Nukhet A. Sandal

#Mission_Civilisatrice_2.0: The Ivory Tower Approach to #Islam and Politics
▻http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nukhet-a-sandal/mission-civilisatrice-20-_b_4427776.html

.... it is worth questioning how many American academics commenting casually on Islam turn to scholars in the Muslim world for guidance and insights, rather than just confirmation. Do we sincerely ask the Mr. Hassans about their experience, or do we base our policy prescriptions on our desire “to civilize the world” in line with our convictions?

Make no mistake, I am grateful to be in academia, I love teaching and writing. However, as a Muslim, I am also getting a bit tired of the condescending tone many academics have, and the enduring disinterest in the people on the ground, especially - and ironically - in what we call “policy relevant” scholarship in international politics. I am increasingly witnessing this gap in high profile conferences and workshops on the Middle East, Africa, and Islam. I am still amazed at white Christian scholars who use the terms “Islamic” and “Muslim-majority” interchangeably, conflating a religion and its people in their lengthy sermons about how Muslims should navigate their current challenges. I am also trying to understand what policy relevance we can hope to achieve out of “Religion and Family” panels without women, “Islam and Politics” panels without Muslims, and “Extremism in Africa” panels without Africans.

The moment international policy circles start addressing this gap and making an effort to include the actual subjects of these necessary conversations, we will all take a big step towards the more equitable and stable world we have been desperately seeking in our conference halls.