Archive for the ‘Arabs’ Category
Arab Culture does not Equal Islamic Culture
People usually talk about the negative influence of local cultures on the practice of Islam, however one element which is usually not taken into account is the negative effect of some elements in the Arab culture to Islam. All cultures have beneficial as well as detrimental elements. It would also help if we defined culture so that everyone is on the same page regarding culture, so here is a definition of culture from Wikipedia.
Culture’ (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning “to cultivate,”) generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significant importance.
Thus for example, singers like Haifa Wehbe (image above) may be part of the Arab culture but not part of the Islamic culture. The reason that I am pointing this out is because many people, including some Muslims, have the mis-perception that Arab culture equals Islamic culture. The negative consequence of this mis-perception is that some people think that acting like Arabs will make them more Islamic. Especially when some Arab Muslims perpetuate this misperception then it makes one wonder, “What’s another name for Imperialism?”
