Globalization & Muslim Nations

Resistance to globalization is not at all uncommon in the modern context, and Muslim states have emphatically expressed concerns over the prospect of integration with Western culture.

And surely, these concerns are not unfounded. Globalization ultimately means the spread of free-market capitalism to nations all over the world. The international market, dominated by American business and technology, bears a typically Western style, and globalization in these early years has been little more than Americanization on a global scale. For Muslim states, this means that Western ideas concerning democracy, human rights, women's rights, secularism, and technology may be expected to inundate local populations- a cultural colonization that is, in many cases, unwelcome.

Essentially, the new globalization signifies a clashing of ideologies; on the one hand, the free-market Western capitalist model utilizes economics as the governing principle which ultimately binds together all people. On the other hand, Muslim states cling to an Islamic doctrine which does not provide for a separation of religion and politics. Each philosophy of leadership commits to a force that is all-encompassing. Within the Western construct, the "invisible hand" of the free-market can only do it's duty when economies are open: it is an ideally flexible system, compatible with the dictates of business. Within the Muslim construct, some feel the Islamic state can only fulfill its obligation to Allah if at

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questions reveal connections between the West and Islam which challenge each side to make some adaptations. And similarities between the two ideologies are not so rare as might be expected. Ali A. Mazrui writes about the major challenges which face Muslim nations as they grapple to come to terms with the post-modernist, globalalizing world. In his piece, "Islam and Western Values," Mazrui highlights the similarities between Islam and the West, and hints that perhaps our joint quest for a modern world order may not need to be an adversarial one. On the contrary, Western and Islamic values may not be so incompatible after all. Islam, contends Mazrui, "is a civilizationaanimated by a common spirit more humane than most Westerners realize." Ultimately, Islamic societies may be only a few decades behind the more socially and technologically advanced Western ones. Muslim societies are often maligned for their mistreatment of women. Mazrui himself agrees that "Islamic rules on sexual modesty have often resulted in excessive segregation of the sexes in public places, sometimes bringing about the marginalization of women in public affairsa". Indeed, Muslim history is rife with examples of arranged marriages, polygamy, and ext

Category: Foreign - G