Section 1
Overcoming the Moral and Societal Crisis
Muslims have something important to contribute to the future of the West through helping it to overcome the moral and societal crises in which the
Western world finds itself.
The West will either learn from Islam to honor
again some of the most basic values only recently forgotten there, or that
it will collapse in turmoil. You can live against the divine order of things
some of the time, but not all of the time.
Murad Wilfried Hofmann, a German ambassador who embraced Islam, highlights
twelve potential contributions that Islam can offer, not for the greening
but for the healing of the West:
12 Contributions That Islam Can Offer the West
1. Combating Racism
The West is suffering from racial prejudice almost everywhere. Islam has
not managed to eliminate that vice entirely. But there is no other religion
which has done as well in combating racism. Islam is a color-blind religion
if there ever was one.
2. Muslim Social Relations Warmer
The West, in spite of the Christian commandment of "loving one's neighbor
like oneself," definitively suffers from a cooling of social relations. Some
people do not even have contact with their neighbors. The Muslim Ummah, also
in the West, demonstrates the very warmth, friendliness and readiness to
help that Western kids miss so much.
3. Islamic Freedom
Young Western people hate hierarchies in every field, including their job,
their church, and their family. Islam is pluralistic and does not even have
sacraments which a clergy might administer; no Pope in Islam. Without any
possibility for intercession, directly facing Allah on his prayer rug, a
Muslim is the most emancipated believer one can imagine; and emancipation
is "in" [i.e. is fashionable]!
4. The Rationality of Islam
The West cherishes rationality. It is indeed the irrationality of Church
dogmas like Original Sin, Trinity, and Divine Incarnation which set Islam
apart as the most rational of all religions. Is it not the only one whose
Holy Book constantly urges people to think, observe, and reflect?
5. Muslim Sobriety
Muslims are structurally sober people, always ready to appear before their
Lord or, if the need arose, to drive drunken people home after a party. In
view of the degree of addiction in the West - from crack to TV - Muslims are
the only hope for drug infested city quarters, be it in L.A. or in Johannesburg.
6. The Muslim Defence Of The Family
No society and no state can survive for long the breakdown of the family.
If the family disintegrates, society will disintegrate. In a region where
only homosexuals seem to fight for the survival of marriage as an institution
(for themselves, that is) the Muslim defence of the family becomes essential.
7. Female dignity
Western women seek to defend their dignity. In their process of emancipation,
through competing with men and copying them, they may have gained job openings
and economic independence, but they did not manage to protect their dignity.
Women in the West remain sex objects as much as ever, as every beauty contest
will demonstrate. Against that background, Muslim women demonstrate how to
protect their female dignity effectively.
8. Linking Up With God Is More Effective
Western people are constantly "stressed" and in need of psychiatric help.
Every American has his "shrink," and emotional intelligence is underrated.
Esotericism, the Japanese tea ceremony or T. M. [Transcendental Meditation] do not do the trick. Prayer,
a Muslim's regular linking up with God, is much more effective in healing
modern man's feeling of being alone and abandoned.
9. Capital For Profit-And-Loss Sharing
As Western societies are ageing, most capital now being held by widows,
the saturated capitalist system is in danger of losing its vitality. Security
is valued highest, and there is insurance against every possible risk, including
the risk of being blessed with a child. Islam helps to protect and maintain
the entrepreneurial spirit by insisting that capital be used not for fixed
returns but in a profit-and-loss sharing modality.
10. Economic Policy With Man/ Woman At The Center
At the same time, Islam can reacquaint the West with its obscured aim of
putting the interest of man into the center of economic policy, demanding
that social justice and human dignity will really be given preference over
other economic targets.
11. Eating And Fasting
Western people are becoming more and more conscious of the risks involved
in eating the wrong kind of food. They may discover that the Muslims have
been right all along in refusing the unhealthy meat of pigs. In their growing
concern for health, based on the control of weight and dietary discipline,
Western people might discover Islam's pillar of Ramadan, as a very modern
thing indeed.
12.
…
These are 12 individual contributions which Muslims can make towards the
healing of Western society. Each one may not have much impact; but in their
totality, to adopt these Muslims attitudes would amount to a social and moral
revolution.
