West Went Wrong So Did The Rest

WEST WENT WR ON G SO DID TH E RE ST

WEST WENT WRONG, SO DID THE REST

Supremacy of a nation or a civilization over the others mainly stems out of either its ideological superiority or material advancement. It has been observed that an ideologically superior nation dominates the thoughts, values and beliefs of ideologically weaker nations. Besides ideological superiority materially superior nation enchains the thoughts, values and beliefs of materially inferior nations. Ideological and material ascendancies are not necessarily associated with each other; however it is a fact that an ideologically superior nation, also flourishes in material gains. Nevertheless material advancement of a nation is mostly attributed to its superior ideology. While studying the history of rise and fall of nations one concludes that weakness of a nation incites dominance of ideologically or materially superior nations to enslave the weaker nation. For an intellectual superiority logical thinking, reasoning and research is a bed rock upon which a huge intellectual edifice can be constructed. The intellectually weak nations cannot sustain and survive with their weakness in the face of visible intellectual and material superiority. The nations which give up the rationale and ideological thinking, besides deteriorating intellectually, also decline materially. Unfortunately most of the Muslim nations are facing the ideological as well as material subjugation; virtually there is no Muslim nation which is entirely independent in its ideology, policies, culture and material resources. Some of the Muslim nations which appear to be politically independent are ideologically and culturally dominated by extrinsic values. Their education, official working, markets, various organizations and even a look at their homes, reveal that these have been disillusioned by the foreign ideology and culture. Members of such Muslim nations think with a biased mind, see through tinted optics, and adopt conflicting customs. At the back of their mind there is an idea that, “The right is, what is right in the eyes of the West

and wrong is, what is wrong in the opinion of the West”. Their standards of modesty and righteousness are the ones which have been approved by the West. The worst part is that they judge their own religion, culture and ideology according to the Western standards. Whatever, out of their own religion culture and ideology is in line with the Western standards is taken as an accepted norm, and whatever is in contradiction to the Western values is declared outmoded. It is not easy to enumerate the multiplicity of the reasons which have been the basic cause of the ideological and material subjugation of the Muslim nations. Intellectual superiority dominates the hearts, minds, attitudes and character of the exotic masses, as long as the Muslim nations adopted logical thinking, reasoning and research, they remained a principal nation, their beliefs and values were accepted as a standard. The weaker nations intentionally or unintentionally followed and tailored themselves according to the Muslim thinking and character. During their period of command the Muslims after some times gradually went into a deep slumber while resting on the luxuries achieved by their hard working ancestors. The Muslims left the logical thinking and research thereby created an intellectual void which gave a chance to the other nations to advance in the field of research and philosophy. The other nations explored the vast fields of knowledge and got ahead, leaving behind the once dominating nation, “The Muslims”. The Muslims virtually had to bow down to the material superiority of the Western nations and subsequently adopted the hype of the Western culture. After about 500 years, all of a sudden, the Muslims found themselves pitched against intellectually, materially and militarily stronger West. All those who rose against that superior force were virtually defeated completely or partly. At that moment it was the intellectual and material

superiority, of West which fascinated masses towards the Western ideology irrespective of its validity and principles of their own religion. Some of the nations that stood against West, either had no original culture, or their culture was so weak that they could not stand the pressure of the Western dominance, therefore all such nations, with out much conflict, succumbed to the Western ideology. Islam being a complete religion, a comprehensive culture and a genuine ideology stood firm against the Western civilization, despite certain weakness in Muslim society, therefore both the forces i.e. Muslims and West are in conflict with each other. The current phase of Western domination (mostly attributable to Muslims’ negativity) is affecting the Muslims in ideological as well as practical life. Western culture / civilization is a by product of perplexity which passed through various speculative theories like Incarnation1, Rationalism2, Atheism3, Materialism4 and disbelief in God. Right from its origin the Western culture is in conflict with religion. In other words the conflict between the logic / philosophy and the religion gave birth to the Western civilization. During renaissance (14th- 16th century) when a new literary movement started in Europe, it came up against the church. Notwithstanding the repugnance between both ideologies, an insightful mind could analyze that logic philosophy education and research are not in conflict with the religion (not Christianity). Owing to attitude of church and faith of masses thereto, the church and the zealous activists of the movement failed to comprehend this very basic notion. Inquisitions5 were established by the theocratic authorities and consequently activists of the movement were brutally punished. However instead of being suppressed, the movement gained impetus because it had a solid ground to stand on as compared to that of the church’s ideology

