Eric's Blog

During the last century, Western or `Christian` culture has become very strong in the areas of education, economy and military. At the same time, Muslim culture has become weaker in these areas. Muslim countries depend on the West for science, industry, and education. The West is involved with Muslim countries because it needs oil. Muslim countries use the money from oil to buy what they need from the West. Even with the billions of oil dollars, most Muslims would be considered poor by Western standards. Some day the oil will be gone and many Muslim countries will have no industry and no oil to buy it. Many countries in Eastern Asia have built strong economies during the 20th Century. China, Japan and South Korea have strong economies, industry, and education systems. Except for Turkey and Pakistan, Muslim countries have been left behind. Who is to blame for this situation? Some blame the Mongol invasion of the 13th Century for hurting Muslim culture. Others blame the Ottoman Turks who ruled the Middle East for hundreds of years. Some blame the British who ruled the Middle East for much of the 20th Century. Today, America and Israel are blamed. Some people believe that the religion of Islam is the problem. But Islam has produced many advances in science, learning, culture, and human freedom. In Europe’s Middle Ages, Islam was much farther advanced than Christianity. So perhaps the question is not `What has Islam done to Muslims?` but rather `What have Muslims done to Islam?` There seem to be two groups within Islam who try to explain the problem. The fundamentalists say that Western culture has caused Muslims to turn away from the true practice of Islam. This turning away from Allah has caused Allah to turn away from Muslims. The modernist says that fundamentalist Islam has caused Muslims to reject new ways. Rejecting new ways has caused Islamic countries to fall behind. Iran is a good example of the fundamentalist view. Turkey is a good example of the modernist view. The problem with blaming others is that it does not fix the problem. The Taliban tried fundamentalism in Afghanistan and failed. Libya is beginning to work more closely with the West and it is too early to tell what will happen. Can Islam be true to itself in a modern world? The answer is different based on who is interpreting the Koran. Perhaps the solution is to let individual Muslims decide for themselves how to live their lives as faithful Muslims and modern world citizens. Keeping religion separate from politics has its strengths and weaknesses, but it seems to be the only way that many countries have found prosperity. This choice lies before the Muslim world.