The first time I studied Ali Mazrui’s work was in the late nineties during my undergraduate years at the university. The lecturer, a diehard fan of Mazrui, had sneaked ‘AFRICA: a Triple Heritage,’ Mazrui’s most famous television documentary series into the course outline. Professor Ali Mazrui made quite an impression on me even though it has crossed my mind over the years that the erudite scholar is always trying too hard to woo his Western audience.

The reprinted version in Sunday Trust of February 18, 2007 of one of Professor Ali Mazrui’s article titled, ‘Islamic values, the liberal Ethic and the West,’ which was originally published in the September/October 1997 issue of Foreign Affairs (Vol.76, No. 5 pp118 – 132) simply touched on the similarities between the Western world and the Islamic world until their recent divergence. This excerpt from the second paragraph of Mazrui’s essay summarises the whole:

“Moreover, aspects of Islamic culture that Westerners regards to as medieval may have prevailed in their own culture until fairly recently; in many cases, Islamic societies maybe only a few decades behind socially and technologically advanced Western ones. In the end the question is what part leads to the highest quality of life of the average citizen, while avoiding worst abuses. The path of the West does not provide all the answers; Islamic values deserve serious consideration.”

Professor Ali Mazrui went ahead to talk about how the Western world handle issues pertaining to premarital sex, homosexuality, gender inequality and censorship, which was not too different from the Islamic worlds until fairly recently. He also highlighted where the Islamic world had edge over the United States i.e. gender inequality. He stated that the Islamic worlds had produced several female Presidents but the United States has not.

 Again Professor Ali Mazrui was right as until recently as the late 19^th century to the early and mid twentieth century there is a striking similarity between the West and the Islamic worlds. But then until recently the West was not as secular as it is today as Christianity still had a strong appeal and influence even after the Renaissance of 1600s which historians attributed to the beginning of enlightenment, industrialization and modern western social culture. Christianity and Islam still have these similarities.

As the West increasingly become secular due to historical events in Europe and the United States, which was as a result of industrialisation, the intense competition between industrial states which led to wars (1^st and 2^nd World war), and the embracement of change by Western societies, the West assumed an increasingly superior posture over other civilizations. The West had always embraced change however it comes more than any other civilization. From the renaissance till date the West has fought and wriggled out of the tight embrace of religious retrogressions to a more scientific free society, and the West has invested so much in the search for knowledge; knowledge that brought them great wealth. Others are behind and dependent on them and the advantages are that the West could dictate their terms.

The oriental people of Far East Asia saw the future and followed the footsteps of the West. Japan, China, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, and today India, but the Islamic world (The Middle East) has been so blessed with oil that in the last fifty to sixty years after the Second World War they have depended more on their oil wealth than industrializing their areas, thereby isolating themselves from the social changes that comes with industrialization.

In the face of globalisation comes the clash of Islamic culture and the Western secular culture, which some had been integrated into modern Christianity without qualms. But the Islamic world has resisted change more than any sector of the world. The leaders of the Islamic world have used religion and superstition to keep their people from having another view of the world, another view of democracy, another view of Islam, and of coming to terms with the realities that is the modern world, not necessarily dancing to the tune of the West. China relations with the West have been cordial in recent times because of technological development in China, and the West has leaned towards Far East Asia than their neighbours in the Middle East because of the fear that the Middle East could trigger perhaps another dangerous war.

The Islamic world, most part of which is a developing world, has alienated itself from the West, while the West opens her doors to all citizens of the world with knowledge, talents, vision, to develop the nations in the West. Because of economic prosperity, the West has been able to get the best people from all over the world to work for them in improving their areas.

And even after September 11, the West seems to be winning the public relations war with Islamic fundamentalists which comprises of few individuals who keep giving the Islamic world and Islamic culture a very bad image across the globe, aided by the Western media.

There is no doubt as regards censorship that the West has its own peculiar problems, even as regards freedom of speech and of the press, but in these regards the Islamic world is lagging behind. Democracy has its own problems but democracy has made leaders less powerful and made citizens powerful. If Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 documentary was about most leaders in the Islamic world and Michael Moore were their citizen, he wouldn’t be chilling around wining Oscars and making millions. In fact he would probably be in hiding or in some jail.

The difference between Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code is not too much, considering the themes which could be termed as heresy, but there has been no record anywhere that Dan Brown the author has been harassed or has a record of violence anywhere as regards the release of the book. In fact Da Vinci Code is a subject of discuss among people and the media and Dan Brown, the author, a free man. Salman Rushdie was sentenced (Fatwa) after his book was released and many people died in clashes around the world following the release of the book which is still banned in many countries in the world. In fact I saw a copy in Nigeria and the owner refused to let me take it out as it could ignite a religious riot.

The problem with the Islamic world is that they have been left behind technologically and socially. Until the Islamic world learn to tolerate others and accept change and be part of it, their equally very superior culture would always be seen as primitive by the West and by non-Moslems around the world. They should learn one or two things from the West. When the papacy ruled the Europe there was no change for over three hundred years. I believe historians call it ‘The Dark Ages.’

Robot  Villager

# 1 &...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 13.06.2007 00:48