By Cyril Anderson

 A topic of heated discussion in the Islamic world of late has been the issue of the influence of Western civilization and thought on Islamic civilization.  There has been great resistance, at different times, including this time, within the Muslim community to the influence of outside cultures.  They prefer to keep the Islamic culture pure, and even work to rid Islamic civilization of existing Western influence.  But such an insular perspective does not show an awareness of the history of Islamic civilization.  The beneficial influence of outside cultures and ways of thought have played an important role in the development and elaboration of Islamic thought.  One major influence was the Greek philosophy of Plato, Aristotle, and others, which served as a philosophic and metaphysical basis for the systematic elaboration of Islamic theology.  Kalam and falsafiyah were important movements stimulated by Greek thought, and Muslim philosophers such as Al-Farabi, Ibn Sinna, Ibn Rushd, and others also built on Greek philosophy.  Later, there was the beneficial influence of Persian culture and mysticism, with influences on figures such as al-Ghazzali, Mulla Sadra, and others.

Islamic culture has thrived exactly when it has been open to contact and dialogue with other cultures.  The Bayt ul Hikmah of the Abassid caliphate brought in the best of Indian, Persian, Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese thought, to be translated, studied, and built upon in the light of Islamic thought.  In his contacts with Abassid caliph Haroun ar-Rashid, European Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne had contact with the intellectual climate of medieval Baghdad, the influence of which stimulated the cultural achievements around Charlemagne, known as the Carolingian Renaissance.  Similarly, centuries later, Umayyad Spain was also a hotbed of intellectual activity whose influence trickled into the infant universities of Continental Europe, stoking an intellectual fire that later blazed to become the Renaissance.   Their libraries of translations of classic Greek texts and Arab commentaries provided part of the spark that started the Renaissance, and at one time in the late middle ages, it was considered in Europe that knowledge of Arabic was almost as essential as Latin to function as a high level scholar at the frontier of knowledge.  The openness of these European scholars allowed them to absorb the great heritage of much of the best of Islamic civilization, and to benefit from the experience.

 Sincere contact between Islamic civilization and Western civilization was damaged by the poisonous atmosphere spawned first by the European-led Crusades, and later by the aggressive moves of the Ottomans toward Europe.  These mutually aggressive moves produced a sort of siege mentality on both sides that discouraged real intellectual encounter and encouraged superficial and caricatured views of “The Other” intended to dehumanize “The Enemy” and rally the troops to defend themselves from the outside siege.

 There was increased contact with Western culture and society and thought as of 19^th – 20^th centuries with colonialism in Asia and the fall of the Ottomans.  Often, however, the influence of the parts of Western thought encountered has been a mixed bag.  Leading in influence has been late 19^th to 20^th century philosophy, including Marxist thought, existentialist thought, and the radical British empiricist philosophy and positivism.

 Increasingly there is contact between Islamic thought and Western heritage, at least amongst those educated in Western universities.  But even in Western universities, much of the best of Western thought and heritage is given short shrift these days, with even Westerners at the university level being denied access to what is arguably the best of their culture.  There are great gaps in the contact between the West and Islam, between the ancient Greek philosophers and the 19^th-20^th century philosophers.  Much in between has not had a proper chance to engage with the Islamic world.

 What kinds of benefits for example could the Islamic world have from St. Augustine, from Nicholas de Cusa, from the theological, political, and metaphysical writings of Leibniz, from the political philosophy embodied in the plays of Shakespeare, or Friedrich Schiller, from the writings of Reformist thinkers such as Sir Thomas More and Erasmus, or the political and economic writings of American founding fathers in the Federalist Papers and other documents?  Some Muslim intellectuals teaching in Western universities have shown a willingness to take inspiration from such thinkers, but how much the ideas of such thinkers have been allowed to have contact with the religious leaders in the Muslim world, and how much they are open to encounter with these thinkers is hard to say.  On the other hand, Western civilization has had limited access to the very best of Islamic heritage.

 There is potential for great and fruitful interchange of ideas.  It can perhaps be said that in the roughly 1400 of their mutual coexistence, that Western civilization and Islamic civilization have not yet truly met.  There have been halting efforts, but deep encounters have not taken place in a serious way.  For Islam to truly be well transplanted to the context of Western civilization in such a way that it will truly take root, grow, and flourish, then it is necessary that we, as Muslims who would like to help in this process to understand the soil in which this plant is to grow, and the roots on which we can best attempt to forge the graft.  Otherwise success will be much less likely.

 And the benefit of this interchange does not go only one way; each influences the other in this contact between cultures.  It is like dropping two different colors of dye in a cup; the two colors intermingle and mix.  Islamic thought can be renewed by being seen anew through the light of other perspectives, and the Western culture can itself influenced through the influence of Islam.  Western thought has something to say to Muslims, and Islamic thought has much to contribute to great moral and ethical debates in the Western world here in the 21^st century.  Islamic principles, adapted appropriately to fit with the details of the culture here, could provide solutions, or the path to solutions to pressing crises in Western civilization such as the quest for a better balance of sexuality and of men and women in society, the problems of poverty and distribution of wealth, of crime, the plague of existential angst, nihilism, and hopelessness, the balance and harmony between science and religion, the role and place of religion in everyday life, the question of what is the most effective social structure, the question of how to reconcile moral and ethical values with the rapid appearance of new technologies in medicine  and other issues.  Islam as expounded by its best thinkers can offer a valuable addition to the discussion.

 Thinkers like Ali Shariati, Dr. Abdulkarim Soroush, Allamah Muhammad Iqbal, Ayatullah Murtada Mutahhari, Ayatullah Muhammad Baqr as-Sadr, and others have much to offer Western culture.  God willing, the interchange of perspectives and ideas can begin in earnest when home grown ulema from the Western world, educated highly in both the best of Western civilization and the best of Islamic culture and thought, can bridge gaps and allow true dialogue between Islam and the West to take off.  There is a tremendous and pressing need for brave and capable souls, both men and women, to take up this challenge.

                                               External  Links

• Page including downloads of the texts of some of the greatest classics of Western heritage

• Official website of Dr. Ali Shariati

• Official website of Dr. Abdulkarim Soroush

• Site on the works of Allamah Muhammad Iqbal

• Works of Ayatullah Murtadha Mutahhari on Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project

• Works of Ayatullah Muhammad Baqir as-Sadr on Ahlul Bayt Digital Islamic Library Project