Religious Authority and Public Life

The image of the Middle East projected in current public discourses is one imbued with religion. Media consumers would be forgiven for assuming that the region consists of angry bearded men prostrating themselves in prayer when not shaking their fists and burning American flags, and shadowy women with headscarves or chadors. The region is 'the Islamic world', religion stamped on every aspect of its life and function. The 'clash of civilizations' idea, much criticized, remains a potent notion both in the West and in Muslim circles. A mythical totalized 'Muslim world' is opposed to an equally mythical unified 'West', with religion as the essence of the former and the main key to its politics and society.