Lebanese Journalist Ali Hamada: The Western World Is Not An Infidel World

'Ali Hamada, a Lebanese journalist writing for the Al-Nahar daily, spoke on the Saudi channel Al-Ekhbariya TV. The following are excerpts from his comments:

Ali Hamada: What have we Muslims contributed in the past 200 years to the progress of humanity, of culture, of science, of knowledge, of the arts, of innovations, of everything? These are important questions. The question does not relate to religious belief alone. The [Muslims] should break forward from religion to new horizons, towards science, towards knowledge, towards recognizing the other, which is an important issue.

There is no state of animosity and conspiracy between us and the others. The others are not infidels, and this is an issue we must emphasize. The Western world is not an infidel world, nor a world of wars. Just as we demand of others to be open to our issues, our hopes, our dreams, and our complaints, so must we adopt a comprehensive humanist perspective. The Muslim man is a universal, whole man. This is what I wanted to say.