The Islamic world remains today a vast land stretching from the
Atlantic to the Pacific, with an important presence in Europe and
America, animated by the teachings of Islam and seeking to assert
its own identity. Despite the presence of nationalism and various
secular ideologies in their midst, Muslims wish to live in the
modern world but without simply imitating blindly the ways
followed by the West. The Islamic world wishes to live at peace
with the West as well as the East but at the same time not to be
dominated by them. It wishes to devote its resources and energies
to building a better life for its people on the basis of the
teachings of Islam and not to squander its resources in either
internal or external conflicts. It seeks finally to create better
understanding with the West and to be better understood by the
West. The destinies of the Islamic world and the West cannot be
totally separated and therefore it is only in understanding each
other better that they can serve their own people more
successfully and also contribute to a better life for the whole
of humanity.
