http://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/05/why-muslim-cultures-lag-behind.html
Why Muslim cultures lag behind
Why Muslim cultures lag behind
by the Anti Jihadist
In the past fifty years, many countries have caught up with the rich and
developed Western World. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, with
virtually no natural resources, have created advanced, urbanized and
prosperous societies, complete with world-class technology that often exceed
that which is found in the West. India, Brazil and China, although not yet
fully developed, now all possess large and affluent middle classes that did
not exist just a few decades ago. There is no reason to believe why their
economic and social progress of all of these countries will not continue for
the foreseeable future.
The Muslim world, on the other hand, has struggled during this era of
unprecedented global wealth creation. These countries have profited almost
solely, by happy geological accident, from oil and gas extraction. Beyond
these activities, economic activity in Muslim countries remains scant, low
tech and strictly oriented towards local consumption. Despite trillions of
dollars in oil revenue over the past sixty years, Muslim progress in many
other areas, such as scientific research, social issues and education, lags
badly behind the rest of the world.
How could this be the case? The answer, which the major media dares not
touch, lies in the very culture of Muslim countries themselves. Consider the
following cultural traits which are all typically found in majority Muslim
countries:
Belief in magic. State-owned Malaysian newspapers and television stations
routinely run breathless stories about witch doctors ('bomoh'), evil spirits
and other forms of the supernatural. Visitors to Malaysia get a good laugh
out of such quaint cultural practices, until they realize with a shock that
Malaysian belief in such superstition is absolutely sincere. But it's not
just here in Malaysia where this happens. In Saudi Arabia, witchcraft is
considered very real and a capital offence. In Iran, laws are on the books
that make 'sorcery' a crime. And in Iraq, many of the locals are absolutely
convinced that American soldiers wear sunglasses that can see through
clothing and have bases protected by force fields. A culture that is eager
to embrace the supernatural takes a giant step away from rationality and
deceives itself fundamentally. Self-deception is always, sooner or later,
the path to failure.
Belief in conspiracies. Muslims take it as an Article of Faith that various
groups of so-called infidels or other outsiders are engaged in various
conspiracies to keep Muslims down, make Islam look bad, or are otherwise up
to No Good. The lack of evidence means little to a society where
'skepticism' is already an unusual and foreign concept. For instance, even
well-educated Muslims will tell you, with total earnestness, that the 9-11
terror attacks were actually perpetrated by Zionists, or the CIA, or the
U.S. Government, or some other nefarious group. Never mind the vast amount
of evidence to the contrary. When presented with rebuttals from non-Muslims,
Muslims will usually just shrug it off and carry on with their nonsensical
conspiracy theories.
Lack of innovation. Here in Malaysia, it is telling that the word in the
Malay language for innovation ("inovasi") did not exist until it came from
English, quite recently, as a loan word. Innovation, meaning to create
something without precedent, is a risky and therefore dangerous business in
the Islamic world. The reason for this is because Islam already has a word
for innovation, "bid'ah". In Islam, this word is essentially the same in
meaning as 'heresy', which is yet another capital crime under Islamic law.
Hence creativity and individuality are utterly stifled in a totalitarian
fashion, even in Muslim countries where Islamic law has not yet been fully
implemented. Improvisation is also discouraged for similar reasons. This is
a major reason why Islamic countries are usually characterized by a
near-total lack of scientific research and reluctance to embrace technology
in general.
Lack of devotion to non-family/non tribal/non-clan organizations. In most
Muslim societies, loyalty often runs no farther than one's tribe or sect.
People from the far-off central government, or those from the next valley
over for that matter, are foreigners to be met with suspicion or hostility.
Afghanistan is a perfect example of this sort of chaos. Even if these
differences are eventually papered over, so to speak, by the force and
coercion of a dictatorship, the lack of cohesion and distrust remain. Muslim
leaders usually come into and stay in power by exploiting this very
characteristic, by playing one tribe or group off another. Patriotism
amongst the general public is another foreign concept, taken for granted in
the West. Muslims may remain loyal to Islam in general, but more
importantly, to the tribe in particular.
Lack of empowerment of women. The future, no matter what form it may take,
is almost certainly going to involve more technology, not less. How well
equipped is a society for this future if half of its members are only (at
best) grudgingly given their rights? In many Islamic countries, women are
often illiterate and have no rights in essential critical life decisions,
such as those involving child-rearing, marriage or education. And why should
they? Various Quranic verses, age-old Islamic traditions, and core Islamic
teachings render women as nothing more than chattel and the property of
their male relatives-never the equal of men. And no one can 'reform' these
teachings to something more enlightened-see the penalty for "bid'ah" above.
Lack of personal responsibility. Muslim leaders often lie to or deceive
their own people, to subordinates, or to allies in order to advance their
own personal agendas. Remember that most Muslim countries are a patchwork of
tribes who barely tolerate one another in the best of times. Loyalty to
one's country as a whole is next to non-existent. So, the main objective of
these leaders, whether at the top, middle or bottom, is to steal as much as
they can, while they can, in order to enrich themselves and their families,
clans or tribes-'national interest' be damned. If you're one of the rare
incorruptible types, or are otherwise too stupid to steal when presented
with the opportunity, then more the fool you are. Other tribes or groups are
useful as scapegoats when the need arises or when blame must be deflected.
Lack of skilled labour. Rich, developed and successful countries like
Germany, Japan and others do not just spring into existence. It takes the
efforts of millions, skilled specialists toiling endlessly in dangerous
and/or monotonous drudgery for decades, to build and also maintain the
ever-growing complex web of systems that modern nations depend on to
function. But Muslim countries, even the ones with trillions from oil
revenue, have consistently failed to create large enough castes of technical
specialists that modern nations must have. As there are never enough people
willing or able to work within their own borders, Muslim nations are forced
to outsource their labour needs. In Saudi Arabia and most Arab states, for
instance, cleaners and maids come from India or the Philippines, while
engineers and others in the technical trades come from America, Europe and
increasingly east Asia. This trend is accelerating, paradoxically enough, at
a time when the governments of the burgeoning Arab world are having an
increasing problem just feeding their exploding populations.
Lack of meritocracy. The West has thrived not only because they have learned
to hold people responsible for their actions, but also they have learned to
give out rewards based on individual achievement. Hence higher-performing
individuals tend to be eventually in charge and reap the most rewards (in
prestige, rank, money, etc.). Westerners do not always manage to live up to
these ideals, but the concepts themselves are not questioned. In the Islamic
world, however, what counts is personal loyalty, personal connections, and
tribal/sect membership. Incompetent leaders are preferable to competent
ones, so long as they are properly loyal. Such a state of affairs makes for
incredible inefficiency on a normal day and catastrophic consequences when
any sort of crisis arises. Muslims are fond of saying "it's God's will" at
difficult times, which for Muslims seems like most of the time. Actually,
it's not so much "God's will" but more like the inevitable consequences of
their dysfunctional culture.
If you've read up to this point, no doubt that you could add a few more
things to this list. But remember, political correctness dictates that all
cultures are somehow 'equal', and Muslims are convinced their cultures are
somehow superior; never mind the reams of evidence to the contrary. So while
I want to be optimistic, the smart money is not riding on the would-be
reformers of the under-performing societies of the Muslim world. At least
not yet.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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