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Summary : What is the nature of Western civilization and what is the position of Christianity within that civilization? What conclusions can be drawn from an analysis of them; is there any way that Christianity might draw closer to Islam?

Western civilization, Christianity, and Islam

What is the nature of Western civilization and what is the position of Christianity within that civ­ilization? What conclusions can be drawn from an analysis of them; is there any way that Christian­ity might draw closer to Islam?
The composition and history of Western civili­zation is exceedingly complex and it is not an easy task to outline the importance of Christianity within it without over-simplifying and obscuring the question altogether. Christianity is itself a complex and multiform phenomenon that has undergone many transformations and divisions through the ages and the term should be defined carefully in whatever context it is being used. Having said that, we shall offer one or two points in the hope that it may point towards a way that true Christianity may take in order to draw closer to Islam.
From the very earliest days, sects and groups of the most diverse nature flourished in the Christian movement, each holding opposing views on the most fundamental tenets of Christian belief. The 'orthodox' views prevailed on the conversion of the Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century A.D. and from that event the course of future Christianity was set. Although they would later be developed into a complicated theology, the basic ideas on the nature of God as a trinity and the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ (Upon whom be peace) were accepted as fundamental and necessary beliefs. Also the nature of authority was established at that time and took the form of the Emperor as the head of the Church supported by a hierarchy of bishops, priests and deacons on the one hand, with the laity or ordinary believers on the other.
Subsequent centuries saw many developments and splits within what had then become accepted to be Christianity. In 1054 A.D. the Eastern Orthodox Churches rejected the claims of the papacy and broke away from the Western Catholic Church, but despite this their beliefs and the internal structures of their Churches remained broadly similar to the Roman Church. It was not until the Reformation that split the Western Church in the 16th century that not only was the authority of the papacy and the domination of the Church and its hierarchy challenged, but also there were serious attempts to return to the Bible and purify the Christian faith itself. Nevertheless, with a very few exceptions, the majority of the Protestant sects and Churches that emerged, with the exception of denying papal supremacy, cannot really be seen to have developed into anything radically different to the Catholic Church.
We may therefore make the two following points. Firstly, the institution of the Church came to be the representative of Christianity, although it had taken as its basis beliefs contrary to the pure monotheism taught by Jesus (UWP) and had superimposed these on the already existing Roman social and political system. And secondly, the internal structure of the Church, with its hier­archy on the one hand, and ordinary Christians on the other was a rigid and oppressive institution that did not allow for the free exercise of reason and the development of knowledge. We may say, therefore, that a truly Christian civilization never developed, but that the Western civilization that did develop and that is known as Christian civili­zation is in fact a development of classical Graeco-Roman civilization.
Nevertheless, as we.said to start with, it is an exceedingly complex question and while Western civilization is and always had as its base philoso­phy rather than Revelation, it has also been one might say, leavened, tempered, or even softened by true Christianity, that is, those of Christ's teachings that have been preserved in the New
Testament and the authentic parts of the Old Tes­tament. The influence of this true Christianity on Western civilization has been stronger in some periods of history than in others. That it has been present is undeniable but to isolate and describe pure manifestations of it is difficult. Perhaps it can be said that at an individual level people have received and continue to receive genuine inspira­tion and guidance through Jesus (UWP)'s teach­ings and that this has been reflected in the society and civilization at large.
By the Early Middle Ages the Church had gained a stranglehold over all forms of cultural life. As mentioned above, the hierarchical struture itself of the church and power that the hierarchy enjoyed in relation to the laity prevented the growth of a spirit of enquiry. Education was lim­ited to the clergy, so that the body of ordinary Christians merely followed them blindly in their ignorance. And among the clergy, the absolute power enjoyed by the papacy disallowed any advance in knowledge. Any new thought that threw into question the accepted dogmas of the Church, as all advances in knowledge could not fail to do, was branded as heresy and suppressed. These reasons, among others, therefore, meant that the society and civilization could only pro­gress in so far as they could shake off this oppre-sive domination of the Church. As the strangle­hold of the Church slackened, there was a great upsurge in scientific discovery and in progress inall fields of knowledge. However, it must be stated that it shared the same foundations as the Church and civilization that had preceeded it. In fact, what could it be other than the continuation of the Renaissance, that reaffirmation of the clas­sical Graeco-Roman inspiration of Western civili­zation?
