Islamic Culture
and the Extent of its Interaction with Other Cultures
in the Past and Present.
A Presentation At The
Conference Held By The Academy Of The Kingdom Of Morocco On The Theme:
"The Islamic Culture and The Western Culture: Give and Take"
Wednesday and Thursday 26-27 Jumada1-1412.A.H. Corresponding To 4-5 December
1991. Meekness.
Building on the
valuable and comprehensive presentation by our distinguished colleague Mr.
Mohammed al-Arabi al-Khattabi in preparation for the works of the conference
held by the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco on the theme" The Islamic
Culture and The Western Culture: Give and Take," I am pleased to present
this modest paper in which I discuss illustrative and complementary aspects of
some issues mentioned in his presentation. These include the concept of Islamic
culture, its present reality, and its prospective horizons.
In its broadest
sense, culture goes beyond the aforementioned cognitive significance into other
larger fields. These include everything that elevates the intellect, educates
the mind, refines character, and redresses conduct. In short, all that is
current between people, individually or collectively, and with which they are
imbued - whether consciously and voluntarily or not. Culture also includes the
transferred inventions of an ever-changing life, and all the various aspects of
heritage as represented in architectural monuments, popular creativity,
well-established values, customs and lore. Finally, culture includes all those
feelings and sentiments which mold the self and distinguish identity.
It is widely
acknowledged that humanity has witnessed different types of cultures throughout
its long march. Some of these cultures came in consecutive periods; others were
chronologically concurrent with each other; some were mere in harmony with each
other, others were not.
Islamic culture
falls within this comprehensive range of interconnected cultures as a distinct
type in it by virtue of its quality, form, components, specificities, and
ability for interaction. Islamic culture occupies a wide space in the range of
human culture which is represented by various historically well-known cultures,
in comparison to man’s age and life.
Islamic culture,
therefore, falls into a cycle or a set of cultures in which it cannot be
separated from its human dimension. Although this cycle or set has witnessed
periods, stations or generations and roles in which various kinds of human
cultures crystalised.
These cultural
forms, despite their great number, variety, disparity, and succession, have
features some of which seem well-established and sound, persuasive of their
usefulness, which enjoins their perenniality and inheritance. This is best
illustrated by the scientific discoveries and pragmatic achievements which are
inextricably linked to the development of life at any time and everywhere.
Other features, such as creed principles, mental constituents, moral excellence
and the ensuing intellectual, emotional, and behavioral trends, are characterized
by singularity and relativity. These trends are clearly seen in customs and
practices, artistic and literary works, as well as in other forms of
expression.
Although these
features are typical of a particular category or a specific period, they may
seep through to other people if these features are in agreement with them or if
these features are allowed to get in spontaneously in convenient circumstances.
But if someone tries to impose these features abusively onto these people, the
matter changes into an invasion that may or may not be felt and understood by
the receptor. The latter may even resist this invasion if s\he has understood
its danger, or may welcome
it if one is not aware of the danger, and thinks it is advantageous and
positive.
From this view,
I believe that Islamic culture, which emerged in a desert or semi-arid
environment, prompted thought and reflection, because of the vastness and
purity of its nature. This poeticalness is highlighted by the creativity of the
Arabs in such fields as oration and poetry, and the concomittant moral
standards embodied in their famous sense of honor.
The emergence of
Islam in such an environment marked the beginning of a great rennaissance, as
many abounding sources converged to enrich Islamic culture. Three sources are
worth mentioning:
The rich
contributions of the various peoples-Arabs, Persians, Romans, Berbers and other
non- Arab peoples-during the Islamic era. Each people had a cultural reservoir
which differs in size and importance from the other.
The then
prevailing eastern and western heritage in human thought, namely the Greek,
Indian, Syrian, and Egyptian heritage.
All the things
Islam brought along with it. If I did not mention this point earlier it is not
because it was the least influential and enriching element, on the contrary; it
is mentioned last because of its significance and of its role.
Islam has
launched this culture and allowed it to fertilize and fructify, beginning with
the Holy Koran which was the key element in all its achievements, as a
linguistic text that urged the importance of the aspect of its rhetorical
inimitability, as a book of legislation that requires explanation, and as an
all-encompassing book of the news of prophets and messengers, and accounts of our
ancestors. The Holy Koran also contains scientific knowledge and religious
exhortations, in addition to illustrations of the hadith whose major cultural
influence is second only to that of the Holy Koran.
