I

slam is the most discussed religion following the terror attacks linked to the faith in almost every corner of the world, from New York to Lahore, from London to Bali. It has also become a magic keyword which donor agencies want to have it written on the banners of seminars on various topics.

It is now feared, however, that the global enthusiasm for Islam-related issues as shown by the inclination of Muslims and non-Muslims alike to discuss the connection between "Islam and all kinds of developments in the world" will only foment the ancient polarization between Islam and the West.

While giving his lecture to over a hundred graduates from the School of Koranic Studies on Wednesday, Dutch ambassador to Indonesia, Nikolaos van Dam, noted that "the danger exists that Islam becomes a kind of fixation, thereby adding to a misunderstanding between Muslims and non-Muslims or between so-called Muslim countries and non-Muslim countries."

"It is as if a kind of polarization is being stimulated, exactly where we do not want such a polarization," said van Dam, who taught Middle Eastern history at Amsterdam University before spending most of his academic and diplomatic career in Baghdad, Ankara, Cairo and Berlin.

He recalled that many in the West believed the Koran could give them a better understanding of what was the real cause of the 911 attack.

"I was posted in Berlin at the time, and found out that for that reason the German translation of the meaning of the Koran became the book most widely sold in Germany in this period. But could it help its readers much further in understanding what had happened? I do not think so," he said.

"It may be of course very instructive to read the Koran particularly for those who have not done yet, but to understand everything happening in the world is a different matter," he added.

Having lived among Muslim societies in different parts of the world, van Dam said he was able to differentiate Islam as a universal religion and the particular expressions of Muslims around the world.

"Both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars have a common responsibility not only to explain many relevant issues about Islam," he said.

"They should, however, also make clear what is not related to Islam, but rather to other factors, such as politics, culture and local traditions."

The mainstream Muslims in Indonesia, which was once and perhaps still is regarded as "peripheral Islam", are examples of how religion and cultures can co-exist. Van Dam highlighted among others the fact that Muslim women are allowed recite the Koran during public ceremonies - a rare spectacle in the Middle East - and that many Muslims perform arts which came from Hindu tradition.

"The Borobodur Hotel in Jakarta is full of Hindu statues and Gods, but nobody minds, because it is an expression of culture, just like Egypt has the statues of its Pharaohs and Egyptian gods and goddesses, whereas at the same time Egypt can be considered as a traditional Islamic religious country, and so on," he said.