Ignorance and Islamophobia in Eastern and Western Societies
by Didem Ürer
Lack of education, lack of culture and the ignorance that results from these have today become a problem threatening all societies in the world. On the one hand are some Islamic countries, almost two-thirds of whose populations are illiterate, and on the other is Western society which, despite looking modern and civilized, is furnished with entirely distorted and baseless information on a number of critical issues and which is unaware of exceedingly important facts.
Although ignorance is a concept the some seek to equate with the people of the under-developed Third World, Middle Eastern and Islamic countries, on closer inspection it is seen that it is also a disease very widespread in Western societies.
That is because possessing knowledge does not just mean being able to read and write, graduate from specific educational institutions or specialize in various fields. The lack of accurate information that allows one to understand one’s own life, the purpose behind one’s existence, the events going on around one and the wisdom behind them, and moreover to be filled with incorrect and distorted hearsay on the most vital issues, is in fact the most advanced form of ignorance.
One of the most striking instances of this conception of ignorance is Darwinism, which has become a settled belief in Western societies.
Darwinism and the materialist thought based on it have deprived Western societies of such vital truths as the existence of Allah and creation for more than a century.
Although thinking that Darwinism and materialism are scientific facts and holding a blind faith in these fabrications is today portrayed as being intellectual, it is in fact an example of ignorance.
Such people are unaware that hundreds of millions of fossils in our possession show that life forms on Earth have remained unchanged since they first appeared on Earth and that no such hypothetical process as evolution ever happened. (For detailed information seehttp://haber.rotahaber.com/Evrim_sihirbazligi_371784.html)
Yet the entire education system, the conception of science and the world view of the Western world, portrayed as the cradle of the civilization today, is actually based on the scientific-seeming fraud that is Darwinism, or in other words, blind ignorance.
The Great Ignorance that Shapes Western Societies: ‘Islamophobia’
As with the case of Darwinism, severe ignorance concerning Islam is also widespread in Western societies. Some Western communities, brainwashed by hearsay, nonsense and groundless prejudice, perceive Islam, a religion of peace, love, union and brotherhood, as entirely the opposite, a source of terror and savagery, a bloodthirsty religion of fear (Allah is beyond that). That terrible ignorance prevails from the man on the street to people at the highest levels of state. It is this ignorance and misconception that underlie the decisions made and the policies of state adopted against Islamic countries and Muslims. These decisions and policies are also supported by the vast masses of people.
On the basis of the anti-Muslim propaganda spread by certain circles every day and the perverse model and various negative examples put forward in the name of the religion, some Western people have developed a prejudice on the subject of Islam: Yet the most important mistake these people have made is that they have not read the Qur’an, the only reference point by which they can come to know the true Islam.
The real source of Islamophobia is a fundamentalist conception of the faith based on ignorance
There can be no doubt that the true Islam based on the Qur’an cannot be the source of Islamophobia. However, that cannot be said of the non-Qur’anic model exhibited in many Islamic countries and the life style of people who implement that model under the name of Islam. Extremism based on blind ignorance, bigotry and a distorted conception of faith shaped by tradition and superstition prevails in these countries. The result is a society and model that leads the way to all forms of violence and ferocity, that turns its back on art, science, beauty, modernity and civilization and that treats women as second-class citizens. The greater part of Muslim communities adopts this concept of religion - passed down from father to son and imposed by the state - as if it were Islam. The fact is, however, that all Muslims need to learn the essence and original form of their religion, by reading the Qur’an, its true source. That will be instrumental in all Muslims immediately being freed from ignorance.
Western society that sees this conception of religion put forward under the name of Islam, and one that is a complete violation of the Qur’an then develop an unquestioning reflex and defense mechanism against that picture: Islamophobia.
