Excerpts from Maryam Jameelah’s “Islam Versus the West”

“From my Jewish textbooks I learned that Abraham was the father of the Arabs as well as the Jews. In these same books I read how centuries later when in medieval Europe, Christian persecution made lives intolerable, the Jews were welcomed in Muslim Spain, and it was this same Arabic-Islamic civilization which stimulated Hebrew culture to reach its highest peak of achievement.” (Islam Versus The West, Page 5)

“Sayed Qutb points out that while the teaching of Christianity are confined to individual spiritual salvation and while Communism looks at human needs from a purely economic angle, Islam maintains that the soul cannot be seperated from the body and that spiritual needs cannot be seperated from material needs. This unity is the most striking characteristic of Islam; a unity which regards all creation as possessing a common origin and a common purpose; a unity which considers man an integral part of universe dependent upon and related to all other forms of life; and a unity which proclaims the interdependence, the solidarity and the oneness of the entire human race. It is this all-embracing comprehensive philosophy which marks the superiority of Islam over all other religions. Since Islam recognizes no division between theology and social practices, faith and worldly affairs, it cannot, insists SayedQutb, be compared with European Christianity.” (Islam Versus West; Page 60)

“It is not enough that students be taught to memorize what is already known. Regimented education can only result in the stagnation and decadent society which has been disastrous to the Muslim world for so many centuries. Higher education must above all encourage students to think – to think independently, critically and creatively within the framework of Islam. If such creative thinking – and I mean truly original and not an imitation of Western philosophy – even arises in Islamic universities, it will lead to another renaissance.” (Islam Versus The West; Page 63)

“Sayed Qutb writes,”Western Civilisation has become a danger to the continued existence of man. It breeds in human nature a ceaseless anxiety, a perpetual rivalry, a continuous strife, and a weakening of human ties to the breaking point.”

Today Islam is rarely attacked on religious grounds. It is instead regarded as a relic of medievalism. To merely drift with the tide and submit to Western secularism is, of course, the easy way-out and this is precisely what the governments of the Muslim countries are doing. Never was the prospect for the fulfilment of social justice in Islam as outlined in SayedQutb’s book, more remote than it is now.” (Islam Versus West; Page 64)

“In his “Secrets of the Self” Iqbal argues that only by the self affirmation, self-development and slef-expression of superior individuals can the Muslims once more become strong and free. All life is individual. God is the most unique individual. The greater a man’s distance from God, the less his individuality. He who comes nearest to God possesses the most complete personality.” (Islam Versus West; P 66)

“The source of individuality is the formation of ideals and tranlating them into vigorous action. Here Iqbal condemns passive religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism and decadent. Negation of desire is death to the living. Even as absence of heat extinguishes the flame.” (Islam Versus West; Page 66)

An individual has no meaning in isolation from society. It is only as a member of a community based firmly on the principles of Islam that the individual can achieve fulfilment of his potentialities. And it is only through association of superior individuals that society is preserved.” (Islam Versus West; Page 68)

“After the Prophet’s death the status of Muslim women rapidly declined when the veil, seclusion and the harem system took root. These customs were all imported from Persia and Byzantium and in the extreme forms they were practised, they had nothing to do with the Quran. Islam’s condemnation of the immodest dress and the unrestricted mingling of the sexes that is so characteristic of modern Western society is intended for the special benefit of the woman not the man as the West would have us to believe.” (Islam Versus West; P 77)

Liked it? Take a second to support us on Patreon!