In her book titled “Islam: A Short History,” renowned British author and commentator Karen Armstrong writes, “Islam is the most misunderstood religion…The Qur’an gave Muslims a historical mission. Their chief duty was to create a just community in which all members, even the most weak and vulnerable, were treated with absolute respect.”
It is very evident that the West finds it hard to properly differentiate between the religious constants in Islam and the customs and traditions of the Muslim population across the world. There are various factors responsible for this situation — subjective feedback, personal or individual experiences and most importantly misleading information disseminated by the western media.

There are many other things that the modern western mentality finds difficult to understand when it comes to Islam and Muslims. The western dilemma is that it is unable to distinguish between the various narratives of Muslims and the countries that actually apply Shariah law. A one-size-fits-all approach is dangerous while studying different people and their respective ideologies.
Secularism forms the basis of the western psyche. We all are aware of the basics of secularism. It envisages a separation between state and religion.
On the other hand, Muslims — Saudis in particular — believe in the exact opposite. We believe that state and religion are inseparable. In fact, we want the state to be managed according to Islamic injunctions. Muslim societies rely on the Qur’an and Sunnah and see these sources as their sources of guidance in all spheres of life. And to make it clear to those with little or no knowledge of Islam, this approach does not prohibit or in any way hamper adoption of modernity or the modern ways of life. The only thing that we Muslims are supposed to be mindful of is that our quest for modernity should in no way violate any Islamic law or it should never clash with the basic principles of Islam.
The western intellectuals need to understand this point before judging Islam and Muslims. It is this lack of understanding on part of the West that has resulted in the current schism between the Muslim and western worlds.
Both sides need to make efforts to narrow down these differences. It is the collective responsibility of the Muslim and western scholars to raise the level of awareness among their respective target audiences and condemn the actions of those elements who exploit religion for their diabolical plans. We can find such unscrupulous elements on both sides of the divide.
Saudi Arabia wants to remove these misunderstandings through dialogue and by creating awareness among the masses. The Kingdom is convinced that what unites the vast majority of people around the world is much greater than what creates divisions among them.
The fact that the West is highly progressed and organized does not give it the right to feel superior. It does not give it the legitimacy to have any kind of authority over others.
The late king Abdullah once said, “The beliefs found in the depth of all civilizations are not supposed to be treated as separate entities from the civilization it actually originated from; it is rather difficult to impose beliefs on an individual or on a society.”
Many times various human rights organizations of the West have tried to interfere in the Saudi judicial system. They don’t shy away from taunting our judicial system and exaggerating its proceedings. We should keep in mind that unlike its western allies, the European Union (EU) is dedicated to the abolition of death penalty.
I believe in the universality of human rights, even if there is a difference in the background. The western ideology is based on rationality. And the Islamic ideology does not go against this as long as it does not go against Shariah. For instance, death punishment is part of Islamic laws, while the West perceives it as a violation of human rights.
Ironically, the West contradicts itself without thinking twice. The western rights activists and so-called intellectuals continue to raise human rights issues when it come to a country’s judicial system but keep mum when it is the violation of rights of the Palestinian Muslims.
In the end, I would like to draw the attention of our western critics toward international laws, which prohibit interference in the affairs of any sovereign independent state.