The Incompatibility of Islam with Western Civilization

By Jacob Thomas

Lately, more reformist Arab intellectuals have been addressing the problems facing
Muslims who have settled in Western Europe. On Wednesday, 15 December, 2009,
an article appeared on the Al-Awan website with this title “Muslims in the West:
Lost within Modernity” ‫ تيه في الحداثة‬:‫المسلمون في الغرب‬

The Algerian author has written on other problems facing first and second generation
Muslims of Western Europe. In this particular article he stressed the inner struggle
that rages within the hearts and minds of these Muslims. He says they are “lost
within the modernity that is a distinguishing feature of Western civilization.” Here
are excerpts from his article, in which he claims that Islam and Western civilization
are incompatible. My comments follow.

“Modernity is radically incompatible with Islam. According to the Islamic worldview,

man’s life remains under the supervision of Allah; it is Allah who guarantees man’s
freedom, and guides him in his life journey. But according to modernity’s view, man
possesses an absolute value in the universe. He depends on his own reason, and by
using his critical faculty, he determines his own responsibilities.

“Does Islamic fiqh (jurisprudence) encourage the use of reason, and the freedom of
thought? Does the Islamic mind accept the basic foundations of modernity? For example,
in Islam, the ruler is not held responsible to the people; his responsibility is to Allah
alone. Muslims have no right to reject the Shariah. To date, not one Arab ruler has ever
dared to rethink or amend the Shariah’s requirements. It is quite evident that Islam is not
compatible with democracy; the very word “democratos” (people’s rule) contradicts the
essence of Islam, where rule belongs exclusively to Allah.

“Thus Muslims would never be asked to cast a ballot that will change halal* to haram*,
and haram to halal! FIS (Front Islamic to Salut,) ** the now banned Algerian Islamist
organisation, used to portray such slogans as “An Islamic State, without Elections,” and
“Democracy is Kufr.” These slogans should not be considered simply as the opinions of
radicals, because they actually represent Islamic view of politics and governance.

“Recently, in Bordeaux, France, the Moroccan Consulate objected to the cremation of a

Frenchman of Moroccan origin, even though he specifically stipulated before his death
that he wished to be cremated. Due to the pressures of the Islamists and certain Islamic
governments, and in order to avoid serious trouble, the French authorities buckled and
gave in to the pressures. One should note that in Islam an individual’s wishes are subject
to the will of the community. It is the Umma that possesses the final authority in matters
of life and death. Manifesting the same Islamic outlook, the imam of the mosque in Lille,
in northern France, who heads the Islamic League in Northern France, declared recently:
“The concept of citizenship does not exist in Islam; the group, or the community is
very important. To recognize a community implies the recognition of the laws that
govern it.”

“Thus, as a Muslim finds himself wandering and lost in the lands of modernity, he tends
to isolate himself from his social environment. Within his inner life a raging civil war
goes on; in fact the clash of civilizations takes place between his faith and the modernity
that governs his surroundings, invading his very home! Immigrant Muslims don’t care
about what the laws of their countries say. Rather, they give heed to what the Shariah
demands. In democratic lands where the rule of law reigns, Muslims prefer to seek
guidance from Islamic fiqh. You would be overwhelmed and shocked to learn about the
multitude of fatwas that are issued daily in the Islamic world. As a Muslim seeks to
become a true believer, his behavior must conform to all the demands of the Shariah,
whether dealing with a minor or a major subject. Should a Muslim deviate from the
demands of his sacred law, or neglect its guidance, he would earn the wrath of Allah.
Such topics seem to haunt the Muslim: Is prayer lawful while flying and how could one
determine the Qiblah? *** May a woman use kohl on her eyes during Ramadan? May
men become doctors of gynecology? Is it haram or halal to frequent swimming pools
where men and women bathe?

“According to the London-based television channel “Hiwar,” Dar al-Fatwa in Egypt

issues daily, more than 1,000 fatwas in four different languages over the telephone; not
counting another 500 fatwas handed to believers who seek guidance by going to the
center. You can hardly believe the questions addressed to this television station coming
from Paris, London, Rome, Lausanne, etc. As for the mufti’s answers, they are
nauseating.

“Modernity offers a new approach for humanity. At its core it celebrates the values of
individual liberty, and independence. Thus, the contradiction between modernity and
Islam is not an unimportant matter; it is a necessary result of its internal logic. Islam and
modernity by definition are in conflict, because there is no way modernity can compete
with Sharia in the mind and daily existence of a true, but highly conflicted, Muslim.

