The term civilization came into the language in the 18th century. Its first usage was meant to differentiate the “civilized” people from the “savages.” Later, its meaning expanded to include culture, identity and state and the term civilization gained its current meaning.1 However, its high popularity in world politics is a relatively recent development. The term became popular with the publication of Samuel P. Huntington’s 1993 Foreign Affairs article entitled “The Clash of Civilizations?” Huntington claimed that
…the fundamental source of conflict in this new world will not be primarily ideological or primarily economic. The great divisions among humankind and the dominating source of conflict will be cultural …. The clash of civilizations will be the battle lines of the future.2
Before this article, the usage of the terms “clash” and “civilization” together was common among some Orientalist authors and Huntington borrowed his article’s title and theme from Bernard Lewis. For Lewis,
