Summary
This article critiques what it describes as contradictions within Western civilization, particularly between proclaimed ideals and actual practices. It discusses cultural supremacy, double standards in evaluating other societies, and cautions Muslims against being deceived by material power.
WESTERN CIVILIZATION IS plagued by contradictions. These contradictions are within their ideological concepts, values, positions, as well as between Westerners’ speech and actions.
Recognized Standard
Despite all these contradictions, this civilization is considered, by its own people and by the rest of the world (except for those upon whom Allah has bestowed His Mercy), the premiere civilization of our time. They consider it the model civilization for those who wish to attain respectable status within this era. If one decides not to follow the footsteps of this civilization, then one is an outsider in his soul and way of thinking.Double Standard
One of the clearest examples of this contradiction between the pronouncements and actions of Western civilization is how their acclamation and pronouncements on freedom of individuals and nations contradict their aggressive behavior in using all means to impose their moral standards, political experiences, economic systems—and even their religious concepts—on the remaining nations on Earth. They go a step further to accuse anyone who opposes their systems and standard—or even remains neutral to them—of violating human rights, of threatening global interests, of practicing terrorism, or of being backward, in addition to other outrageous accusations and false claims.Ignorance towards World Cultures
The fanatics of this Western civilization are prejudiced against the cultures of other nations. They are infected with some type of cultural disease that hinders their vision. They see their own cultural values, including its false concepts, as great value system. Accordingly, they believe that those are the pre-eminent human values and standards that all nations should believe in and commit to following. They evaluate others based on Western standards. The closer a nation is to their Western standards, the more humane it is judged to be. Based on these standards, they determine who qualifies for their alliance and assistance, as well as enmity and sanctions. Commenting on the Western ignorance of others’ cultural values, as reported by members of the American media, the Pakistani delegate to the United Nations’ session on Women’s Issues said: “The problems of women in Pakistan are those of finding clean water to drink—not issues of marrying another woman (lesbianism) or having free sexual relationships with men as they wish.”Blatant Ethno-Centrism
This issue of prejudice and supremacy has greatly concerned scholarly writers and, as a result, several books have been written on this topic. Among these publications is the famous book of Edward Said entitled Culture and Imperialism. Herein I focus on the last two manifestations of this supremacy, as he sets them out. The first of these two regards the conference held by the United Nations on Women’s Issues, and the second concerns a book written by one of the leaders of the feminist movement. At the United Nations’ conference, non-governmental organizations from Western countries were the largest in numbers and the loudest in voicing concerns. Those from non-Western countries were mostly supporters of Western organizations. Some were only an echo of these organizations, (e.g., an organization from one of the poorest African countries spoke most enthusiastically in support of ideas promoted by Western organizations). It came as no surprise that the language of the conference in its entirety was English. Those that did not know this language were unable to participate effectively. Additionally, the main speakers were important figures from American society including the then First Lady. She spoke at the non-governmental organizational sessions. The United States Secretary of Exterior spoke at the General Assembly. Indeed most of the other speakers were mere trumpets of the West. The speakers from other non-Western countries were not of the same caliber or number as those from the West.Loyalty Tests of Loyalty to the West
The issues that were discussed at this conference were primarily issues of concern and interest to the West. Some of these issues and concerns are related to the influence by cultures of others living in the West. Among these issues was circumcision of women, which was so exaggerated by Western participants and their puppets from other countries that it was considered one of the principles for determining loyalty and enmity. This issue was also discussed in a book written by one of the leaders of the Feminist Movement, entitled The Whole Woman. In this book, Germaine Greer expressed her firm opposition to the issue of circumcision of women. When she traveled, and was exposed to other cultures, she realized that the Western opinion on this issue sprang forth from its attitude of supremacy and contemptuous regard of others. She gave examples of some Western practices that could be perceived as similar to this issue however the West does not condemn these “Western” practices. She mentioned the practice of circumcision of men in the West. This is not a major issue simply because it is widely practiced in the West.The Western Blind Eye
Another example given was the practice of breast reduction and enlargement for women in the West through cosmetic surgery. The author stated: “When I mentioned this to some Sudanese women, they were so surprised, much as we were shocked to hear about circumcision for women.” The Sudanese women explained to their interviewer the various forms of circumcision, some of which are not harmful. They also stated that circumcision is not something that men force upon women, although this is what Westerners would like others to believe. Ms. Greer also mentioned the strange practices of body piercing within the West. Weird parts of the body, such as the tongue, the bellybutton, or even the private parts are pierced and rings or other types of jewelry are then introduced into the pierced hole.Evaluating Practices of Traditional Cultures
Let us take the favorite example of female circumcision and let us assume that all forms of circumcision for women are harmful. So then, are they more harmful than some of the following Western practices?Is it more harmful than drinking alcohol, that every single day results in hundreds of fatalities within the West, especially during holiday periods?
