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Akbar Muhammad, Historian: There is a resurgence, that's very clear. People have attempted to return to their roots, as it were. To give life to their earlier cultures. We don't want to be like Europe. We want to return to our roots. We want to bring back Islam. Dr. Muhammad believes that some of the responsibility for stifling Islam in the past century is borne by Islamic rulers who were influenced by European ideas. Akbar Muhammad: Governments which ruled Muslims were very often like colonial governments; they suffocated Muslims. They suffocated those who wanted to go back to their original culture. With all due respect to Kamal Ataturk in Turkey, this is a man who attempted to suppress Islam. He does not feel that most Muslims personally dislike Westerners, however. Akbar Muhammad: I don't think the average Muslim is against the average Westerner. I think a lot of Muslims are against Western politics, western government, because of what they perceive the Western governments do, and the influence they have in their (non-Western) countries. Pure and simple. |