Is being Western and being Muslim an irreconcilable opposition or a constructive dialectic? According to Franco Cardini, professor of Medieval History at the University of Florence, the encounter between the West and Islam is not merely about alterity, but involves a more complex process of identity exchange. European civilization is not only politically weak and insecure but also culturally uncertain about its own identity. In contrast, Islam is a complex and diverse reality, not a monolithic and invincible entity that poses an inexorable threat.
