Maghrib aur Islam (Issue No. 46)

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About the Issue

Maghrib aur Islam – a bi-annual Urdu journal of IPS – is a valuable resource for understanding Western perceptions about Islam and building basis for constructive dialogue between the two civilizations. The recent issue of Maghrib aur Islam talks about the changing American society and local Muslim. In psychology, Phobia is the name of an unidentifiable fear. This type of fear is not based on any rational, logical realism, but is only a fragment of one’s imagination which he starts believing as real. The mutual relations in a human society are based on how people think about each other. If we start believing that our neighbor hates us and is on a mission to hurt or kill us, then even the most ordinary ones of his actions will feel like a threat to us. Islamophobia is a name of a similar type of feeling. Muslims have been the original target of the psychological behavior that has been evolving in Europe and America post September 11, 2001. As a matter of fact, even people such as Sikhs – who sometimes look like Muslims due to their beard and turban – have also often become a target of such behavior. It was the same psychological behavior that became the basis of aggression on Iraq and Afghanistan, and it is the same mindset that is favoring a change in the American policy towards Iraq, Syria and now Iran and Turkey. The treatment of this fatal mentality has not only become a necessity at the individual level, but also at the state level in order to ensure global peace. In our opinion, this does not have any quick fix solution, however the issue can still be resolved by means of patience, persistence and by devising a proper strategy. The effort is worthwhile and should be perceived as a duty even if it takes 50 years to bear any fruit. It is certain that it is the constructive and corrective mindset that will eventually come on top as the negative and destructive approach adopted by the West cannot dominate for long.