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Samuel Huntington proclaimed in an already well-known article ("Clash of Civilizations?") that deep incompatibilities between great civilizations will be the primary cause of future international conflicts. Conflicts will be cultural rather than economic or ideological. To test the validity of this claim, I analyse an international conflict which is truly cultural : the "Salman Rushdie Affair". This affair was provoked by the publication of Rushdie's novel, The Satanic Verses. By studying the motives of the actors in this event (the novelist Salman Rushdie, the imam Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini and the politician Margaret Thatcher), it seems at first sight that they were driven by political or financial interests. But a closer analysis shows that these actors were directed by cultural motivations. Does this prove that Huntington's thesis is right ? No, since even if the actors tried to defend a vision of their culture, there is no such a thing as monolithical civilizations but rather, there are only multicultural civilizations. Indeed, many people from the West refused to defend Rushdie, many Muslims condemned Khomeini's fatwa and Thatcher promoted only one aspect of Western political culture. Values are transnational and an Iranian may cherish the same values as an inhabitant of New York, while, on the other hand two Londonners living in the same flat dream about killing the other over the abortion issue.

В статье на основе публикаций в масс-медиа и Интернет-блогах анализируется трансформация когнитивной карты личности в современных условиях. Показаны основные направления и риски деструктивного воздействия на человека информационного поля. По мере становления новой цивилизации XXI века информационное поле ускоряет процесс придания современному варварству особого метафизического смысла, нарушающего допустимые нормы и пределы, свойственные любой цивилизации. Выделены триггеры, стратегии и технологии, запускающие у человека процессы кардинального изменения его мироощущения и миропонимания. Социально-психологический ракурс исследования позволяет по-новому взглянуть на природу и сущность современного варварства. Показаны возможные формы прогнозирования социального поведения человека в контексте появления и преодоления агрессивных злонамеренных действий.
The article is devoted to the analysis based on mass media publications and internet blogs of an individual's cognitive map transformation in modern realities. General directions and risks of information field destructive impacts on an individual are shown. As new civilization of XXI century establishes, information field gives a boost to a process of giving special metaphysical meaning to modern barbarity, which destructs permissible social norms common to an any civilization. Triggers, strategies, and technologies, starting fundamental changing processes in world perception and mentality of an individual are summarized. Social and psychological view of the article lets take a fresh look at an essence and nature of modern barbarity. Possible forms of conceptual foresight of individual's social behavior are shown in context of materialization and overriding of aggressive and ill-destined moves.

Whether the Iranian banning of Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses" and British condemning of this action was a political or cultural conflict. Summary in English.

The reasons, preconditions and basis of the conflict of civilizations in the
modern world context of violence and nonviolence ratio, modern and traditional
character are discussed in the paper. The basic values and fundamental attitude
principles of life of modern and traditional civilizations are defined.