
He said globalization should not mean the creation of a single, homogenized society where all differences are erased, but one where what we have in common and what makes us different is respected.
“In my view, the deeper problem behind any prospective clash of civilizations is a profound clash of ignorances. And, in that struggle, education will be an indispensable weapon,” he told his audience at Memorial Church.
To Muslims, he issued a reminder that a central tenet of Islam is celebrating the “common humanity” among all the world’s people. The Aga Khan is considered a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
“My hope is that the voices of Islam itself will continue to remind the world of a tradition that, over so many centuries, has so often advanced pluralistic outlooks and built some of the most remarkable societies in human history,” he said.
Source: Muslim Leader Calls for More Understanding Among Cultures – The New York Times
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