In the Thirtieth Word, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi explains human history in terms of two cur­rents or lines of thought, the line of prophethood and religion and that of philosophy and science, and he relates these to the human ego and describes the results they have yielded. The line of prophethood, which represents Divine revela­tion, corresponds to man's heart, and the line of philosophy, to his intellect or reason. The aim is for these two lines to be united, that is, for the line of philosophy to be obedient to and of service to the line of prophethood and religion. Whenever this has occurred, mankind has experienced true harmony and happiness, but when they have become separated, goodness and light have been drawn to the latter, and evil and misguidance to the former.
Thus, when man does not accept Divine revela­tion he will rely on his own reason and will take his desires and impulses as his criteria. Since he imagines that he owns himself, he will be com­pelled to imagine that everything else owns itself. This is the basis of the materialist philosophy which developed in the West. Instead of all causes, from the vastest galaxies to the minutest particles, being attributed directly their Creator, power is given to each of them. Each cause is imagined to have an actual effect, it is given the power to create. Such a man will attribute power and creativity to a false concept like Nature, or the laws of Nature, or the forces of Nature. Since he does not accept the key, the plan, the guide to understanding the universe that has been sent by its True Owner, he will not know how to approach it. Relying only on his own intellect and criteria he will run into immediate difficulties and contradictions. He will project these conflicts and contradictions that he experiences within himself as a result of acting contrary to the manner in which he has ben created on to the world outside himself. He will interpret what he sees in that world as struggle and competition and he will come up with such irrational claims as 'life is a conflict,' 'might is right,' 'the survival of the fit­test,' 'in power there is right,' and so on. It is not difficult to see how accurately this describes Western thought.
Furthermore, such a man will see only the apparent face of the universe, he will not under­stand its meaning. It will remain meaningless and purposeless for him. And this ownership and power that he claims will not bring him any real happiness, on the contrary, his endless desires will make him a slave to every cause he seeks to sat­isfy them with. Since he denies his Creator and True Object of Worship, he will worship idols and false gods to the number of causes to which he gives power. He will fall from being the aim and fruit of creation to being abased and abject, groveling to every cause that will bring him per­sonal benefits,' seeking to satisfy his greed and pride.
Thus, if we set aside for a moment the ele­ments of true Christianity in Western civilization and their effects, we can see the results of the negative and rotten foundations of the line of science and philosophy. To quote Bediuzzaman, "Its aim and purpose are benefit and self-interest, after which everyone jostles and pushes without restraint. Its principle in life is conflict, which manifests itself in contention and discord. The tie between different groups is racialism and negative nationalism, which thrives on devouring others and which manifests itself in ghastly clashes. Its alluring service is encouraging the passions of the soul, satisfying its desires, and facilitating the attainment of its wishes."
Since it does not spring from truth and reality and since its aim is not truth and reality, Western civilization has to resort to subterfuge and lies in order to perpetuate itself. Conflict, aggression, self-interest, discord, racialism and lust are indeed repugnant to man's nature, therefore it both cloaks these ugly facts and deliberately perverts and dulls man's nature. In order to maintain some sort of equilibrium among all those anarchic for­ces, it pitilessly exploits the young and plays off group against group in the society. It excites aggression, animality and racialism through films, pornography, pop music, television and the media, and then seeks to control the release of those forces through seemingly innocent football and sport, pop concerts and festivals, political demonstrations, and minor though sustained con­flict between different racial and social groups.
The major requirement in the perpetuation of this system is to stop people thinking, to deaden their perception, to smother their innate urge to find the truth. The whole edifice of Western art and culture is directed towards this aim. In partic­ular it addresses the educated classes, satisfying their senses, flattering their conceit, and deceiving them into thinking that they are concerned with reality. The economic system, which is based on waste and consumption, aims to produce, at least for some sections of the society, a false, material paradise in which unfortunate Western man may drown in unthinking comfort and pleasure.
But what a hell they create, Man is not an ani­mal. While his body wallows in glamour and affluence, his spirit, conscience, mind, and heart suffer the torments of hell.