Is circumcision more harmful than the “right to bear arms” [firearms, guns] resulting in innocent people, including children, being killed every day?
Is it more harmful than the indecent code of dress and its consequences such as rape?
Is it more harmful than easy access to adultery or homosexuality which results in serious diseases such as AIDS or other physical and psychological diseases or disorders?
Is it even more harmful than smoking cigarettes that every year results in killing thousands in the West?
The ironic thing is that substances like cigarettes and guns are allowed by law in Western countries but that they primarily benefit only the manufacturers of these products in shareholder profits.Blinding Power
The truth is that the issue of female circumcision is not more serious nor harmful than any of these issues, but as Allah said: Indeed it is not the eyes that grow blind, but it is the hearts which are in the breasts that grow blind. [Sûrat Al-Ḥajj, 22:46] The material power of the West is, without a doubt, a trial that deceives people, both Western and Eastern, including some who claim that they are Muslims, blinding them from seeing its defects and evils.A Humble Reminder
But let us not forget, the weakness of Muslims has also become a trial that hinders non-Muslim people from seeing the goodness of Islam and accepting it. Our Lord, make us not objects of torment for the disbelievers and forgive us, our Lord. Indeed, it is You Who is exalted in Might and Wise. [Sûrat Al-Mumtaḥinah, 60:5).Frequently Asked Question
Answering the most relevant questions to help you better understand the article.
The article describes Western civilization as being marked by contradictions between its ideological concepts, proclaimed values, and actual practices.
The article argues that while Western civilization proclaims freedom, it often seeks to impose its moral, political, economic, and religious standards on other nations.
The article states that many advocates of Western civilization judge other cultures according to Western standards and regard their own values as universally superior.
The article discusses a United Nations conference on women’s issues, describing it as being dominated by Western organizations, concerns, and language.
The article mentions Edward Said’s book Culture and Imperialism in discussing cultural supremacy and prejudice.
The article quotes a Pakistani delegate who stated that Pakistani women’s primary concerns included access to clean drinking water rather than issues emphasized by Western participants.
The article examines Western opposition to female circumcision and compares it with other practices accepted or tolerated within Western societies.
The article compares it with practices such as alcohol consumption, firearm ownership, smoking, cosmetic surgery, and permissive sexual behavior.
The article states that Western material power can become a trial that blinds people to what it describes as the civilization’s defects and evils.
The article states that the weakness of Muslims can hinder non-Muslims from recognizing Islam’s goodness and accepting it.
10 Comments
Is this thing working? :) It keeps saying “Your request timed out” when I try to post a reply.
Several things:
Look, I thought this article was lovely but,
a) Female “circumcision” is not equal to male circumcision. FGM is a horrid practice, and those with knowledge on basic biology oppose it. It also has no legitimate Islamic basis (yes, I know you were talking about non-Western cultures here and not Islam).
Women from these “cultures” (Egypt, specially.) have organised around ending this practice forever and to delegitimise and tokenise theie struggles simply for some points on how Western feminists looked beyond this Western gaze to “understand” other people’s cultures is … ugly, to say the least. Read “Under Western Eyes” by Chandra Talpade Mohanty.
b) “Is it more harmful than the indecent code of dress and its consequences such as rape?”
