Off the shelf
A different vision
V. N. Datta

The West and the Rest: Globalisation and the Terrorist Threat.
by Roger Scruton. Continuum, London. Pages 196. £ 8.

THE uniqueness of this book lies in raising the public discourse about terrorism, civil society and democracy to a high, sophisticated level, for which a number of explanations have been offered since the calamity of September 11. The author tries to explore the vision of society and public order that lies at the heart of Western civilisation. He highlights also the differing value system of Islam and Western civilisation. The approach to the subject is not historical, but primarily conceptual.

Roger Scruton, an eminent contemporary English writer, was a Professor of Philosophy at Birbeck College in London and at Boston University with a number of well-known publications, including Modern Phiiosophy.

The author shows that with the passage of time, the strong pillars of Islamic civilisation began to totter due to the ossification of creative impulse, which dried up due to the bane of orthodoxy. In this connection, he argues that despite some changes wrought to meet the exigencies of times, the notion of Islamic state virtually remained static.

The traditional idea of Muslim state was based on Sharia, a unique way of salvation, which is to be applied to every area of life, and which makes no distinction between the public and private sphere. Even a distinguished historian like Ibn Khaldun failed to grasp the need of adjusting Sharia to the requirements of the times. Scruton emphasises that in Islamic history, lack of flexibility has been a prominent feature in matters of governance.

He mentions that a close study of Islamic states as constituted would show that they had failed to build up institutions that could promote the cause of democracy. For excellence in the mode of governance, the author quotes Spinoza, who wrote that the ideal state governance is not that it should be governed by good men, but it should be so constituted that it does not matter whether it be governed by good men or bad.

Scruton argues that there has never been a state in which collusions and conflicts did not occur between the interests and passions of the powerful sections of people, but what prevents the disintegration of society is the vitality of social union and institution building, which remain intact, however turbulent may be the period.

Where do the roots of social union lie? Not in men, but primarily in laws which provide the growing principles for the working of state systems. Scruton emphasises that the ideal social union or contract based on democratic principles is absent in Islamic societies. In the absence of social union, Muslim societies are prone to conflicts and insurrections.

This is one of the few works where the author succeeds in identifying the common heritage of the West and Islam. Scruton shows how the Judiac-Christian cultural influence worked as a stimulus to Islamic thought in the realm of theology, philosophy and science and resulted in the flowering of Islamic civilisation.

The crucial factors for the splendid achievements were the notion of Umma, faith in the doctrine of Islam and flair for creative activity combined with a remarkable assimilative power of acquiring knowledge with open-mindedness. In the early part of its history, Islam was never divested of foreign inputs.

A major portion of the book deals with the growth of democratic spirit in the West. In tracing the forces and ideas that prevented the cause of democracy, the author's account shows his insight and sweep. Apart from Aristotle's pronouncements, Scruton identifies four European movements-Renaissance, the Reformation, 17th century Scientific Revolution and French Revolution-which had laid the foundation for adopting democracy as an ideal form of government. A clear distinction was made between the Church and State, and in no case the State was to be subjected to religious control.

Further, in the mode of the governance of a State, the guiding principles laid down were the Rule of Law, separation of powers legislative, executive and judicial; freedom of speech and thought, and, above all, the representative from of government based on franchise.

According to the author, when it comes to the question of defence and sovereignty, the Constitution and the rule of law take precedence over all religious loyalties. In Western democracies, the law makes no religious demands, and safeguards a political heritage in which the freedom of the individual is the primary aim of the State.

In other words, the rights and duties of citizens, unlike in the Islamic states, are defined without any reference to the will of God. Scruton comments: "A British Muslim is as much bound by the duties of the citizens as a British Christian or a British atheist?"

For the analysis of Western history, Scruton emphasises that the basic reason for the vitality of democratic practice has been the growth of political process in the West. By political process, he means the settlement of crucial political issues through a process of dialogue, debate, discussion, and mediation, but not by any use of coercion or dictation.

For the success of democratic practice, the role of opposite political parties is crucial because democracy admits not only variety, but also criticism. Scruton regrets that these important features of democratic process are completely absent in the Islamic states.

Scruton finds little scope for political developments in Islamic states. He points out that even in the great period of jurisprudence, the Sharia remained defective because there existed no promise in Islamic law for corporation as a legal person with rights and duties of its own. In other words, there is no judicial definition of public sphere in classical Islamic jurisprudence.

Further, he maintains that only the people of the book, Christians and Jews, have been given the status, while others have to accept conversions and the status of dhimmi-which means protected by treaty or covenant. Scruton regards terrorism a method used by the enemy, and for fighting it the answer is not globalisation, but the adjustment of immigration policies to the goal of integration, a spirit of multiculturalism and secularism.

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