Worth Reading
The following is taken from a recent issue of "First Things" in turn, quoting an article in American Enterprise. Some good points are made -- I'm not sure, however, that I agree with all of it. In particular I don't think that "moral decadence is a MAJOR source of rage". I think anti-American feeling is deeper seated than that and is to some extent simply fostered somewhat mindlessly from the cradle. Still this is worth pondering.
“Why do you hate us?” That, says Mustafa Akyol, writing in the American Enterprise, is a question frequently put to Muslims by Americans. “The first answer from someone like me, who is repulsed by terrorists who kill in the name of Islam, is that most of us do not hate you. Yet it must be acknowledged that radical Muslim rage is real in many countries.” A major source of such rage is the moral decadence of American society as communicated by Hollywood and other media. Akyol writes: “This distaste derives not only from culture but also from ideas. When ‘Western ideas’ are mentioned, many Muslims think not of Jefferson, C. S. Lewis, Lincoln, or Burke, but rather of Nietzsche, Freud, Marx, and Carl Sagan. The behavior of some Westernized local elites in Muslim countries makes the situation even worse. In my country of Turkey, one popular stereotype of the Westernized Turk is of the soulless, skirt- and money-chasing man drinking whiskey while swearing at Islam. Although a caricature, it carries enough truth to further a bad image of the West. . . . Obviously, that is a distortion of the truth. America stands out in the Western world as ‘a nation under God,’ particularly compared to ‘Old Europe.’ The aggressive secularism of Europe is one reason why European Muslims are especially radicalized. (Another spur is the lesser opportunities for upward mobility in Europe as compared to America.) As a Muslim, I feel at home in America when I see people saying grace at the table, praising the Lord, filling houses of worship, and handling currency inscribed ‘In God We Trust.’ When I’m in Europe, on the other hand, with its empty cathedrals, widespread atheism, and joyless cynicism, I feel alienated.” So what is to be done? “To erase this false image, America must help Muslims see that it is indeed a nation under God. The culture it exports should celebrate more than materialism, disbelief, selfishness, and hedonism. America must do a better job of portraying the principles of decency that undergird its society. Otherwise it will be despised by devout Muslims throughout the world, and radicals will channel contempt into violence. Of course, avoiding radical Islamist rage is only one reason for Americans to resist empty materialism. A deeper reason is that materialism is a mistaken philosophy. If they will save themselves from its disappointments, Americans will enjoy many benefits—including a better chance to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world, and avert a clash of civilizations.”
“Why do you hate us?” That, says Mustafa Akyol, writing in the American Enterprise, is a question frequently put to Muslims by Americans. “The first answer from someone like me, who is repulsed by terrorists who kill in the name of Islam, is that most of us do not hate you. Yet it must be acknowledged that radical Muslim rage is real in many countries.” A major source of such rage is the moral decadence of American society as communicated by Hollywood and other media. Akyol writes: “This distaste derives not only from culture but also from ideas. When ‘Western ideas’ are mentioned, many Muslims think not of Jefferson, C. S. Lewis, Lincoln, or Burke, but rather of Nietzsche, Freud, Marx, and Carl Sagan. The behavior of some Westernized local elites in Muslim countries makes the situation even worse. In my country of Turkey, one popular stereotype of the Westernized Turk is of the soulless, skirt- and money-chasing man drinking whiskey while swearing at Islam. Although a caricature, it carries enough truth to further a bad image of the West. . . . Obviously, that is a distortion of the truth. America stands out in the Western world as ‘a nation under God,’ particularly compared to ‘Old Europe.’ The aggressive secularism of Europe is one reason why European Muslims are especially radicalized. (Another spur is the lesser opportunities for upward mobility in Europe as compared to America.) As a Muslim, I feel at home in America when I see people saying grace at the table, praising the Lord, filling houses of worship, and handling currency inscribed ‘In God We Trust.’ When I’m in Europe, on the other hand, with its empty cathedrals, widespread atheism, and joyless cynicism, I feel alienated.” So what is to be done? “To erase this false image, America must help Muslims see that it is indeed a nation under God. The culture it exports should celebrate more than materialism, disbelief, selfishness, and hedonism. America must do a better job of portraying the principles of decency that undergird its society. Otherwise it will be despised by devout Muslims throughout the world, and radicals will channel contempt into violence. Of course, avoiding radical Islamist rage is only one reason for Americans to resist empty materialism. A deeper reason is that materialism is a mistaken philosophy. If they will save themselves from its disappointments, Americans will enjoy many benefits—including a better chance to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world, and avert a clash of civilizations.”