If Islamic
culture managed to grow in the breeding ground of these aforementioned data, it
could not have grown, developed and interacted - to give and take - without its
own predisposition. Islamic culture stores its latent energy behind five
reasons:
First: The
nature of the different aspects of Islamic culture in its various aspects,
especially its cognitive aspect. This aspect is based on metaphysical knowledge
and perceptible matter. The reconciliation of the two aspects was reflected in
the methods which Moslems used in various kinds of scientific research -whether
theoretical, practical, experimental, or metaphysical, and in which they
excelled.
Second: This
culture's reliance not only on constant principles and values or pillars
outside the human soul, but also on values that govern this soul in terms of
both instinct and behavior. This is manifested in all the fields in which
Moslems had actively taken part, be they political, military, economic,
intellectual, or social. This is also evidenced in the systems on which they
had built their life in peace and war, as well as in the laws they had recourse
to in their way of living with others.
Third: The
comprehensiveness that characterized this culture is too large to be defined.
Suffice it to refer here to the coordinated dualities it had in all its
branches, such as the materialistic and the spiritual, the religious and the
earthly, the individual and the collective, the public and the private, the
pragmatic and the gratifying.
Fourth: The
ability for openness, and for overcoming everything that impedes Islamic
culture. This ability consists in focusing on Islam, and not on the race of
those who embraced it, and on accepting non-Moslem in the arena of debate and
dialogue, away from the notions of time and place, and from all the potential tribal
conflicts and chauvinism, and the regional disputes they may engender. This is
a radical solution to the issue of heritage and modernity in all its aspects;
Fifth: Stability
resulting from coexistence and cohabitation with a tendency towards tolerance
and peace. This tendency had an impact on the development of thought and
economy and on the propagation of private and public freedoms.
Stimulated by
these potentials, Islamic culture has been able to interact while preserving
its equilibrium in terms of its features, language and specificities which only
developed and increased whenever Islamic culture had the opportunity to
intermingle and be impregnated. By the same token, none of the parties which
interacted with it had lost their distinct features; they intermingled in the
all-encompassing cultural melting pot in which they sought coexistence and
harmony.
Hardly had
Islamic culture started to lose its equilibrium when signs of seclusion,
reservation, and narrow-mindedness began to show. This would obviously lead to
its downfall. Downfall, in its simplest forms, means losing control even of the
self. It can be seen in a weak freedom and in the coming into a mechanised
domain of implementation that soon leads to dependence, imitation, and the
inability to innovate and create.
We hardly need
to unveil the reasons behind this decline. They are the opposite of the
aforementioned development factors; nor do we need to write the history of this
period of Islamic culture, because it is outstandingly marked in the march of
Moslems from the time their situation began to deteriorate until they started
to work hard towards revival and renaissance. What we really need to do is to
bring to the fore a phenomenon that is full of advantages and which we think is
the impetus for these endeavors. That is, if Islamic culture has been exposed
to what some may think is a state of demise or extinction; the spirit of this
culture is undoubtedly still vibrant with life. This is due not only to its
clear major influence on Western culture, but also to its attempts to interact
with it, in the hope that some invigorating forces can be gathered to bring
about some kind of revival that might extricate Islamic culture from its
predicament.
Nowadays,
Islamic culture suffers from underdevelopment which affects all its structures.
This is embodied in such phenomenon as the prevalence of illiteracy and the
inadequacy of scientific research. This culture is also suffering from internal
fragmentation, the signs of which are clearly seen in the preparation of the
negative intellectual, emotional, expressive, and behavioral duality, and in
the stark contrast between social classes and generations. The fragmentation is
also noticeable in the disparity between doctrinal affiliations worsened by the
fragmentations of the land of Islam by colonialism which left behind, after its
official withdrawal, bombs that may explode at any time or at the time that
suits the colonial powers. Furthermore, Islamic culture suffers from its own people’s
denial of its values and effectiveness in the field of education, creativity,
edification and renewal of ideas. Islamic culture is, in the eyes of many, a
luxury or a commodity that may be quashed or dispensed with, or may, at best,
be subdued so as to make it a mere echo devoid of any real spirit or positive
response.
