• by Roberto Savio
• Wednesday, December 09, 2009
• Inter Press Service

While the war in Iraq triggered massive demonstrations across the globe, the ratcheting up of the number of troops in Afghanistan has generated no more than brief debates in parliaments. Why? asks Roberto Savio, founder and president emeritus of IPS news agency.

In this article, Savio argues against the 'clash of civilisations' theory, which posits that a struggle is underway between Judeo-Christian and Muslim civilisations, writing instead we are experiencing specific conflicts within civilisations.

It is in this context that we should examine the original objective of Al Qaeda to take control of the Arab world, and its subsequent fight against the infidels who supported corrupt governments of the area. Similarly, the commotion caused when an Italian minister wore a shirt with a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed, setting off protests that resulted in the deaths of 22 people in Libya, should be understood as a conflict within Christian civilisation. In effect, the minister was trying to curry favour with the Catholic fundamentalists in Italy to benefit his own party.

(*) Roberto Savio is founder and president emeritus of IPS news agency.

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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