Islam and the West

by Ross Bishop

In 638 AD the Muslims conquered Roman Jerusalem. Europe's Crusaders took Jerusalem back in 1099, but a century later the city was retaken by Saladin and remained part of a vital and expanding Muslim empire that marched on Western Europe and very nearly conquered it. Arab Muslim power was imposed in Egypt and North Africa, up to Spain and southern France, and through the Balkans to Vienna. Had the Europeans not won 3 key battles between 732 and 1683, we might all be speaking Arabic today.

At that time Muslim civilization was equal to or superior to Western Europe's by virtually every standard of accomplishment. The Arabs had preserved Greek philosophy, transmitting it back to Western thinkers, but they failed to make use of it themselves, as the Westerners did, to reform their institutions and to reestablish the basis of political and social thought. Islam proved incapable of formulating a modern concept of politics and government, and has been unable since that time to cope with a non-Islamic world much more powerful in material wealth, organization, and science.

The West sees itself as modern with its military power and economic wealth while Islam clings tightly to its tradition of rigid morality and spiritual conviction. Each holds strongly to its beliefs and claims to hold the superior position. Neither has been wiling to compromise because that would likely mean making fundamental changes to its core beliefs.

Before WWII, the West could simply ignore Islam as a quaint throwback to itâs own past, but as petroleum came to occupy the economic center stage, the conflict between their differing cultural values created conflicts. In truth, each side has gaping flaws in its beliefs and social structure but each would rather point to the otherâs failings than address its own shortcomings. As one observer wryly noted, it has become a conflict of "My story is better than your story."

Western society is founded upon individualism and enterprise. The West gave up on spirituality and morality long ago. In fact, the West is the first culture in human history that has become agnostic or outright atheist in both theory and practice. We have completely severed our ties to our spiritual heritage. While still profiting from its Christian legacy, the West is no longer Christian in any sense of the word. Our business and government practices are atheistic. We do not operate from ethical or moral concerns. We are motivated by economic and political opportunity. Fundamentalist Muslims are concerned that their culture is being overrun by infidels who have no faith.

Much like the early American Puritans, Islam is a legalistic faith - Muslims believe in a divine law that guides everything they do, including what they should eat, drink, think and wear. Islam is not just a religion; it is a civilization, making it fundamentally different from Western culture, something Westerners have a difficult time comprehending.

In countries where Islam reigns, life exists in a protected cocoon. An Arab can walk anywhere in Amman, Damascus or Cairo and feel completely safe. Westerners do not experience that kind of security in Western cities. On a recent trip to Cairo, I saw one traffic light and no stop signs in a city of 17 million people. They make traffic work by being courteous and by showing respect for each other. New York or London would shut down in an hour under those conditions. It is easy to dismiss Islam as a quaint throwback, but there is much to respect in its moral commitment that has made it the fastest growing religion on the planet.

In the West, what Islamic law prohibits is everywhere. Liquor and pornography abound. Stressed out people live on antidepressants. Filth and violence fill the airwaves and movie theaters. Women jog in spandex and demand equality. Violence, crime and sexual diseases are rampant. Children are raised without fathers. There is little compassion in our relations with one another. City streets are littered with drug addicts and are ruled by gangs. The mentally ill are turned out to fend for themselves. The poor are made to suffer while bankers gouge the weak and CEO con artists rip off stockholders and retirees. To Islamic fundamentalists, the West is Sodom and Gomorrah incarnate.

There has been a good deal of criticism of Muslim society in the Western press, but Western corporate media have muzzled the criticisms that Islamists have made of American values. This is sad because we need to hear some of that criticism, for some of it is well reasoned and well founded. Young people throughout the Muslim world have become radicalized to the point that they are willing to sacrifice their lives for this conflict and most Americans donât have a clue as to what is going on.

Who is right? Neither, and both, and neither side is willing to admit its failings. And that is the real dilemma. Each can look at the other and find plenty to criticize. But instead of learning from one another in order to grow and change, all we do today is throw brickbats and bombs across the gulf that separates us. Neither side is willing to question the fundamental beliefs and values that have brought us into conflict. There is a good deal that needs to be changed in both societies. Western hands and hearts are far from pure, and Islamic society is barricaded behind an outdated social and moral rigidity that will not withstand the pressures and competitive freedoms of modern global society.

Islam is destined for profound conflicts with the West and massive internal disruptions as well. Islam is living on oil revenues while stifling other forms of economic development. The repression of women in Islam is appalling as is its wretchedly inadequate educational system. There are few democratic rights in most Islamic countries and social values are mired in an unworkable past.

We must also remain mindful of the massive deception and political posturing being practiced in Islam today by many Imams. The disdain for the West that this propaganda generates will continue to create significant problems in our relations with the nations of Islam. The Mullahs have been very successful at deflecting away from Islam's shortcomings by exploiting people's legitimate concerns regarding Western moral corruption. But this is a decidedly shortsighted tactic. It does not address the desire for economic security and job opportunity held by a tidal wave of Islamic youth who dislike the West but are not likely to settle for the lives of their parents. The proverbial camel of economic stagnation is already in the Islamic tent and will not be ignored. Had it not been for oil revenues, these stresses would have erupted long ago.

