The question of Islam's future in the West is an evolving reality that must be addressed. However, due to the spectacle that emerges from differences in cultural practice, channels of communication between belief systems are stifled by the dominance of divisive discourse, rather than reconciliation. The adherents to polemic arguments insist that there is a deep-seeded schism between two parties, drawing attention away from any commonalities that would espouse understanding. While it is clear that parties from both sides further agitate the conflict, understanding the core principles involved in each system of belief and practice will clarify its underlying causal agents. Observation of relations between Islam and the West gives rise to an evaluation of the sensibilities that inform modern perspectives. An elucidation of these principles is key to making informed predictions on the possibilities of these relations.

Critics of Islam often cite it is as deriving its practices from the 7th century, and lacking in capacity to adapt to the changing needs of the modern world. While the example of 7th century Muhammad is central to the teachings and practices of Islam, adaptability of belief and consideration of context is imbued into this legacy. In Cardinal Pell's essay "Islam and Us", he emphasizes the static nature of the Qur'an, and the lack of transformations that it has undergone as a testament to its inability to relate to changing circumstances. Pell states "…to make the Qur'an the subject of a critical analysis and reflection is either to assert human authority over divine revelation, or to question its divine character. The bible, in contrast, is a product of human cooperation with divine inspiration." Regardless of his ties to the archaic institution which has claimed to have one man (the Pope) as God's continual mouthpiece for years, Pell is arguing here that the bible's authorship by apostles' interpretation of Jesus' deeds and the subsequent translations and resultant transformations give the text more flexibility, and therefore, more currency in the modern era than the Qur'an, which is composed of recordings verifiably linked to Muhammad's revelation. This view on authorship unintentionally illustrates the Western propensity to shape history post-positively. Although the merit of such an assertion is certainly questionable, its character is of more interest than its claims, as it reveals the Western dependence on mediated information.

In this critique of Islam's relationship to its text, Cardinal Pell demonstrates a tendency within Western thought to use selective reasoning and specific methods of labeling in order to authoritatively define objectivity. Pluralism has never been Christianity's strong suite. As the Western tradition has retained much of the infrastructure laid out by Christianity, it follows that the secularist positions that emerge from this history are to share the impetus of Western thought as the most truthful, or accurate to the actuality of events. In the scathing critiques of Islam's inherent tendencies towards senseless violence in contrast to the supposed pacifism and justness that emanates from the Western tradition, modern critics fail to appreciate the importance of issues such as the endurance of colonialism's legacy on its effected populations and the methods used to spread Christian ideals, along with its' attendant reception. Rather than draw comparisons between texts, and to consider the issue in ways that further the diametric opposition of the two systems on all levels, perhaps it is a more prudent approach to reference trends of interaction in history. This measure serves as to isolate the pragmatic differences between the groups, to chalk up how the respective ideals of each are actualized.

During peaks of power from both Islam and the West, both conquered and colluded with members of the African continent. As Yoruba religion dominated Africa during the rise of Islam in the 7th century, as well as during colonial expansion by Europe beginning in the Renaissance, the attributes and circumstance of conversion from this religion by Africans serves as a gauge of the viability of each monotheistic religion's claims to universality. The capture of Cairo and the Nile River by Muslims was met with resistance from the Berber tribes of the area. Aside from the obvious discontents that emerge from the occupation of one's land by another, the Berber tribes' main contention became centered on elements of Islamic practice as they converted to Islam. In his book, The History of Africa, Kevin Shellington points out that "…when they did turn to the Muslim faith the followed the unorthodox Kharijite movements…They criticized the exclusive Arab culture of orthodox Islam and emphasized the equality of all professing Muslims, no matter what their racial, cultural or linguistic origin" (75). Regardless of how this may be viewed as a reaction specific to the historical circumstances in which it occurred, in the same way that Bernard Lewis comments on the contemporary embrace of imported anti-western ideals that are incongruous with the totality of Islam in his essay "The Roots of Muslim Rage," it is apparent that the Berber tribes were able to understand and genuinely engage with the principles and practices of Islam.

Fast-forward one millennia, and the transatlantic slave trade is in full effect. Worshipers of Legba, Ogun, Damballah and other intermediaries, or "living gods", are forced to practice Christianity in the slave colonies that they are transported to. Among these colonies is the island of Haiti. Rather than engaging with the dogmatic principles of their captors, slaves simply replaced the motifs and images of Yoruba religion with the imagery of saints and Christian themes. This stemmed from the recognition that even though both Yoruba religion and Christianity shared ideas about common descent, chains of divine transmission and the importance of exemplary morality, that Christian insistence on conversion required the slaves to appear to adhere strictly to the new beliefs, while maintaining their devotion. In her account Haitian religion, Divine Horsemen, Maya Deren states, "…In effect, the deities to which the "primitive" addresses himself…are analogous to the Catholic saints." The superficiality of this appeasement speaks to the lack of genuine communication and exchange that typifies Western interaction.

The authoritarian nature of Christianity has been circumscribed onto its birthed paradigms of the Renaissance and Enlightenment, which serve as foundational tenets for the West and it's models of democracy. This informs much of the discourse concerning Islam. These issues highlight the Western self-idealizations that are necessary for its survival, and result in the discrediting of alternative perspectives. This does not facilitate a forum that is conducive to historical accuracy. Islam poses a threat to this information monopoly, though never explicitly stated. Instead, we can see Western scholars elated to assign the events of 9/11 to the whole of Islam, rather than as a result of actions by it's minority extremists. Characterizations of Islam as a violent religion are given credence in the face of fear-mongering and bigotry. These contradictions are unsettling. Considering the ordinance of the transatlantic slave trade and the crusades by the Pope, arguments that the West has advanced in its pacifism over time faces warranted skepticism. When one examines the criticism and alleged antagonism of Iran under the lens of Western aggression, it becomes no surprise that a Muslim nation that has not initiated a conflict since 1750 is painted as war mongering and fanatical. As long as the West sticks by it's guns, Islam will remain a target.