One may argue that some of these qualities or methods are not exclusively
Muslim but also Christian. This is true. However, the de-Christianization
of Europe - not of the United States [but to an increasing degree, reg. 2021] - has reached a point where this religion
no longer has a chance of bringing about the moral revolution necessary for
saving the West from itself. Nor can any artificial "religion" like modern
Shamanism do the trick. Only a partial Islamization of the West could turn
the driving wheel sufficiently, steering the West away from its present course
towards decline and fall.
Source: Islam in the West by Murad Wilfried Hofmann
Section 2
Quotations from the article in WRMEA by M.M. Ali
Personality: Murad Wilfried Hofmann – 1996 October - WRMEA
Rationality
Children of modernity, he says, believe that rationality will remain firmly ensconced [i.e. settled] in the human mind. But, if we look at what has happened since the 18th century, we find the most savage wars, nuclear bombs, the European Holocaust, ethnic cleansing, etc. All this seems to fly in the face of rational progress. He goes on to assert:
"Against this background, Islam comes as an antidote to put things on the right track.” Islam presents alternatives in other directions as well. It provides counter models for several of the social ills in which the West, in particular, is caught up.
The Crusades
"In my opinion, what was started during the Crusades still continues,” Hoffman observes. "The economic globalization effort by the West has suddenly found that its frontier ends where Islam begins.”
Muslims Belong to Europe
It needs to be understood that the Muslims who have crossed geographic boundaries across the continents are here to stay. A Muslim neighbor, a mosque and a community center today are very much a part of the habitat, along with the Christian neighbor and the Church. They can and will co-exist.”
Islam Tolerates Other Religions
"It must be remembered,” Hofmann cautions, "that
Islam not only tolerates other religions but also recognizes and respects prophets like Jesus and Moses. It was Christianity, until recently, that did not acknowledge any other religion. Howsoever belated, there is a change today. The Pope now sends greetings to Muslims all over the world on Eid al-Adha and Eid al-Fitr. This is a positive sign and is a clear indication of accommodation.”
Protect the Children
Touching upon the permissiveness and symptoms of moral decadence of the West, Dr. Hofmann said that the Muslims coming over from Eastern societies, primarily for economic reasons, are subjecting their children to serious risks. The "corrupt but powerful” print and electronic media, particularly television, have literally invaded every home. Muslims will be exercised for a long time trying to protect their children from drugs, violence and pre- and extramarital sex.
Building Strong Family Values
"The best way to safeguard children is not by totally isolating them from external influences, but by building strong family values built on the principles of Islam,” Dr. Hofmann opines. "People should not confuse spiritual life with cultural life.
The Addiction of Materialism and Pleasure
”Materialism is a very powerful addiction. Pleasure is always more enticing than abstinence. Even many of the Muslim countries today are confronted by this encroachment by the material forces. It is a challenge that can be met. The same technology that is making the invasion can be used for the conveying of positive messages. Muslims need to increasingly get into high-tech for their own use and benefit.
A New Generation
”The first generation migrants live with split loyalties and for natural reasons will suffer from nostalgia. Young men and women of the second generation growing up in the new country of their adoption find themselves unacceptable or misfits in both countries. It is the third generation that will be at home in the country of their adoption,” Hofmann says. "This has been a universal phenomenon and is understandable. There are no winners or losers in this game. Yes, there will be frustrations and some may come out euphoric, depending upon personal circumstances.”
Islam - A Universal Religion
Hofmann cautions that Islam does not adhere to geopolitical boundaries. It is a universal religion that is for all peoples for all times. "I perhaps can safely assert that prospects for the further expansion of Islam in the 21st century are brighter than they have been ever before,” he says.
The retired diplomat and Muslim convert, a hypnotic speaker, also is a prolific writer. Among the books he has written are:
- The Diary of a German Muslim;
- Islam: the Alternative;
- Islam 2000; and
- Voyage to Mecca.
He is a regular contributor to such journals as Islamic Studies, Islamabad; Muslim World Book Review, Leicester, U.K.; The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, Virginia; Encounters, Leicester, U.K.; and, Al Islam, Munich. He has been a featured speaker at several major international conferences in recent years. This interview was conducted in the United States, which he was visiting to present two major papers before audiences of several thousand people at the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) in Columbus, Ohio.
