Go West, Young Muslim!

We inhabit a  world  which is defined by what the eminent James Rosenau calls ‘fragmegration’ –the dialectical tension between the forces of integration and fragmentation-and one where the ‘clash of civilizations’ dynamic is allegedly panning out. Some assert that we live in a world where history has ended and by and large, mankind is, despite what can be called hiccups, marching towards progress. In this world, Muslims occupy an unenviable position: that of spoilers and losers. Muslims, in this schema, are on the side of the forces of disintegration.  Or, in other words, we, collectively, are on the wrong side of history, fighting battles that impede the world’s progress and redound negatively to us.

Be it any indicator or trend-globalization, mortality rates, economic growth, education, scientific progress-Muslims lag behind. The idiom we engage with the world or disengage from it is reactionary, regressive and harking back to centuries. The reasons for this are multifarious. However, what could be defined and averred as the most salient of these sets of reasons is our disengagement from the west and what a salubrious relationship with the west can potentially offer. The broad assertion will be denied vehemently by many Muslims and the counterargument made that our regression is explained by our collective abdication from the roots of Islam.

 The author’s insistence on the causes and roots of the Muslim malaise is premised upon what has been essentially missing from the modern Muslim consciousness: the sweet , bold and beautiful whiff of reason. The west or the nature of the west is premised upon reason and it stands as an epitome of reason. By making this broad assertion , faith is not meant to be decried and given up but instead  implied in engagement with the west is the synthesis of reason with faith. The question is how can this be arrived at?

The regimes that form and rule the Muslim world will deem this synthesis a threat to their very survival. They will then thwart and obstruct this. The systems-political, social , economic and cultural-in place in the Muslim world are so ossified and barren that these militate against Muslim efflorescence premised on a synthesis between faith and reason.  Real contact between the West and the Muslim world is elitist and the relationship is defined by reasons of state (narrowly defined) , the politics of oil and nowadays terrorism. The Muslim masses , in these scheme , are left out in the cold. In this environment, perceptions about the West are colored by negative stereotypes and false constructs- conditions not amenable to a fruitful, symbiotic learning process. So what can be done?

Globalization perhaps offers the redeeming solution. The mobility inherent in globalization entails may offer Muslims the opportunity of understanding and putting the west into perspective. Young Muslims should avail this opportunity and travel to the west and if possible get educated there. The critical method employed by the Western academy, the iconoclasm inherent in the west, the freedoms that the western edifice is built upon will rub onto Muslims and they can then integrate these into the corpus of their faith. An ancillary benefit would be disabusing themselves of the stereotypes prevalent in the Muslim world about the west, and disaggregating the west.

The west, if it is a geographical zone , is the Anglo Saxon west-the United States, Australia, Canada , New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It is this neo west that which is more tolerant, open and accepting and where Enlightenment and Renaissance principles are conformed to. The young Muslim is his/her travels across the west will learn of Europe’s regression, torpor , anomie and the hostility towards Islam and Muslims. And he/she will also learn and come to appreciate the beauty of the anglo saxon/ anglo phone west.

These travels across the neo west will be nothing short of self discovery and the discovery of the world. The young Muslim will then be the carrier of the finest traditions of the west and integrate them with the finest traditions and philosophies of Islam. Armed with reason and faith, he/she will then take on the forces of regression and torpor in the world of Islam and create and forge new conditions that will lead to progress and efflorescence.

The west is essentially a set of ideas about man, society, economics and government.  It is more than the sum of its parts and is not about hedonism. It is about freedom, liberty and choice. And, given the spread of the ideas of the west, these are successful and pragmatic ideas. The world of Islam needs these ideas to come out of the shell it is in. Integration, fusion and synthesis are the operative words here.

Our collective condition is bad, to say the least. There is no one to lead us out of our misery and torpor. It is then incumbent upon us to take the initiative and lead our societies out of despair, misery and deprivation. And it is only engagement with the west that can help and redeem us and render us on the side of the forces of integration and progress. It is about time that we internalize this and make the phrase,’ Go West, Young Muslim’, into a mantra. The time for this may be now.