Islam and the West: between Clash and Dialogue

Westernization has become an integral part of the academic discourse after the end of the Cold War, as a solution to the famous „clash of civilizations” predicted by Huntington. The tragic events of 9/11 strengthened the idea of need for democratization of the Muslim world, but the experiment from Iraq of 2003 showed the limits of the imposed westernization. Developed eastern countries, like China and India, have proved that they can progress without changing their customs and traditions. The study aims to emphasize that the Muslim world wants to modernize and not necessarily to westernize. Globalization is the contemporary trendsetter, which adapts international tendencies to the local particularities. In order to explain the present situation the paper returns in the past and summarizes the evolution of the West and Islam, and the relationship of the two entities during time.