This has been refuted so many times. Rape has nothing to do with what women wear. There are villages in Africa (orientalizing to vaguely mention “Africa” I know, but there’s no other way to say it.) where women wear nothing to cover their breasts. They are – for all intents and purposes – naked and rape rates are the lowest. (I’ll try to link you if I can). Also after the hijab was mandated, slave women still weren’t allowed to wear it and walked with uncovered breasts yet they weren’t to be blamed in a Islamic state if they were disrespectfully treated or raped. (Google Hamza Yusuf on this as a beginning read. Leila Ahmed for more.)
If you want to critique Western culture, do so but talk about how beauty practices unfairly target women (read Susan Sontag and Sheila Jeffreys, especially Beauty and Misogyny), talk about the pornography industries that use women’s bodies and promote rape (listen to Gail Dines on this, google “radical feminist critique of pornography” and Read Robert Jensen’s “Pornography and the End of Masculinity.”) also read up on prostituition and how it’s linked to rape (M.Farley, specially “Prostitution: Bad for the Body, BAd for the soul… you’ll find the paper if you google it.)
c) Is it more harmful than easy access to adultery or homosexuality which results in serious diseases such as AIDS or other physical and psychological diseases or disorders?.
These are western attitudes to homosexuality. They’ve been refuted many times. South Asia, specially has an old rich history of fluid sexuality interrupted by Western colonialism.
“To me, “support” connotes two separate things: 1) There is “support” which means “endorse”, “validate”, and hold something to be “acceptable;” 2) Then there is the “support” of “tolerance” and “accommodation.” Islamic law has historically reconciled with the second type of “support” for non-Islamic moral codes. For example, according to orthodox belief, Jews and Christians were allowed to build and attend their houses or worship. Similarly, they were allowed to own and drink wine, for instance. Muslim governors “supported” these mores foreign to the Muslim code of ethics. That is, they accommodated and tolerated them, while never accepting that such things were ethically legitimate if undertaken by a Muslim. Similar to this is the Hanbali “accommodation” of Zoroastrian self-marriage wherein blood relatives like parents and children intermarry; what most of us know as incest. In the works of the Hanbali scholar, Al-Buhuti, like his Al-Rawd Al-Murbi’, he presents the scenario of a Zoroastrian mother bereaved of her son who happens to also be her brother. That is, she married her father, and gave birth to a son. She approaches the Muslim state to adjudicate the appropriate shares she deserves of his inheritance in accordance with the Shariah. Al-Buhuti responds by stating that the mother in this scenario would be entitled to ½ of her son’s legacy as a sister of the deceased and an additional 1/3 for being his mother. (Note: this would actually give her claim to a much greater share of the inheritance than even a Muslim mother or sister). In other words, Al-Buhuti and other Hanbalis who have made his legal works the standard saw nothing strange about issuing an Islamic ruling in favor of this Zoroastrian woman while believing that Islamically the marriage to her father and the resulting child were invalid and illegitimate on moral grounds. The reason is that Muslims were not strangers to multiculturalism even if Islam was considered the supreme law of the land. They strongly held to the belief that there is no compulsion in religion, and that Islamic mores applied to Muslims, not non-Muslims, however distasteful the mores of the latter might seem.”
^An excerpt from an article by Abdullah bin Hamid Ali, an American Muslim scholar. You can google up the article. No matter how distasteful someone’s sexuality may be to you, categorizing it as “western” isn’t the way to go. Sexuality has been fluid throughout human history in many places, homosexuality is no more “western” than “heterosexuality.” Islam doesn’t legitimize it, yes, but that doesn’t make it Western.
I may have been wrong in several places in this. Allahu’ Allam
My apologies for so many comments. It kept telling me that my “request timed out” because the original comment was too long. I had to break it. Salaam to you.
Saira, you need not confuse the FGM taking place in certain backward societies with Islamic female circumcision (IFC). IFC is very beneficial health wise and improves the sex lives of women, just the opposite of what FGM does. Above all it is Islamically required. Indeed there are strong grounds for holding to the view that it is obligatory: https://www.aljumuah.com/circumcision-for-the-muslim-woman-part-1-of-2/#comment-35452