based on ancient Greek Mythology (church received nothing from Jesus Christ, peace be upon him, in the shape of unadulterated book of teachings). Whatever, fictional bits and pieces, the clergymen possessed to offer to the people, was unequivocally discarded by the activist of the movement. Thus the religion was shelved being no longer required for the physical world. Consequently the canted scientific and logical thinking virtually transformed into rejection of religion and subsequently rejection of existence of God, in all its forms. The activists of the movement thought it obligatory to decline the existence of God or any supernatural authority, while resolving the mysteries of the universe. Rejection of existence of God was not as a result of logical conclusion; it was a prejudice against the church. All what has so far been done by the West in the filed of logic and research is actually based on their unsound and subjective posture for which the church shares an equal blame. The parable of the Western philosophy and progression is that of a great architect who is matchless in his proficiency but is trying to raise his dwelling on an utterly asymmetrical foundation, one day his masterwork is liable to disintegrate despite all its magnificence. The fact remains that logic reasoning and research is not in conflict with the religion, it may, however, be in direct conflict with what is called Christianity as professed by church. An important role has been played by the Western thinkers in development of Western culture. The Western thinkers of 17th century were the pioneers in shaping the Western civilization. Descartes (1650) is considered to be the founder of the Western philosophy, on one hand he believed in God, and besides material world believed in the spirit as well. On the other hand he explained the

physical world in a mechanical way, which ultimately instituted materialism. Hobbes (1679) took a further step he openly rejected super natural objects and attributed all that is present in the universe to a mechanical phenomenon; however he accepted existence of God as an obligation. Espinoza (1677) was at the pinnacle of perplexity, being a leader of the rationalism he unified God and universe and made it a singularity denying sovereignty of God. Lehbnitz (1716) and Locke (1704) believed in God but they were bent towards Naturalism6. Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo and Newton were believers of God however they were in search of finding out the forces which were managing the affairs of universe leaving aside the divine concept of universe. This act of leaving aside the divine concept was the first step towards atheism and naturalism. The philosophers of 17th century could not discriminate Divine Authority from naturalism; they thought that both can go along side by side. In 18th century it was apparent that a model of thinking reasoning and logic which does not focus on existence of God and tries to explore the universe, will ultimately lead human being towards impiety. During this century, scholars like John Toland, David Hartley, Joseph Priestely, Voltaire, La Mattric, Holbach, Cabanis, Montisque, Rousseau and many others like them rose, these were Liberals7 who either openly denied the existence of God or restricted God to a constitutional monarch who once after putting universe into motion had gone into seclusion. They were firm believers of only perceptible /corporeal things, and all that which was out of the field of their comprehension was falsehood, according to them.

Hume by means of his theories of Empiricism8 and Skepticism9 supported this way of thinking, he further advocated this way of thinking for judging the strength of probabilities. Berkeley endeavored to resist the exceeding menace of materialism but failed. Hegal tried to promote Idealism10 instead of materialism, he failed too. Kant tried to strike a compromise between religion and naturalism hence adopted an in-between approach by stating that God, salvation of spirits and freedom of will cannot be comprehended by us, therefore these cannot be accepted however these can be believed in, because practical wisdom demands a belief in these things. Poor Kant failed too. Loss of direction by logic and rational gave birth to a wrong idea about God. According to this idea God was / is a creation of our imagination or at best a secluded/ retired and power less figure, therefore a code of conduct accepting such a God, pleasing him or fearing him became an outdated concept. During 19th century materialism gained its peak. Vogt, Buchner, Czolbe, Comte and others like them, rejected existence of every thing other than the matter and its characteristics. Mill promoted Utilitarianism11. Spencer promoted the idea of philosophical evolution and formation of the universe and life by itself which was further strengthened by the research carried out in the fields, of Biology, Physiology, Geology and Zoology by various people, without an objective approach.

