Rostoványi Zsolt - Az iszlám és a 21. század - Kihívások és válaszok

The relationship between Islam and Europe, between Islam and the West, which is fraught with tension and a number of conflicts, is facing new challenges. In just a few months in 2015-2016, a huge wave of migration hit Europe, with a significant proportion of refugees and immigrants coming from countries of Islamic civilization. Meanwhile, the terrorist attacks carried out by radical Islamists (jihadists) in the "heart of Europe" have claimed, claiming hundreds of lives. Some have spoken outright about a "war", or at least a threat to Europe, to European culture. As a result of these developments, a generalizing, monolithic image of Islam has become widely accepted, characterizing a significant portion of the media, politicians, church figures, and even security experts. According to this, there is only one Islam - hostile, alien to European culture - and the main dividing line is between Islam and Christianity, Islam and the West. ZSOLT ROSTOVÁNYI, rector emeritus of the Corvinus University of Budapest, an expert on Islam and the Middle East, refutes the blurring of Islam and radical Islamism, He shows that the practice of the Islamic world does not correspond to the essentialist, monolithic vision of it, but on the contrary: the scene of competing, often contradictory interpretations, and one of the most important features of Islam has always been diversity, pluralism of interpretations and expressions. The author also discusses the high-level dialogue between Islam and Christianity in recent years.