Islam means "submission," specifically submission to the will of Allah, and forcible submission is a well-established Islamic practice. Islamâs historical growth through the Middle East owes as much to the sword as it does to the word of Allah. In many ways Islam demonstrates a lingering penchant for barbarism beyond contemporary suicide bombers. It was not long ago in Islamic society that a Muslim could kill a Christian convert with impunity from punishment. A Muslim who converts to Christianity today is still considered mentally ill under Islamic law.

As much as the conflict with Israel gets postured over religion, it really isnât about religion at all. Jews, Christians and Muslims have co-existed in the Middle East for thousands of years. Not always peacefully, mind you, but they have found ways to get by. The creation of Israel after WWII plunked a Western style capitalist democracy into the middle of Islamic feudalism and created the jarring conflict we have seen over and over in the world as industrial and traditional societies clashed. The Jews who came to Israel after the war were European and American business people. They were different. They built towns and factories and turned the desert into an agricultural cornucopia where previously there had been nothing but goatherds and subsistence farming. The Jews were educated, hard working and they treated their women as equals. They adapted their culture to accommodate contemporary values and they have prospered. The Jews left the Arabs in the proverbial dust. Living in a feudal society and ignored by the rest of the world, the Arabs simply could not keep up. All throughout the Middle East, many Arabs cannot reconcile their situation with the rapid evolution occurring around them. Feeling the limitations of their culture and the frustration that there is little hope for the future, many of them, particularly the young men, with the help of some Imams, project their frustrations onto the West.

Despite ideals promoting an equitable and productive material life, the overwhelming majority of Muslims experience living standards that are hardly enviable by any standard, especially considering their massive oil wealth. Registered inventor patents are a good measure of a society's educational quality, entrepreneurship and innovation. Between 1980 and 1999 the nine leading Arab economies registered 370 patents (in the U.S.) for new inventions. During that same 20-year period, South Korea alone registered 16,328 patents. It's the issue of social advancement. You don't run into a lot of South Koreans who want to be martyrs.

When the Shah of Iran tried to westernize his nation, Iranian conservatives overthrew him and brought out of exile the ultra-conservative Ayatollah Khomeini. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, the one real hope Islam had for a future, was assassinated after he negotiated a peace treaty with Israel. Much has been made of the Palestinian conflict, but Palestinian refugees could have easily been absorbed into other Arab countries, but no one wanted them. Besides, radical Islam needs the Palestinian conflict as fodder for its propaganda machine.

A large part of the problem for the West is that the Mullahs can stand on the side of the angels in this conflict. The West wants its oil and could care less about the people of the Middle East. Ayatollah Khomeini embodied a certain austere, moral authority that many Iranians admired even if they didn't agree with his policies. He had a charisma that drew people to him. They admired him as an honest man. Fred Halliday wrote, "I remember when he came out of hospital when he was about 83, and they asked him "How are you Imam?" He said something that no leader could say. He replied: 'I'm all right and I thank the people who looked after me, but I have to say it was the first time in my life I ever slept in a bed.' He always slept on the floor." Setting aside his political manipulation and propagandism, Khomeini spoke to the anger and frustration felt by many Muslims toward the West when he wrote in 1984:

"If one allows the infidels to continue playing their role of corrupters on Earth, their eventual moral punishment will be all the stronger. Thus, if we kill the infidels in order to put a stop to their [corrupting] activities, we have indeed done them a service. For their eventual punishment will be less. To allow the infidels to stay alive, means to let them do more corrupting.ä

One might hope that the Arab peoples themselves might look at the awful messes that were Beirut and Bosnia, the god-awful messes that today are Iraq, Palestine, Nigeria and Afghanistan and decide that it is time to make some fundamental changes to Islamic society, but that is not any more likely than the West doing its own philosophical pirouette. It is no easy matter to transform a major world religion.

If "nation-building" is a daunting task, "religion-building" is immeasurably more perilous and complex. Islam is neither a homogeneous entity nor a self-contained system. Many extraneous issues and problems have become entangled with the religion. It is more likely that these situations will just polarize Islam further against the West. Islam has a remarkable capacity to generate massive pain for its people and sell it as religious dedication. What is more likely is that these conflicts will continue to fester into the future.

Intra-Arab problems may well drive the future. Osama bin Laden is upset with the West, but he is even more upset with the Saudi royal family for what he sees as their transgressions. The Lebanese are very angry at Syria for assassinating their popular Prime Minister. Palestine is about to come apart as Hamas and the old guard wrestle for power. The Islamic Brotherhood is challenging Egypt's unpopular President, Hosni Mubarak. The U.S. let the genie out of the bottle and allowed years of repressed ethnic resentment in Iraq to boil over into the streets. Afghanistan and Iraq will both explode the moment the U.S. withdraws. In Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf hangs on to his Presidency by the thinnest of threads while Osama bin Laden lives freely in that countryâs ungovernable north.

