Islamic culture: A convenient scapegoat

[Freedom_from_Chains]

Having recently finished reading the Qur'an, as I had serious doubts as to how it was being presented in the western media, and of course having read the bible cover-to-cover years ago, I can say with some certainty that the authors comments are dead on.

The Qur'an is clearly better written, doesn't talk in circles, and in parts could almost be considered as inspirational, and is clearly being defamed for political purposes. Compared to the bible, the Qur’an virtually doesn’t speak of violence especially when one considers that the bible is one of the most violent set of writings ever introduced into western literature.


Islamic culture: A convenient scapegoat
By Soumayya Ghannoushi


Tuesday 15 February 2005, 11:24 Makka Time, 8:24 GMT


Ever since the monumental day of 11 September 2001, the world has been inundated by stale clichés and dim-witted myths, poorly disguised as honest academic research and free objective journalism.


In this great hyperbole, the world appears broken into two opposite trenches: a sphere of freedom, morality and civility, confronted by its antithesis: an enslaved barbaric realm that encapsulates all that "we" are not.

The far-stretching lands of Islam loom largely in this bleak uncivilised sphere. If the modern West is dynamic, the world of Islam is stagnant. If it is governed democratically and honours self-ownership, Islam is plagued by a despotism that crushes the individual altogether out of existence. If it is rigorously rational, the world of Islam is the embodiment of raving instincts and wild emotionalism.

This discourse, which derives its roots from the tradition of Orientalism responsible for rearticulating and institutionalising the enormous arsenal of mediaeval Christian terms, narratives, images and myths about Islam and its world, had been severely undermined by the waves of Third World national liberation movements and the ever-growing tradition of post-colonial studies which question the essentialism and readymade models asserting the uniqueness and cultural purity of the West as opposed to the East's backwardness and stagnation.


With the dramatic events of September 11, however, this discourse was able to rear its ugly imperialist and colonialist head once more, reformulate its postulates and recycle its old stereotypes of Muslims, their world and faith.

What had 30 years ago been cause for embarrassment and disrepute, was once again restored to normality, even respectability. Muslims thus found themselves the object of incessant condemnation and vilification.

When it comes to the subject of Islam and Muslims, even the most elementary requirements of responsible objective scientific research could be dispensed with

While not even the weak, marginalised Muslim minorities in the West were spared, the world powers that reign over the destiny of the Middle East and the greater part of the Muslim hemisphere assumed the role of the innocent victim of "Islamic aggression", who bore no responsibility whatever for the tragic crises of the region, from war, chaos and occupation to economic backwardness and political despotism.


(con't) http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/2F97C43E-293C-449F-93AD-6A533D75B9FD.htm

[no name no slogan]

1. More Westerners/Christians need to read the Qur'an

If they were to actually read what it says, rather than take the word of wing-nut fundimentalists and warmongering rapturists, we may not have the problems that we do with the "Islamic World".

I also agree with your observations re: the Qur'an. It is one of the most inspirational books ever written, and truly speaks to everyone, regardless of her/his faith (or lack thereof). The violence that so many westerners attribute to 'Muslims' does NOT come from the Qur'an, but is indeed a distortion of it, or based on older, cultural pre-Islamic ways.

I've read the English translation of the Qur'an, myself, and have heard bits of it recited in Arabic, too. Even though I'm not a Muslim, I consider the Qur'an divinely inspired and one of the greatest books in existance.

[Freedom_from_Chains]

2. I would completly agree with with you

I actually found that I looked forward to my readings of the Qur'an in the morning unlike when I read through the bible I was only able to do so through sheer willpower and commitment to the project.

[Igel]

3. Not the book it's the interpretations. n/t

[Igel]

4. Let me be the first to say it: She's in deep denial.

The "power shift" from the Muslim to European world wasn't a one-sided deal. But for her, it was. Muslims aren't responsible; how could they be? Hogwash. Excuses are the enemy of improvement.

I could claim that European divisions and backwardness resulted from an Occidentalist view that Xians wilfully corrupted the wisdom Allah gave them, combined with Arab imperialism and oppression--controlling the trade routes, conquering half of "European" territory and threatening far more, etc. But why lie? These things really did happen, to be sure; but they weren't the "root causes" of Europe's problems. Europe was.

The real problems were the Xianity of the day and "European culture". The first was anti-knowledge and anti-science, the latter encouraged useless warfare and all-powerful lords. We emphasize these, esp. the first problem, and treat the Dark and Middle Ages as though Europe were a very large S. Pacific island. We routinely blame the victim when the victims are dark ages/medieval Europeans, and correctly so. While ignoring external historical factors is a mistake, the focus is properly on the internal factors that made the external ones possible.

Black Death, Huns, Mongols, Arabs, Vikings, Goths all happened ... but these weren't the main problem. Muslim aggression and conquering of territory (unlike other, transient invaders) and their subsequent control over trade were thorns in the side of European development for over 800 years, and may have lengthened the Dark Ages/Middle Ages by centuries; or maybe not. We hear about the Crusades and the Reconquista, but not that the Arab jihad from Arabia to Morocco or the "Conquista" had just had its advance stopped in France. We hear about Marco Polo, but not the Arab lock on trade that prompted Polo's trip and Columbus' expedition. We hear that "Slav" is the origin of the word "slave", but not how that happened, exactly. There was still "Muslim" oppression of European traders into the early 1800s.

Compared to Europe in 1300, the Muslim world is brimming over with opportunity. Excuses really are the enemy of improvement.