Support of Islam by the West

THE WAY FORWARD Support of Islam by the West Muslim writers and speakers often perceive Salman Rushdie as a part of the conspiracy orchestrated by the “enemies of Islam.” They believe it to be a plot hatched by Western powers against Islam, with Salman Rushdie’s book serving as its manifestation. However, the author holds the view that such allegations are entirely unfounded. The fact is that Salman Rushdie’s book is an individual act by the author and not the result of a collective plan devised by Western nations. The so-called modern Muslim press has been publishing articles that claim the United States (and the West) has designated Islam as its new enemy since the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. They argue that just as the West targeted Communism before the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has now turned its focus on Islam. In essence, they propose that the West needed a new enemy for its survival and discovered Islam as their enemy to fulfill that role. This theory suggests that Western civilization thrives on competition and requires a rival to sustain it. However, these assumptions are unfounded. One evidence against the validity of this theory is that even today, thousands of people in Western countries are willingly embracing Islam. Furthermore, individuals from the West have authored outstanding books highlighting Islam’s greatness in modern times. (Refer to the author’s book ‘Fikr-e-Islami,’ pp. 70-72)