As we have seen, both sides are equally to blame for the emergence of Islamophobia, which means nothing less than bloodshed, violence, destruction, pain and tears that have persisted for decades. There would seem to be no imminent end in sight to this pain, fear, suffering and doubt so long as both Muslims and Western society insist on not learning about the Qur’an, the essence of Islam, and on maintaining their ignorance on the subject.
The terrifying dimensions of the ignorance in some Islamic countries
Statistics on the subject are exceedingly important in revealing the extent of the ignorance in some Islamic countries:
Levels of illiteracy:
Afghanistan >> Women: 97.6% Men: 77.3%
Yemen >> Women: 91.8% Men: 57.4%
Pakistan >> Women: 89.2% Men: % 68.3
Bangladesh >> Women: % 86.6 Men: 62.5%
Morocco >> Women: 79.7% Men: 52.9%
...
This shameful list goes on to include other Islamic countries. We are not dealing with an ordinary lack of education and culture here, but a terrible ignorance including the inability to even read or write. The levels of women here are particularly striking. This basic ignorance of course shapes the level of societies’ general culture. For example, the number of books published in one year in the entire Islamic world is only half that of the books published in Greece alone.
Turkey’s privileges and leading position
Turkey is the sole exception to this dark picture encapsulating the Islamic world. Turkey is a country that lives by the essence of Islam in a manner purged of bigotry and fundamentalism, in the light of the revolutions of Ataturk, democracy and secularism. It is a country that has swiftly adapted the moral values of the Qur’an to its social life and cultural values.
In terms of industrial and commercial development, economic growth and modernization, it is many times ahead of other Islamic countries and among the leading states of the world. Since Turkey successfully institutionalizes the ways in which it has grown and its good and superior features, it enjoys a powerful state structure, character and heritage by no means indexed to powerful names and leaders. The number of books published in Turkey is some five times higher than the number published in all Arab countries, revealing a crushing superiority in cultural terms.
All these concrete facts once again reveal that Turkey plays a pioneering role in the Islamic world. It is clear that when considered one by one, no Islamic country could possibly assume that role. Wealth and natural resources by themselves are not enough for this task.
If we look at Saudi Arabia, the richest Islamic country, we see that apart from oil, it has no art, science, civilization, culture, administration or organization to offer the Islamic world. A large segment of the country gives the impression that it is equated with bigotry, fanaticism and ignorance, not to mention quite far removed from democracy; a puppet state whose strings are always pulled by the West and that, rather than spending the riches bestowed on it by Allah on Muslims, transfers them to the coffers of the colonialist powers of the West.
Investment in peace and education, rather than war, will also benefit the West
Of course, millions of people who are not even literate will only know hearsay; they simply have no means of confirming the accuracy or inaccuracy of what they are told. It is therefore very important for all our Muslim brothers to be able to receive a good education and to know the Qur’an very well. Otherwise, it is clear what a mistake it is to ascribe the nonsense propagated in the name of Islam to the Qur’an and Islam.
If the money spent on fighting radicalism and terror in the scope of Islamophobia were to be spent on education, the bloodshed would cease and the whole world would consist of more civilized, enlightened and cultured societies. For example, the $60 billion spent by Pakistan against domestic and external terror would by itself be enough to lift the darkness of ignorance from the world.
If the West initiated an educational mobilization aimed at both itself and at Muslim countries so they could learn about the real Islam, instead of trying to eliminate Islam and the Islamic world, which it regards as a threat to itself, that would benefit Muslims and all mankind, insha’Allah. In that way, Islam as described in the Qur’an would clearly be revealed as a religion of love, peace, well-being, freedom and happiness, contrary to what is popularly imagined. Muslims able to read and write would learn their religion from the Qur’an and be freed from radicalism and nonsense. They would begin to behave in accordance with the Qur’an, and the West would learn the truth about Islam from the Qur’an. In consequence, Islamophobia would be wiped from the face of the Earth, and a framework of happiness and beauty bringing the world to the threshold of the Golden Age would be established, by Allah's leave.
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