Despite this
suffering, Islamic culture is proceeding towards enlargement, diversity, and
multiplicity of both authentic and alien sources. This is, no doubt, a good
omen. Or else it will remain a quantitative, shallow, or formal culture without
any horizons that stem from the self and from a sound vision of the future or
prospective perspective or objectives.
Despite its
credible or fraudulent aspects and regardless of what it tries to reveal or
hide, and of its dreams or illusions with which it is overwhelmed, Islamic
culture is considered as one of the signs of an unstable reality lived by
Moslems, and an expression of this reality, even though it is not exactly
similar to this reality and does not unveil its contradictions and secrets,
which might give it some credibility.
How can Islamic
culture achieve this credibility while it is not doing what it should do,
despite its many constituents and ingredients. The efforts of the members of
Islamic culture, in spite of their great numbers in various fields and
branches, are wasted and their energies in disarray,
except for some who make individual sustained efforts in their fields. Others
who, despite their suffering overseas from difficult economic circumstances,
and from social, cultural, and religious problems, are compelled to immigrate
to countries where they received encouragement for their efforts, incentives,
and benefits denied to them in their own countries.
Given these
disadvantages, Islamic culture grows outside the framework in which it can, or
rather should, develop. Its people, therefore, live outside their time or
perhaps on the margin of history.
It is obvious
that these people should end up in this abnormal state. For after they woke, or
started to wake, from their slumber, they found themselves, to their amazement,
looking around them and over their shoulders, and they saw their present state
of affairs which they compared to their glorious past. They saw that others had
snatched the torch from them and flown away with it. They wanted to catch up
with the West, but they were at their wits’ end. Is rejecting the heritage
which they have been trailing - and which they feel is outdated, after it has
played its role in the past, and which is now dead, or if it is not dead, it
has been absorbed and integrated into something else - the best way to catch up with the
West? Or is the best way to avail themselves of this heritage which is their
stock and the epitome of existence, personality, and self-assertion?
Amidst this
anxiety, members of Islamic culture are helpless, and their situation is out of
control. They endeavor to take part in the arena of interaction by devouring
everything that comes their way, be it old from their own culture, or new from
the cultures of others. But they are hackled by so many obstacles which stand
in the way to the right path. Some of these obstacles are latent in the members
of Islamic culture themselves, yet other obstacles are attributed to the other.
In both cases, the members of Islamic culture feel languorious or submissive,
if I may say so, to a potentially prevalent idea: the days of their genuine
culture are gone forever, and these are the days of another alien culture.
The distance in
time that now separates members of Islamic culture from the era when this
culture was in its apogee is one of the main reasons behind this feeling of languor and
submission and the ensuing impotence for innovation, creativity, and invention
of the methods of interaction with the contemporary culture or cultures in
order to catch up with their peoples. As a result, members of Islamic culture
abandoned themselves to despair, and their potentials became handicapped, which
forced them to seek salvation in the first thing they were offered or the
easiest thing they could lay their hands on. For some, this was a formal way of
adhering and clinging to the Islamic heritage. For others, it was an outward
clinging to Western thought. However, they did not look seriously into the one
or the other to extract from them propulsive forces or stimuli for a new
revival. As a consequence, all reform attempts by various classes have failed
since the beginning of the Renaissance period. These attempts, which were always
surpassed by today’s accelerated and consecutive periods of advancement,
sometimes held out fresh hope, but many a time they cast more desperation.
Who knows? These
attempts may well have been wrong from the start. They deviated from the
preparedness that springs from the pure self for a positive interaction with
the other as is commensurate with what was realized in the past. Although
struggle against colonialism in all Islamic countries was based on genuine
concepts which combined the religious and the national, many of its aspects
were far apart from these concepts. This resistance was exacerbated even
further by the formal Western character which prevailed over the cultural
trends pursued by most of these countries after their liberation from direct colonialism.
These country’s strong bewilderment at the West has also led to the confusion
between what may be adapted from the West - including everything that is
admittedly useful - such as sciences and other civilization achievements, on
the one hand, and the specificities and constituents of identity and
personality, on the other.
