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Holy War on Islam

Submitted by Marjana on Sun, 28/08/2011 - 22:59
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In the West Islam is considered to be Religion of Sword, which calls the believers to spread their faith by war (jihad). Islamic laws seem as a complete antithesis to the modern Western values. These laws and especially the eagerness with which Muslims follow them seem to be a real threat to destroy existing lifestyle.

However such attitude became usual not only to Muslims but also to other religions including Christianity. But even having forgotten some Christian values and consciously denying some others or trying to frame them up to their new values they continue associating themselves with Christians. That’s why when we start talking to western people about Islam they, as a rule, starts making parallels with Christianity at first. Islam in the mind of people is still an opposition to Christianity, not to the modern western lifestyle. Christianity still stays a strong value which stands in the one line with democracy and freedom. Social opinion treats Islam as an enemy which threats to destroy the lifestyle of the godlies and impose on them their ideology and medieval laws.

What is so terrifying in the Islamic ideology? What is the reason of rejection of Islam by the West? Of course many of existing prejudices are hidden in the historical context. Christian Europe never could be tolerant to other religions, especially to Judaism and Islam. They always wanted to clean their lands of infidels, while Christians themselves felt free in the Islamic world. Crusades and colonialism policy was a privilege of Christian Europe who was trying to impose their law on every place they had conquered.

Beloved by Muslims Prophet Muhammad appeared as a tyrant, libertine, murderer, so to say a personification of Antichrist. His ideology was treated as heresy and his companions were considered to be heretics, those who violate the true faith of Christ. It is not a secret what attitude to heresy was in the Medieval Europe. Unfortunately such attitude to Islam found its reflection in European literature and culture and this image o Prophet Muhammad took roots in the mentality of the Western society. In their imagination Islamic World of that time seemed to be anarchical, tyrannical and oppressive (by the way today nothing has changed). Obviously this image is still alive in the mentality of Western civilization.

Today democracy took place of Christianity. Though we observe the same picture. The Western variant of democracy is considered to be the only one right ideology in the West: only their laws give guaranty for people to live in a free society and enjoy any possible civil rights and freedoms without any prejudices. And as far as they have such an ideal system they suppose that it is their right to spread it and impose it on all over the world. It seems to be an ideal excuse to take responsibility to intrude into other’s political and economic affairs in order to get profit.

In a big sense “Democratization” took place of Christianization, and the fruits of “modern crusades” we can observe in wars and revolutions of the last century.

However Muslims are those who are considered to be intolerant and hostile. It seems that there is not a single place on earth where Muslims don’t have problems with tolerance.

For Muslims following Islamic tradition is an essential part of life, it is a guarantee of spiritual wholeness. For example, hijab for a Muslim woman is a part of her soul and to make her remove it means to make her refuse of her soul. For western society hijab is a piece of clothes for mentally ill people who wish to underline their cultural identity. For them it is difficult to understand why Muslims fights for their medieval values instead of cooperation with them and building a democratic society according to their model. It seems odd for them when they see that Muslims are ready to fight for their identity till death.

Islamic democracy looks like a complete heresy for a western mind. However it is not a surprise that for the western civilization everything what is different from its own models seems heresy and humiliation of human rights. That’s why the debate between Islamic and western world seems endless. The West is not going to accept Islamic identity and Muslims are going to fight for their values till there stays only one Muslims on Earth.