Hamas now controls Palestine meaning at best continued struggle with Israel. France has quashed the democratically elected radical Islamic government in Algeria, Nigeria is a complete nightmare and once-stable Morocco is generating more than it's share of angry terrorists these days. Al Queda is a more powerful and viable terrorist organization than ever, made so by the U.S. ill-conceived War On Terror. A lunatic is fostering Iran's nuclear ambitions and both Syria and Iran are playing the Iraqi conflict for all the anti-American sentiment they can generate. Any way you look at it, there is no meaningful prospect for peace anywhere in the Middle East except perhaps for Jordan and Libya, and that is truly ironic.

A Postscript

I have had a number of responses to the above article in which people essentially said, "I wish you had a solution." I do, but given the present state of world politics, it is not likely one that will ever be implemented. And that is something we all should be concerned about.

When two nations lock horns, the result is generally a military confrontation. It is very difficult for groups to back away from their core convictions. Also, leaders cannot be seen as weak and or perceived as selling out the franchise that brought them to power. It is like leading a street gang or a wolf pack. Appear weak and the other wolves will do you in. It cost Anwar Sadat his life.

In 1850's America, pro- and anti-slavery forces were at each other's throats. Neither side would or could back down, so we had a Civil War with 900,000 casualties. The American Colonists and King George III had irreconcilable differences that led to our War of Revolution. This was also true in France in 1789, Russia in 1905 and Viet Nam in the 1960âs and a hundred other wars before and in-between. It has been that way for a very long time. Sometimes a psychopath takes charge of a country and the only way to stop him is through military intervention. This was certainly true of Hitler and The Taliban.

There have been a few instances of real peacemaking - Northern Ireland and South Africa for example, and they do give us hope for the future. But in regard to the Middle East, it is very difficult to see Dick Cheney and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran getting together to go quail hunting. What world leaders need is the advice of a good shaman.

When a client comes to me for healing, they have gone as far as their present beliefs can take them. They know that they need help, but cannot find a way out of the morass of their own thinking. If they could resolve their own conflicts, they wouldnât be in my office. My job is to show them how their present beliefs block them from seeing the larger truth about themselves and the situation they are in. No one likes to hear that, and no one likes giving up their old beliefs, but it is necessary if they are to heal.

The same thing is true for nations and their leaders, but it is very difficult to hold a world leader accountable for much of anything. There was a time when spiritual beliefs had some influence, but we have seen how easily corrupted those can become when they are mixed with politics and political ambition. But this must be our source of hope if we are to have a future, and that future begins with you.

It is not the people of the world who are the problem. If we could sit and speak with one another, we could resolve most of our problems in short order. After all, we all want the same things. But when it comes to leaders and politics, it becomes another matter altogether. We can if we choose, become the conscience of our society. The fact that you are reading this puts you in a small, select group who cares about what is happening. That is a special responsibility.

Yes, there are political things you can do. Share your views with your Congressman and Senators. Get active in the mid-term elections this fall. But, although this is important, that is not where the real change happens. Real change happens in your kitchen, your TV room, the supermarket, the gas station and in your office. Every action you take, every decision you make, every thought you have, has a consequence. Yes, perhaps it is tiny and it seems inconsequential, but taken together, the impact is massive. Each act is like a wave on the ocean. Individually they mean little. But taken together, they can move an entire continent.

We have to decide whether we really want change, whether we are willing to make changes in ourselves, or whether we just want to sit and complain. Our compassion, our respect for others, our love for ourselves and for the planet is what will make the difference. This is said so many times, Iâm sure you are tired of hearing it, and yet very few people seem to get it: Peace really does begin with you. Politicians don't create change, people do. Politicians follow. Donât look to them for leadership, you must show them the way by example.

What to do?

1. Look in the mirror and start loving yourself. If you are not able to do that, get some help. Take better care of yourself, get some exercise in the fresh air, and lose that extra weight.

2. Show your love for others -- especially those that are close to you and the people you work with. When is the last time you told one of them that you loved them? Go out of your way each day to help a stranger or show someone a special kindness.

3. Care about the planet. Politicians don't like to tell people this, but the source of global warming is in your garage. It's also in the trucks on the highway. Consider your consumption. Recycle, re-use. Take bags to the store. Walk when you can.

4. Buy organic. Quit buying processed foods. Take the time to cook and bake. Grow your own. We must break the hold that the food corporations have on our agriculture and food supply. If you knew how little nutrition there was in todayâs supermarket fruits and vegetables, youâd start buying organic in a heartbeat.

Will that change the Middle East? Yes. It will change America and it will change the world. Yes it will take time. How badly do you want it? How important is it to you?

 

©2006 Blue Lotus Press.
Reproduction is permitted with attribution.