The Muslim-Christian divide that captures almost daily attention in news coming out of the United States, is actually felt worldwide.
Although progress has been made—particularly in multinational workforces— struggles remain around religious diversity, suggests Susan Welch, executive director of Diversity Best Practices.
“With Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr just completing in the United States, now might be a good time to explore the Muslim-Christian divide around the world. It represents one of the toughest diversity issues to address, for a handful of reasons,” Welch recently asserted in an editorial written for her organization’s weekly publication.
We know that religious conflict is not always straightforward. One country bans burka wearing, -- is that rooted in religion? Or would we describe this as a gender issue?
Is banning a burka (or burqa – the full body cloak worn by some Muslim women) simply a dress code issue? Or does this represent a security concern?
If not a burka, what of the "hijab" (or "ḥijāb – referring to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim women and modest Muslim styles of dress in general).
It is sometimes too convenient to classify these arguments into "seemingly harmless" categories. But religious problems are often rooted in historical, even traditional conflicts between two peoples. And this, Welch says, muddies the waters.
Muslims represent roughly one in four people on the globe. In some Asian countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, listed by Welch)Muslims dominate the population. In many other Asian countries, as well as European and North American countries, they are a minority ,and “This sets the stage for regional and country-specific clashes that become more political than religious,” she explains.
When considering economic status, these clashes can also represent problems between the “haves and have-nots”.
Of the 40 Muslim-majority nations worldwide, “only two outside of the Persian Gulf (Turkey and Malaysia) have GDPs above the global median GDP.” (Gross domestic product or GDP refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced in a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living.)
And so, as India, China, and Latin America grow explosively, Muslim populations are further marginalized, both within rapidly growing countries and within competing Muslim-majority nations.
But on the eve of 9/11’s ten-year anniversary, Welch believes there is a sliver of good news:
Pew Research Center (a nonpartisan "fact tank" that provides information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the world) reports a thaw in attitudes toward Muslims in the United States and Europe over the past five years.
(Yet, Muslims have not experienced the same thaw in their own attitudes toward the West, the Pew report goes on to state.)
TWelch believes that herein lies the most interesting rub of all, perhaps the crux of the issue:
Both sides blame the other side for poor relations, each believing they hold the high moral ground. "Age-old beliefs dealing differently with critical debates around life and death drive apart Muslims and the somewhat Christian, somewhat non-secular West."
Cultural competency and inclusion meet their fiercest challenge here, Welch believes, yet she asks -- “Can we set aside our fundamental life-and-death beliefs and embrace different beliefs in another human being?”
Her question is a good one – and is certainly deserving of more talks and discussions.
Meanwhile, education of differences and similarities is a good place to start. Businesses and organizations, meanwhile, cannot ignore these differences, by simply blaming any clashes as “religious” differences.
Such simplistic thinking about cultures, ethnicity, diversity, inclusion and differences just does not work anymore. We need better information to identify and solve problems -- to make higher quality decisions.
