Half-hearted realism

On breakfast TV last week I tuned in to see prominent British journalist Robert Fisk talking about the current situation in the Middle East.

Mr Fisk puts himself firmly in the pessimists camp, claiming things are likely to get a lot worse before they get better.

He says despite the presence of plenty of Middle Eastern Affairs departments in western universities, the West has little understanding of the region, and in return the Middle East doesn't have much of a clue about the West either.

With this track record of failure and mutual ignorance, it might be reasonable to conclude that contact between the two civilisations should be scaled back.

However, in typical left-liberal fashion he only goes as far as suggesting the West should reduce its military presence in the region. No mention of reducing Muslim immigration to the West or restricting the involvement of the western media in Middle Eastern countries.

This is a typical stance of a half-hearted realist who wishes to sound worldly and tough-minded without having to take the risk of being seen as seriously politically incorrect.

Reducing the West's military presence in the Middle East may well be a good idea, but its military presence isn't the only reason why the Middle East is opposed to the West.

France and the low countries for example, have stayed clear of the war on Iraq, but that hasn't stopped elements of their Muslim populations from indulging in anti-western riots. In Europe, Muslim hostility to the West is more about envy of western affluence, and contempt for western liberal values than it is about western oppression.

The liberal values problem is particularly embarrassing for those on the liberal left.

While staunch right liberals can openly defend western liberal values against Muslim traditionalism, the liberal left's tolerance for diversity means it is caught between defending its own liberal values and having to tolerate clearly anti-liberal Muslim values

Mr Fisk hopes that “cultural exchange” will help reduce tension between the two sides, but with such a big cultural gulf its difficult to see how such exchange can help. Only a small number of cosmopolitan elites from the West and Middle East will be able to tolerate living and working in each others world's without feeling the urge to undermine the host culture.