There is much talk now of a “clash” of civilizations between the Muslim world and the West. How do you see this clash?
I don’t think it’s a question of civilizations. Civilizations are the best part of human creation. They don’t cause any kind of clash—they are a means to communicate. The clash comes from the aggressive interpretation of some religions. Religions have been used throughout history as a cause to wage war and kill people, but it’s my opinion that religions are the same everywhere. They are a way to find God, a way to have positive values, to prove oneself as a good human being. I was born Muslim, so I am Muslim. If I had been born Christian, I would have been Christian.
Where do you think the current fanaticism is coming from?
Poor areas, because the poor are desperate. The current regime here is dealing with them in an inhuman way, arresting and torturing them. Religion is being used as a cover for social unrest, a way to empower these people who are not empowered. In Egypt, there is an Islam for the rich and an Islam for the poor. And these two Islams have their own mosques, their own sheikhs. The rich use religion to ensure the status quo. They don’t want any change. But poor people do want change, because they are now deprived of so much.
So God is not the true impetus behind extremist behavior?
You feel God in your heart, you feel God when you love others. Killing is not done because of God, but because people are marginalized and oppressed, without any future and any kind of human dignity. I tried to explain that in my novel. It is very easy to get such people to turn to fanaticism. The Western notion that Muslims are killing themselves so they will go to paradise and sleep with a woman is wrong—I myself think sleeping with a woman is much more enjoyable than killing oneself. This life is closed to these marginalized people, but they believe that they will have justice in the afterlife.
Do you think the Muslim Brotherhood can moderate itself?
They claim they are now better educated and more moderate, but they have bad records about the roles of women and other issues. They have a chance now to prove themselves by what they do in parliament. They must pass the test. They must act in moderate ways. I am for the right of everybody to form a religious political party, but they must do so according to secular means.
How do you think the Arab world sees 9/11?
The question is rather, how has 9/11 been introduced to the Arab world? I saw 9/11 as a crime, and I have written against it. But I believe that events are always manipulated by regimes for their own purposes. Just as the American government has used Osama bin Laden to deflect attention away from its own problems, many of the Arab governments used 9/11 to play on anti-American emotions. They were hoping to convert the negative emotions people harbored against their regimes and channel those emotions onto a foreign entity. They also need the problem of Israel for the same reason. I do not agree with Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, but Arab regimes use anti-Israel sentiment to postpone moving toward democracy.
What do you think of America now?
I believe America has made a big shift to the right. The whole world has shifted to the right, in a way. From the 1950s to the 1980s, people were more liberal. We don’t respect free choice anymore. The globe has one superpower, and that superpower has to choose to be either a moral superpower or a capitalist superpower. This choice will influence history. America should say, “I am very strong, but I am fair.” This isn’t happening now.
How would you compare Europeans to Americans?
Europeans have many more traditions, because they come from very old cultures. It’s like comparing a young person to an old one. The old person doesn’t accept change. But the American experience is based on change.