4. Western Education & the Muslim Imitation of it

The book “Islam at Crossroads” by Muhammad Asad deals with the fall of the Muslim world. It laments the imitation of the West which is in its spirit (materialistic) diametrically opposite to the Islamic spirit (spiritual and harmony between subtle and mundane). It argues that the imitation of the West can only be at the cost of Islam, the two being incompatible. It discusses the attitude the Muslims must adopt towards the West. It further argues that the practical aspect of the spirit of Islam lies in the Sunnah of the Prophet, which has been shunned for the visible impossibility of implementing its seemingly trivial aspects in life, the weakening of these foundations has weakened the cultural structure. It argues that adherence to Sunnah and the conscious acknowledgment of that exercise will bring the Ummah out of its lethargy.

The Book can be divided into the following parts:

1. Islamic Foundations are Moral in Nature [Click to Open]
2. The Spirit of the West is Practical Utility and Dynamic Expansion alone [Click to Open]
3. Historical Experiences [Click to Open]
4. Western Education and its Imitation [Click to Open]
5. Westernization is the reason for the onslaught on Hadith and Sunnah [Click to Open]
6. Sunnah and its Spirit [Click to Open]
7. Conclusion [Click to Open]

After discussing the spiritual incompatibility between Islam and the West, Asad moves on to draw from Historical experiences which he argues are deeply tinged by a strange animosity against Islam. Having done that he discusses Western Education and what it means for the Muslims to imitate it.

1. Imitating West destroys self-confidence and supports Western assertion that Islam is a “spent force”.
   1. Superiority of one culture or civilization over another does not consist in the possession of a greater amount of material knowledge but in its ethical energy, in its greater possibility to explain and to co-ordinate all aspects of human life.
2. The West:
   1. Western Education System is a product of the Western Civilization and the Civilization values inimical to Islam, the Western Education System invariably contains anti-Islamic influences.
      1. Muslims must not see with Western eyes, think in Western thoughts: they must not wish, if they desire to remain Muslim, to exchange the spiritual civilization of Islam for the material experiments of the West.
   2. The atmosphere:
      1. Intellectual atmosphere of West is intensely anti-religious, educated through it the Muslim youth would be corrupted for “Insight” is communicated to man by his cultural surroundings.
      2. The Alternative between religious belief and unbelief is decided by the atmosphere in which they are brought up.
      3. Science, is not materialist or spiritual, our interpretation of it would be depending upon the spirit.
3. Learning is important:
   1. Power of articulated thinking enables humans to be God’s vicegerent (khalifa) on earth.
   2. “The superiority of the learned man over a mere worshiper is like the superiority of the moon on a night when it is full over all other stars.” [Hadith]
   3. Knowledge itself is not eastern or western but the conclusions drawn from facts and observations are influenced by temperamental attitude towards life and problems.
4. What the Muslims need to do:
   1. Will take long to bridge the gap, till then only accept their matter and method, nothing else.
   2. Do not concede to their Philosophy.
   3. Teach their natural sciences and mathematics, while their Philosophy, Literature and History should lose their primacy.
      • Their History is to prove the superiority of Western Races (Roman versus Barbarians).
      • World History for them is enlarged history of the West.
      • Development is how much you have tread the path the West has followed.
      • Through such educations Muslims are systematically trained to disdain their own future.
   4. Where should the Muslim look for inspiration?
      • No civilization can prosper, or even exist, after having lost pride and connection with its own past.
      • Free yourself from the spirit of apology for your religion.
      • Feel proud that you are different, endeavor to preserve this difference as a precious quality.
5. Imitation:
   1. Outward Imitation leads to inner assimilation. [This point is also linked to Sunnah]
      • Different ways of living have different spiritual consequences.
      • Civilizations are not empty forms but living energies, the moment we accept the form we mould slowly and imperceptibly our mental attitude.
      • Dress for example is outcome of an age long development of a people’s taste in a particular direction.
      • It is impossible to imitate a foreign civilization in its intellectual and aesthetic design without appreciating its spirit. So our imitation of its form is acceptance of its spirit which is material and is opposite to our spirit.
   2. Why do certain Muslims Imitate?
      • Founding fiqah wanting in many aspects, the “ulema” lost all practical interest in Shariah and relegated it to the realm of history.
      • Feeling of inferiority seeing the sad misery of the Muslim world, they begin to believe that there is no way but the Western way.
   3. Who should the Muslims imitate?
      • Islam isn’t just belief of heart, it is a defined programme of individual and social life.
      • Sunnah
6. Muslim is at the crossroads.
   • He can stand where he is; that would mean death by starvation.
   • He can choose the sign “Towards Western Civilization”; that would be good-bye to who he is forever.
   • Or he can choose the sign “Towards the Reality of Islam”.

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