Leibniz, Islam and cosmopolitan virtue

Samuel Huntingtonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s article on ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“the clash of civilizationsââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ in Foreign Affairs (1993) has shaped much of the academic debate about inter-cultural understanding for over a decade. In retrospect, Edward Saidââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s criticisms of Orientalism (1978) and more especially his Representations of the Intellectual (1994) offered some prospect that intellectuals could cross boundaries between cultures, and forge a pathway towards mutual respect and understanding. In the post 9/11 world, Huntingtonââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s bleak analysis of the development of micro fault-line conflicts and macro core state conflicts has captured the mood of foreign policy in the West in the era of the ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“war on terrorââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢. Huntington of course believes that the major division is between the Christian West and the Muslim world. More recently, Huntington (2003) has even more openly spoken about ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“the age of Muslim Warsââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ and widespread Muslim grievance and hostility towards the United States. Any attempt to engage with Islamic civilization is now seen as a ââ"šÂ¬Ã‹Å“war for Muslim mindsââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢.