Sami El-Daghistani

1. On what basis is the concept of 'the West' constructed and on what historical, cultural, and theological foundations are Western perceptions of Islam constructed? In what ways does this perception continue today? The Middle East and the Muslim world as a whole is facing various political, social, and economic stalemates including war interventions (and the “Muslim world” is a very problematic concept that was created as a matter of fact in the 18th century). These are also the result of foreign powers’ involvement into the region for the last couple of centuries. The the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is often being designated as a “sectarian” region. Europe, on the other hand, is facing new influxes of migrants coming from MENA, an aging population, and political and academic circles are at times linking these processes with racism and Islamophobia between the two worlds that have been historically interpreted to be on opposite sides, namely the Islamic and the Western. In the very notion of these two designations, we are using two opposite or unequal terms, one allegedly be…