Western Civilization

ion1-Western civilization : Contemporary Western civilization is based on deep-rooted intellectual foundations that date back as far as ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Five characteristics of Western thought were brilliantly outlined by Dr. Yussuf Al Qaradawi as follows: (Youssef Al-Qaradawi, Islam, the Civilization of the Future, p. 15, Wahba Library, Cairo, 1995.) 1- The flawed knowledge of the divinity : Western perception underlying Western civilization does not have a neat, clear-cut vision of God living up to His true dimensions. It is rather a hazy and blurred vision. 2- The materialistic propensity which believes in the primacy of matter as a basis for understanding the universe,knowledge and behaviors, denying at the same time the metaphysical and spiritual dimension. 3- The secular tendency, which is the upshot and the corollary of the two preceding characteristics. It is a tendency which separates religion from social life. 4- Conflict: It is a civilization pervaded by conflict, a civilization which does not believe in peace, quietude or love. It is marked by conflict between man and himself, between man and his fellows and finally between man and his Creator. 5- Feeling of superiority: It is a drive which is deeply ingrained in the mind of all Westerners. They consider themselves to be superior to others and believe that Western civilization is synonymous to Human Civilization. They recognize no other civilization . These are the salient features of Western civilization both in ancient and modern times. The positive aspects of Western civilization : To be fair in our analysis, we should admit that Western civilization has positive aspects benefitting humanity. It offers a lot of advantages and, above all, shares many positive sides with the Islamic civilization. Western civilization was able, thanks to the progress of mathematics, natural science and their technological applications, to provide man with unprecedented and ndreamt of capabilities and