TO the present-day Muslim masses, the West mainly signifies indecency, materialism and an insatiable hunger for global political dominance. This perception is largely based on prejudices caused by a lack of adequate and credible information regarding different western societies.
It is true that certain western moral norms are unlike ours; westerners, generally, are more focused on ensuring material security and advancement than we are; and some western governments regularly interfere, illogically and in a dictatorial fashion, in the Muslim world worsening the already existing political turmoil. However, this is definitely not all that the West stands for.
Muslims, unfortunately, do not look beyond same-gender couples, old people’s homes, going Dutch, cut-throat competition on Wall Street and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. They have failed to appreciate or even take notice of several commendable aspects of the West. Consequently, they have not been able to take advantage of the so many western intellectual achievements. At best, they take the West as a rival if not an enemy.
Categories: Muslim Heritage