The Arab-Muslim world in conversation with the West

Claude Riveline presents a thesis written by two engineering students from the École des mines in Paris. According to this thesis, apart from the overwhelming media attention focussed on Islamic attacks, there is hope that the Arab-Muslim world will recover its sources of pride which will then allow it to interact more peacefully with the West. He highlights the importance of an elite thirsty for knowledge, and huge, pious and discrete populations who are guarantors of social stability. Hassan Aoummis argues the opposite point of view suggesting that the difficulties will be overcome by access to a more modern way of life that the West provides. This way is not only based on technology but especially on the individual, and also freedom and democracy. Just like the process in France which led to the separation of the Church from the State, the Arab-Muslim world must discriminate between the powers of religion and politics, a process during which a liberal form of Islam can emerge.