“Genetically we remain a single species, but culturally we are worlds apart, comparable to dinosaurs, birds and mammals.” Mark Pagel... Pagel's cultural speciation seems more valid when the concept of "clash of civilizations" doesn't stay a mere a theory but a reality...
Whether you are a rationalist who sees the world through the eyes of logic and Philosophy or a believer in one merciful God or worship idols, you can't claim that you do not belong to a history of men that were/are believing in their cultural superiority and have been involved in eradication of rival cultures in order to spread their own... It seems that the destruction and conversion of civilizations is a universal process across religions, cultures and times. We find the evidences in ancient world, Medieval ages and witness their continuation in our modern age.
Alexander "the great" was the pupil of logic's father and a great philosopher of all time, Aristotle. Aristotle tutored Alexander to fulfill the dream of his teacher, Plato for a "Philosopher King". The "Philosopher King" had a "Philosophical mission" and that was Hellenization (in other word to spread the culture of philosophy) of the world.
Alexander the great destroyed the Persepolis to ground while he was building new cities like that of Alexandria throughout of his expanding empire. It seems that the sole reason for his destruction of Persepolis was that of rivalry among civilizations. He was looking to Persian civilization as an obstacle to his project of Hellenization of world...
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Although Hellenization of world was not lasted long but the world didn't cease to repeat the same sort of efforts. Ottomans after capturing the last city of Byzantine empire, converted its jewel church, the Hagia Sophia Church to Aya Sophia Mosque in an effort of Islamization of Byzantine empire. Islamization of conquered territories was identical to Alexander's project of Hellenization of the world.
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The re-christianization of Muslim Spain cities was no different than the Islamization of Ottomans and the continuation of the same phenomenon as those of Alexander and Ottomans... the conversion of Civilizations...
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One may argue that those events were happening in a time period of human history that human history were merely the story of emperors. So they were more of battles of emperors than clash of civilizations. So, lets come to our times and go to the biggest democratic country, India. The demolition of historic Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India was another act of eradication of a history or conversion of civilization in a democratic society.
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And of course, religious fanatics who left their brains in history are determined to roll back all civilizations. The destruction of Buddha of Bamiyan by Taliban was just a trailer of their project will proceed and what their world will look like..
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Wait, as we have the seed for a future clash. This process is not doing end as the controversial status of Jerusalem and prediction of Armageddon over Jerusalem is popular among Jews, Christians and Muslims.... It is just the matter of time when the followers these three Abrahamic religions go for a large scale clashes..
Looking to all these examples, I am compelled to think that overtaking of civilizations is not mere products of teaching but deeply embedded in our "second nature". What does it mean? That means that our "second nature" was born and grown up with us as we were born and grown up in our particular cultures.
While, I understand the need for preservation and promotion of our primary cultures (cultures that we have inherited and are the source of our identity) but in order to bridge the gaps and reduce conflicts we need a second culture, a culture common to all human being. Human Rights' thirty articles are accepted and endorsed by all nations and provides a framework and values system for our second culture. Unfortunately, there is no arts, movies, stories and other forms of cultural products to make this a reality. I don't know, how much my appeal goes but at least I voice for it...
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