Why blame Western Civilization for everything?
There is a tendency, especially in Muslim countries, nowadays to blame the West for everything from the backwardness of the Third World to the moral decay that is a sign of the postmodern condition. While there is some truth to this post-colonial thinking, one must also remember that we blame the West while using Western products that all ultimately go on towards benefiting the West alone. Such hypocrisy does not behoove us.
By repeating our glorious past where we had a brilliant culture we only set ourselves up for failure in the present conditions. The Islamic past should be a source of inspiration for even greater achievements in contemporary times. But we just beat the drum about our heritage without improving the dismal conditions we face in today’s world. If the Westerners succeeded it was because they learned from us and went ahead to build on that knowledge.
Muslims need to really look in the mirror and reform themselves. And the West too should see that Islam is not all about Al-Qaeda or the Taleban but that it is a living religion of diversity and peace.
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