This
bewilderment at the West and its progress has certainly led to dependence upon
it and to its imitation, or to an aspiration to do so in every aspect, even in
its view of man and life, values and religion. This view was assimilated and
adapted as the foundation of various institutions, starting from educational,
teaching and information programs all the way to guiding behavior and its
individual and collective types. This has almost quenched the fiery feeling in
the souls, paralyzed the potentials of creative thinking, and freezed the sense
of fruitful interaction not only with regard to Islam but also to the West
which prefers unidirectional interaction. In this interaction, the weak takes
from the powerful, relying on that bewilderment at the West and aspiring to
impose its influence, to strengthen it and to legitimize it as an alternative
to any culture, even if it is a national one. Indeed, the West is jealous of
this national culture so much so that it has waged war against it overtly and
external at times, and covertly and internal at other times.
Amidst this
imbalanced reality, great changes are taking the world by surprise today. As a
result, a new page is turned, breaking with the past which Moslems and Arabs in
particular have so long admired and which they hoped would bring about
salvation. These changes also disclose the emergence of a new Western influence
which yearns to impose its regime on the whole world - weak and powerful
nations alike - convinced of the necessity of its system, of the effectiveness
of its criteria and of the positivity of its dimensions. It is also convinced
of its own and unique capacity for imposing itself.
It is undeniable
that these changes, whose birth we had the opportunity to witness, whose early
stages we followed, and whose repercussions we had noticed, have had negative
effects on the Arabs, making their situation even worse. Consequently, Moslems
find themselves in a state of anxiety, conflict, and loss. This state has
probably evoked within many of them a feeling of failure and frustration; even
though some see in its shock a new ray of hope that would stir up emotions and
make up for the past.
In both cases
and however desperate or hopeful these people may be, what may be stressed is
the fact that Islamic culture is still vibrant with life. It cannot have a
position of any kind, whether with the pioneers or with the followers, and may
even cease to exist unless it has at its disposal a key element which it is
lacking, or rather which we, Moslems, are lacking: belief in oneself,
self-confidence, and an optimistic view of the future and life. It is this
element which our ancestors had when they created this culture. It is also from
this element that the West took off in an attempt to establish its superiority,
assert its views and impose its own way of life on the world. This element also
considers anyone with these qualities a responsible person who must fulfill a
mission both for his own good and for the good of humanity. This can be
achieved through benefiting from his own heritage and from that of others, as
well as from the advanced scientific culture of the period, taking great care
so as not to make the same mistakes as those made by the present civilization,
and so as to treat the diseases spawned by this civilization’s purely
materialistic tendencies. This surely represents a responsibility that humanity
hopes someone would assume and preach in order to preserve man’s existence, his
environment and mission from an impending destruction.
Some people may
see in this analysis a sort of holding onto a bogus dream close, as it were, to
an illusion or a mirage. These people may be partly right. For when they look
at the conditions of Moslems, during this particular decadent period, they
discern a gloomy picture of dispirited peoples as opposed to the radiant,
elated face of the West which, through its superiority, progress, power and
triumph, has forced others to accept it as the one and only leader. These
people become disillusioned and hopeless not only because of our inability to
vie with the West or even to catch up with it but also because of the fact that
we have made it our model which we are unable to apply. We have tried to copy
it, rejecting the right, and well-established values of our authenticity; we
have lost this authenticity and we have failed, therefore, to be dependent upon
it and to benefit from it. We could not preserve our Self, not even within the
framework of protecting its most essential elements. Thus, we have reached a
point from certain angles of which we seem to have opened ourselves to other
cultures so much so that our personality has been lost. Yet, we appear to those
who see us from other angles as though we have not done anything of the sort
and that, on the contrary, we are steeped in isolation in what we assume to be
our entity and identity.
What could be
the reason behind the stark contrast in this picture? Is it the outward feeling
that we cannot exist unless if we are wholly connected to the West? Is it
because, deep down, we are seized by a feeling of the self which we just cannot
cast aside for the simple reason that the West’s impression on our individual
and collective decisions is associated with colonialism, racism, apostasy,
excessive materialism and a desire for tyranny and despotism? Is it both? Or is
it that neither one of the above could lead us to the best way to benefit from
the West and from ourselves and to live in peace and harmony?