These scholars further professed that matter when attains a certain level of development it transforms into a higher form moreover development, evolution, movement, thinking and reasoning are all forms of highly developed matter. They further stated that all human beings and animals are machines which are following certain physical regulations. And these machines behave in same manner in which various components of such machines get organized. What an absurdity it was that universe came into existence by itself, life come into existence at its own accord and there is no one to organize and manage the affairs of the universe. Darwinian Theory of evolution (1859) is considered as a revolutionary book in the field of science. He (Darwin) in line with the (then) in vogue way of logic and reasoning certified that affairs of universe can go on without existence of God. According to him life from its very basics to the most developed form does not require a skillful wisdom instead it is an out come of a mechanical and evolution process which changes it’s form from a reptile to a human being. (This theory, which claims that life emerged by chance from inanimate matter, was invalidated by the scientific evidence of clear "design" in the universe and in living things. The propaganda carried out today in order to keep the theory of evolution alive is based solely on the distortion of the scientific facts, biased interpretation, lies and falsehoods disguised as science). It was this unsound and void of wisdom, philosophy (Darwinian Theory of evolution -1859) which further invigorated the Western civilization, where there was no place of an authoritative and all knowing God, Where there was no requirement of divine guidance through the Prophets and there was no concept of good or bad deeds and resurrection. There was no concept of accountability on the Day of Judgment and an eternal life hereafter. From

study of Western civilization, it can be concluded that life (in there view) is purposeless it is nothing more than the lowest functions of animal species. A study of world’s history reveals that, the Greek society, substratum of Western culture, (before Islam) was based on slavery where the slaves worked, and the philosophers kept speculating and hypothesizing illogical theories. During the medieval age, it was Scholasticism12 which held its iron grip on the mind of Europe. Scholasticism suffered from blind faith, indifference to facts, undue emphasis on verbal subtleties and reasoning on matters which observation alone could decide. A reaction against such theories, ideologies and religious teachings, shaped the Western/ Atheist culture. As it has been stated above that, it was the deep slumber, which the Muslims went into, gave a rise to the other nations to dominate, the muslims after getting out of the unfathomable nap, in order to survive in the world, resorted to accept and adopt Western teachings. Since it was a matter of survival for the Muslims, therefore the Western civilization with all its ideologies penetrated the minds of the Muslims. The subjugated Muslims failed to understand the right from wrong hence could not adopt a way wherein, remaining within the confines, adaptation of good and rejection of bad, out of prevailing ideologies, was possible. Such polluted minds could not analyze the strengths of the Islamic teachings and the basis of the Muslims society. It is evident, from above, that most of the ideologies, hostile to the Islamic world, stem from the atheist culture that took over the Western world in the nineteenth century. The Western society is void of humanity, fear of God, righteousness truthfulness, piety, character, chastity and purity on which the Islamic Society lays its foundations. The basis on which the Western society has been constituted is entirely contrary to the basis of Islamic society.

The so called moderate Muslims, while attempting to

advocate conciliatory behavior/ ideology to the Muslims, must understand that,” an Islamic society raised or built on the foundations of Western society can never become an Islamic society. We have to adopt one out of these civilizations adopting both of these at the same time will never be possible. There is no doubt that majority of Muslims believe in the basic teachings of Islam however they don’t find themselves strong enough to adopt a complete Islamic way of life because of multifarious fears. Islam, on the contrary, has nothing to do with fundamentalism, fanaticism and is clear from the mystifications explained above. The Prophet of Islam Muhammad (peace be upon him) seems to stand between the ancient and the modern world. Insofar as the spirit of his revelation is concerned, he belongs to the modern world. In emphasizing nature and history as the sources of knowledge, the Quran ushers in the modern scientific world, whose weapons of discovery are observation, experimentation and generalization. The Quran, instead of priesthood and blind faith in myths, emphasizes on observation research and rational approach in finding the facts of creation and its purpose. Over and over again, the Quran appeals to Tadabbur, Tafakkar and Ta’qqal. It says: Why don’t you deliberate? Why don’t you think? Why don’t you reason? There is a definite need that an intellectual struggle to be waged against rejection of existence/ authority of God, which is not just a force that tries to ruin people's lives in the hereafter by destroying their religious beliefs. Rather it also, at the same time, aims to ruin the world, turning it into a wasteland of chaos and war, and it views Muslims as its most important target. Most certainly there is a requirement of Islamic Renaissance wherein the structure of society is based on the Islamic ideology, wherein there is a room for accepting all goods and rejecting all the wrongs from the Western