posted by unca | 7:11 PM
8 Comments:
America must do a better job of portraying the principles of decency that undergird its society. Otherwise it will be despised by devout Muslims throughout the world, and radicals will channel contempt into violence.
Am I the only one that has a problem with this? Is this some sort of ultimatum?
Then he goes on to lecture Americans about how they are too materialistic.
It sounds like he is suggesting that Americans should change their ideals to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world or face the consequences.
I agree, Blogball. On the one hand we do need to do a better job of exporting the best of our culture, on the other hadn, to use the fact that we don't as a rationale or a tidy explanation for outright hatred and violence on the part of radical Islamics is absolutely unsupportable. Also, as I said in my intro, I think there is something more insidious at work than a dislike of Hollywood, etc.
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I think it is the last couple of sentences that frustrates me:
A deeper reason is that materialism is a mistaken philosophy. If they will save themselves from its disappointments, Americans will enjoy many benefits—including a better chance to win the hearts and minds of the Muslim world, and avert a clash of civilizations.
It gives the impression as if the Muslim world is one big happy family.
Ask not what a country can do to contribute to your religion. Ask what your religion can do to contribute to a country.
(Sorry JFK) Maybe I got too caught up in the inauguration festivities today.
I happen to agree that we're too materialistic. But it's OUR problem, not the Muslim World's.
If I think Uzbekistan is too corrupt, Italy too laid back, France too smug, or Switzerland too uptight, I can just NOT GO THERE. I don't get to tell them how they must change their culture to make me like them.
If Islam thinks we're too materialistic, or hedonistic, or whatever, it doesn't matter that they're right. They have the right and the opportunity to not come here, and to not adopt our practices. They don't have the right to intone that they'll not love us (which in muslim-speak means they'll blow people up) if we don't change our wicked ways to suit them.
And I wonder which of their enlightened practices they wish us to adopt first... Is it female illiteracy? Is it their progressive justice system, where families are authorized to commit "revenge killings", thieves are mutilated, and executions are carried out on the soccer pitch? Maybe it's female circumcision. Maybe it's the infighting and tribalism that have characterized much of the Arab world for the last several hundred years. My wife's uncle says he saw on more than one occasion scenes like this noe: an Arab guy driving a pickup with his wife & donkey in the back and his German Shepherd up in the air-conditioned cab. Now *that* is what we need: a little more of that and not so many bare midriffs.
Basically, Akyol needs to STFU and quit talking about "muslim rage" -- that's the word we use when we want to grant legitimacy to violent anger. There is nothing legitimate about flying planes into buildings or blowing up children, and mainstream Islam's lukewarm condemnation of radicalism and halfhearted-at-best attempts to distance itself from violent jihad speaks loudly to me.
I agree wholeheartedly and it goes without saying (although we've all said it) that violence or the quiet acceptence of violence or the "lukeward condemnation" of violence or even the "gee, I understand why they're violent" kind of thinking is 100% bogus. In fact the sad state of human rights in much of the Islamic world is so distressing that I think we have an obligation to do our best to EXPORT freedom and human liberty wherever we can rather than passively accept the "East is East, etc." idea. All I'm saying is that, to this end, we should do our best to show the Islamic world a more enobling face than Madonna, Donald Trump, and Viagra ads.
Well, I agree with that.
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