At any rate, we
should, in all fairness, like to stress that the West with which we have been
in contact could not, for its part, allow us to benefit from it, except in
those areas in which our dependence on it does not cease to grow, leaving us
with our hands stretched out to the West’s, begging for help, and entreating it
to come to our rescue. As for the new West, it would be fair for both of us to
say that it has not yet proven its sincerity and credibility despite the critical
events which have accompanied its emergence. The new West can prove its
sincerity and credibility in order to liberate itself from the complexes of the
colonialist era, both of which will certainly be realized. The new world will
also achieve interaction with other cultures, Islamic culture in particular.
This, however, can only happen if the West, with its civilization, culture,
material and military might, does not enter a phase in which it restrains
itself and others, thus preventing any openness on its part that would allow it
to give and take, and if it does not get too carried away with its own
achievements and its belief in its own ability to thrust everybody in its mold
and have them caught up in its well-made machine, turning its progress into guardianship.
This behavior which reflects the image of the West’s power will change into
selfishness and arrogance if the new West does not ward off past mistakes.
Selfishness and haughtiness are two complexes that may become an impediment to
the realizations of the West’s aspirations, so as not to say they might herald its downfall
while still at the beginning of the road.
Whether old or
new, the attempt of the Western culture to impose itself by severing any ties
with other cultures, namely the Islamic culture from which it had borrowed or
adapted throughout its history and during the Renaissance, closes the door on
Western culture itself and on others, thus preventing openness which leads to
dialogue and to give and take, that is to real interaction.
Positive and
real interaction cannot be achieved unless it relies on mutual influence within
the framework of respect. The aim behind this is to ensure cooperation within
the framework of the central issue facing humanity.
I conclude by
returning to Islamic culture and the extent of its interaction with Western
culture - in its conventional form - to note a reality which may be confirmed
by some, yet it may be denied or only relatively considered by others: Islamic
culture, especially as it entered the period of decadence and strove for
recognition and revival, was always faced with Western challenges. Furthermore,
the West, by virtue of its superiority and predominance in military, economic
and intellectual fields, refused to be in the society of others, or rather
refused others to be in its society in the arena of interaction, especially if
the other party’s culture is Islam.
Therefore, the
modern history of this culture is a record of that confrontation. Yet I don’t
mean by this to entirely corroborate the saying of the British writer, Rudyard
Kipling, who was the voice of British colonialism at the turn of last century
and of the present one, when he said: “East is East and West is
West and never the twain shall meet.” I mean to refer to the conflict which
existed between Islamic and Western cultures due to certain historical
circumstances. This conflict can be attenuated and its intensity may be
decreased today, in spite of the fact that it has a psychological and an
intellectual character. The latter cannot be erased or at least disregarded
unless it has been integrated and rooted out, as was the case when Islamic
culture was at its apogee. This can be achieved through integrating different
cultures in one worldwide culture and through embracing noble human values. It
must also rest on a conciliatory basis that would dissolve all the elements of
differentiation and dispersion in the melting pot of unity and harmony.
No matter how dissenting the views and opinions in this regard, it is both pressing and useful to remind people that culture would not have achieved glory without unification, which Islam had called for. Through tolerance, its wide horizons, its strong ability for digesting, absorbing and taking everyone, including non-Moslems under its wing, this culture was able to overcome all factors of dissention, conflict, and struggle. These adherents acquired comprehensive and clear-cut views of themselves, others, and the universe around them. These views allow for coexistence and mutual interests in a perpetual give and take. This would remain a vain attempt unless it starts from multiplicity, diversity and the resultant specificities and properties whose interaction leads to union, agreement, and social equilibrium between all the peoples of the world. This is summed up in the broad connotation of «acquaintance » expressed in the holy Quran which is in the verse with which our colleague Al-Khattabi concluded his presentation. God said in Verse 13 from the Apartments: « O mankind, we have created you male and female, and appointed you races and tribes, that you may know one another. Surely the noblest among you in the sight of god is the most god fearing of you. » The Koran (translated by Arther J. Arberry)
Dr. Abbes Jirari