world, science/technology and modern research. There is a requirement that the Muslims should take an account of their deeds, strengths and weaknesses and reconstruct the society on the basic ideology of Islam. Every ideological victory over atheism (and over philosophies, ideologies and so-called scientific theories such as Darwinism that lie at its foundations) is also a moral victory which helps oppressed Muslims all over the world. The Muslims and the Western philosophers and scientists will find it extremely revealing that social life, Science, Philosophy and understanding of the universe has become extremely easy if the foundation of this explore is laid on the Islamic teachings instead of the rotten theories like theory of evolution/ rejection of existence of All-knowing Wise and Authoritative God. Despite material advancement the Western society needs a lot to do to survive on long term basis. Believing in unseen and accepting the total authority will make the job very easy for Muslims and West, alike. The West and the scientist equipped with knowledge may study and ponder over the 2000 specific science related verses of Quran revealing facts concerning man, earth and the universe and all that is in between the stars i.e. the interstellar space containing the building blocks of life and the existence of extra terrestrial life in the universe besides the invisible creation parallel to mankind created out of the essence of fire (Jinn). Modern science facts and laws are in total agreement with the Quranic verses revealed more than 1400 years ago. The rest of 4666 Quranic verses are about all conceivable matters including the way of life for mankind besides the repetition of all Divine Books. The West, in order to find the facts, must compare science with Quran in the fields of Eschatology13, Astrophysics14, and Embryology15 etc. Books titled, The Bible, The Quran and Science, by Dr. Maurice Bucaille, A Chain

of miracles by Harun Yahya and Quran and modern science by Dr. Zakir Naik, must be explored by all to further clarify the doubts. Quran reveals knowledge guidance, information and wisdom about the mysterious universe and its living and non living hidden and invisible creations The Quran rejects irrationalism, forbids intolerance and abhors Obscurantism16. It enjoins us: Rabbi, zidni ilmah” (O God, add to my knowledge). What a prayer in the modern world, when knowledge is exploding and doubling itself in less than a decade. Those who want to be acquainted with Islamic teaching must understand that wisdom of religion has three distinct phases i.e. Faith (acceptance of religion as an unconditional command without any rationale understanding), Thought (Rational understanding of the discipline and the ultimate source of its authority, some times called metaphysics) and Discovery (direct contact with the ultimate reality and discovery of the ultimate source within the depth of own consciousness. A study of basic teachings of Islam and its acceptance / implementation is the only way for the world to remain a place of peace and harmony. Islamic teachings/ ideology will not divest any thing from any body, therefore it must be studied believed and adopted for the survival of the mankind. Basic Islamic ideology teaches us that the Divine Authority is God alone and he has given guidance to the human beings through Prophets and Books. Failure of a particular fabricated religion to produce that guidance for the consumption of masses does not necessarily compel human beings to decline the existence of God and refuse to accept his guidance. There may be guidance and a message for you from your creator, but at a different place, waiting for you to search for it explore it and get the

benefit from it. Acceptance of God and implementation of his guidance will lead the mankind out of the quagmire in which it is sinking at the moment. Notes 1:

Incarnation. The Christian doctrine that the Son of God was conceived in the womb of Mary and that Jesus, peace be upon him, is true God and true man.

2:

Rationalism.The theory that the exercise of reason, rather than the acceptance of empiricism, authority, or spiritual revelation, provides the only valid basis for action or belief and that reason is the prime source of knowledge and of spiritual truth.

3:

Atheism.

The doctrine that there is no God or gods.

4:

Materialism. The theory that physical matter is the only reality and that everything, including thought, feeling, mind, and will, can be explained in terms of matter and physical phenomena.

5. Inquisitions. A tribunal formerly held in the Roman Catholic Church and directed at the suppression of heresy. 6. Naturalism. The system of thought holding that all phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes and laws without attributing moral, spiritual, or supernatural significance to them. 7. Liberals. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry. 8. Empiricism. The view that experience, especially of the senses, is the only source of knowledge. 9. Skepticism. The doctrine that absolute knowledge is impossible and that inquiry must be a process of doubting in order to acquire approximate or relative certainty. 10. Idealism.

The theory that the object of external perception, in itself or as

perceived, consists of ideas. 11. Utilitarianism.

Theory that all action should be directed toward achieving the

greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. 12. Scholasticism.

The dominant Western Christian theological and philosophical

school of the Middle Ages, based on the authority of the Latin Fathers and of Aristotle and his commentators.

13. Eschatology.

A belief or a doctrine concerning the ultimate or final things,

such as death, the destiny of humanity, the Second Coming, or the Last Judgment. 14. Astrophysics.

The branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of stellar

phenomena. 15. Embryology.

The branch of biology that deals with the formation, early growth,

and development of living organisms. 16. Obscurantism. A style in art and literature characterized by deliberate vagueness or obliqueness. BY EHSAN MUGHEES

[email protected]