For example, Britain was, for the Muslim immigrants from Britain’s former colonies,
their “Land of Promise.” Now that they have settled in the country, and become British
citizens, they are working hard at its Islamization. Recently, Shaheb Hassan, the official
speaker for the British Council of Britain, called on the English people to exchange their
age-long democratic political institutions for an Islamic regime! Addressing the British,
he said: “Simply apply the Shariah, and this country would become a peace garden:
amputate a thief’s hand, and no one would steal; stone the adulterer and no one would
commit adultery. British society would benefit greatly by adopting the Islamic
Shariah.”

Pressures on Western societies keep mounting to conform to Islamic laws. On 12

January, 2007, a German judge refused the request of a German lady of Moroccan
descent, who wished to divorce her husband because he was beating her. The judge based

2
her decision on the fact that the Qur’an allows husbands to beat their wives. Western
Europe is called upon to learn about Islam, and to deal with Muslims in the light of their
traditions. This was recently illustrated in Amsterdam where members of its police force
were all handed copies of the Qur’an to study in order to become more conversant with
the Islamic way of life! And in Rouen, France, the imam of its mosque was dismissed for
officiating at a mixed-marriage, and for delivering his sermon in French. His action was
denounced by the officials of the mosque as being heretical.

Muslims living in the West who wish to practice Islam in the way it was traditionally
practiced in their homelands necessarily find their problems increasing. Even in the
simple area of choosing an occupation or finding settled work of any kind, a Muslim
must be careful not to displease Allah. When looking for a restaurant, he must find one
that offers halal food so as to follow Islamic food rituals. The list goes on. In the final
analysis, a practicing Muslim has a very hard time accepting and becoming a part of the
Western world and its modernity. So whichever society of the West he and his family
have settled in, the conflict continues and grows deeper!

Analysis

The Algerian writer shows a deep interest in and seems to be very concerned about the
plight of Muslims in the West. It is obvious he would like to see them become
assimilated into the rule of law and basic freedoms that Western traditions hold
paramount. He conveys to a Western reader that Muslims live conflicted lives in the
cultures of freedom they inhabit. The teachings of their authority figures do not help
them assimilate but rather keep them in a conflicted state between freedom and Shariah
tyranny. The basic problem, he claims, is the incompatibility of traditional Islam with
Western civilization. A literal translation of the Arabic headline of his article reads,
“Muslims in the West: Lost within Modernity” ‫المسلمون في الغرب تيه في الحداثة‬

Comments

This article describes the plight of North African immigrants who have settled in France
and who find adjusting to life in their new homeland quite difficult. He lays the blame on
the strictures imposed upon them by the Islamic Shariah. Guidance they receive from the
imams at the mosques, or from other authority figures who issue fatwas has a strong hold
on them. The teaching of their religious leaders is meant to deal with and specifically
answer the many problems they encounter in their adoptive non-Islamic milieus. What it
appears to be doing, however, according to this author, is contributing to a sense of
lostness, and an inability to enjoy the peace of mind which they are taught is the reward
of obedience to Sharia law.

The author does not offer any solution for the perplexed Muslims of Western Europe. As
he put it in an article published in a French-language website:

“Un islam sans prosélytisme, sans charia, sans Etat islamique, ce n’est plus l’islam…
Ouvrez le Coran, vous serez bien servis !”

3
(An Islam that does not practice proselyting, without Shariah, without an Islamic State, is
no longer Islam. Just open the Qur’an, and see it for yourself.”)

Having offered a definition of “true” Islam, he deems his fellow-North Africans lost, and
wandering without much hope in a country that gave them many opportunities for
fulfillment, especially in the area of vocation. Yet this very environment, with both its
challenges and blessings has unsettled rather than pacified and pleased them. They still
hanker after the world of Daru’l Islam!

Halal* In harmony with Shariah, and thus an allowable act or behavior

Haram* Contrary to the Shariah, and thus a forbidden act or behavior

**FIS (Front Islamic to Salut,) ** the Islamic Salvation Front, a radical Algerian
organization that won the local elections in the early 1990s. That prompted the Military
Government to annul the elections, and prevent FIS from participating in the national
elections. Civil war resulted, with more than 200,000 Algerians losing their lives.

*** Qiblah points to the direction of Mecca, so that when Muslims are engaged in private
prayer, or the Friday prayers at the Mosque, they must face Mecca; a tradition that goes
back to Muhammad’s days in Medina.
http://www.alawan.org/%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-
%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8.html