Woman Between Islam and Western Society
4. The Problems Facing Modern Civilization
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4. THE PROBLEMS FACING MODERN
CIVILIZATION
PERVERSION IN MUSLIM SOCIETY AND
WESTERN CIVILIZATION
A contemporary commentator once observed that
of perversion has set in in western society, so also
has it taken root in Muslim society. Then how do
you regard western civilization as being wrong and
Islamic civilization as being right? This objection, if
we examine it, will be found to be ill-judged,
because our comparison of western and Islamic
civilizations makes a judgement on the basis of
standards versus behavior. The rot of Muslim
society is the result of deviation from Islam, while
the rot of western society is the result of putting
into practice the very principles in which it believes.
The evils of Muslim societies stem from the gap
between principle and practice, whereas the evils of
western society are the result of a clash between
principles and realities. Western civilization of
modern times has formed principles, independent
of religious principles, to govern social life, and has
