Why is the Islamic World Like They Are?

Several psychiatrists talk about the norms and expectations of their world.

The locus of control is a psychological term that describes whether an individual feels his or her life controlled by outer or inner factors. From a psychological point of view, it is clear that Muslims mainly feel their lives influenced by outer factors and that Westerners look inwardly when trying to understand their life and reactions. Our Western view is that our own point of view, our own feelings, thoughts, choices etc. define to a high degree the way we experience the world and our lives. We also believe in free will and thus see the ability to take responsibility for our own actions as an expression of human maturity, while blaming others for our own disturbing feelings or negative behavior is seen as less mature.
Western therapy and pedagogics are all aimed at making people aware of how they create their own lives and thus empowering children, clients and people in general to solve their problems and take responsibility for their own happiness. Our kiosks, book stores and libraries are full of magazines and books describing how to look inside to find peace, get control of our thoughts and emotions, make the right choices, etc. The Muslim world has none of these things – and the little they have is imported from the West. This is because people in the Muslim culture are mainly told to follow outer guidelines set by their Allah, the laws and regulations expounded by their prophet in the Quran and the Hadiths, imams preaching the correct Islamic relationship to everything from sexuality, integration, child raising and politics every Friday in their Mosques, etc. For a Muslim, the rules are clear and the consequences for breaking them are severe – both now and in the after life.
Muslim culture is extremely authoritative and the consequence is that the focus on self-reflection in Muslim upbringing is close to absent. Thus, it is no surprise at all that a devout Muslim girl such as Albahrij follows this pattern: She blames Horowitz for making her so angry that she loses her capability to hear and as a consequence she also blames Horowitz for her supporting genocide.

 There is a lot in this article about things I've noticed in the Islamic culture, but hadn't understood, including the unrelenting hatred of Jews, THEIR racism, and the shame culture of Muslims.

Share