The line of prophethood and religion, on the other hand, has as its base Divine revelation. A man who accepts this acknowledges that of him­self he is nothing, he is a slave of God, his duty is to use his intellect and other faculties in learning to know God so that he may learn how to please Him with service and worship. He will learn from the revealed books not only what he is himself and his duty, but also the true nature of the uni­verse and its duty. He will not get bogged down in its mere functioning, its apparent face of cau­sality, beautiful, intricate and absorbing though it is; rather, his eyes will be directed through that wonderful functioning to the meaning behind it. He will see that each being from the minutest par­ticles to the vastest galaxies is performing endless duties in perfect submission and obedience, that beings are rushing to the assistance of the other beings in accordance with a law of co-operation that prevails over the cosmos, that singly and alto­gether these beings are proclaiming the glory, beauty, and perfections of their single Compas­sionate and Merciful Creator.
The firm and positive foundations of the line of prophethood result in a civilization the bases of which are as follows. Again to quote Bediuzza-man: "Its point of support is truth instead of force, which is manifest as justice and equity. Instead of benefit and self-interest its aims are vir­tue and God's pleasure, which are manifest as love and friendly competition. In place of racial­ism and nationalism its means of unity are the bonds of religion, country, and class, which are manifest as sincere brotherhood and concord, and co-operation in only defending against outside aggression. The principle in life is that of mutual assistance and co-operation instead of conflict, which is manifest as unity and mutual support. In place of lust is guidance, which is manifest as progress for humanity and being perfected spiritu­ally."
Before concluding this section we shall analyse in more detail these principles quoted from Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and see how they actu­ally manifest themselves both on the level of the individual and of society, concentrating firstly on Western civilization and society.
We saw above that if man does not acknow­ledge the Creator and True Owner of the universe, he will claim ownership himself and be forced to attribute ownership or power to causes, that is, beings, outside himself; for example, to the sun, or the so-called forces and laws of Nature, such as gravity or nuclear forces. Therefore, since such a person does not believe that every single aspect of all the activity apparent in the universe is directly controlled, planned and created by One Ail-Powerful, Knowing, Wise, Compassionate, Merciful, and Just Creator, he will not only attrib­ute its wonderful functioning to a manifestly absurd concept like chance or coincidence, but he will also see himself as justified in dominating and exploiting for his own benefits as much of the universe over which he can extend his power.
Power or force, therefore, becomes a fundamental principle of materialist philosophy, and man's benefits the primary purpose or aim.
What does this mean in practice? We saw that Western civilization came to be fundamentally materialist. While it is undeniable that the Churches exert some influence over individuals and society, true Christianity, or pure monothe­ism, failed to influence Western philosophy. Its aim, therefore, since it is not God's pleasure and worship and service of Him through adhering to His law and commands, is man's pleasure and man's benefits. The ultimate purpose of the uni­verse, in so far as it can be seen to have one, is to serve man's interests. Man's attitude towards the universe, then, becomes aggresssive and exploita­tive; the universe, and all beings, are there for his use and benefit to whatever degree he can increase his power and thus his domination over them. This manifests itself plainly on all levels: political, national, international, societal. What is the real aim of much modern science and technol­ogy? What is 'Stars Wars' and the race for space? And while ecologists and governments wring their hands over its effects ecologically and economi­cally, let them consider the real causes.
This attitude necessarily expresses itself at the personal level as it does at the universal, for it is the manifestation of a basic belief. Although it is abhorrent to man's true nature, and also although it may not immediately appear to be thus, a person who is not acting purely for God's sake will seek to serve his own interests and follow his own benefits on the personal level, too, at the expense of others, whether they be his children, parents, spouse, friends or whatever. The results of this are plain for all to see in the West. Ever-increasing numbers of broken homes, divorce, and neglect of children, especially with regard to then-training and real education if not materially, just for a start.
Furthermore, the contradictions and conflicts that arise from adhering to such a view of the world result in a psychological imbalance that in turn all too often gives rise to both real mental ill­ness and to the inhuman and distressing behaviour and crime that has become only too familiar to us in the news media. The reasons for the prisons and mental hospitals being crammed with increas­ing numbers of inmates should be sought here and not in such matters as unemployment and social conditions, which, though real problems, can in no way be seen to be a fundamental cause.
Although the majority of people may not be driven to such extremes, their state is basically the same. Man is not designed to bear the burden of unbelief. He is impotent and at the same time sub­ject to endless desires and needs. He therefore is in need of an All-Powerful, Wise, and Compas­sionate Sustainer Who is able to answer all those desires and needs, that in fact reach to eternity. If he denies that Sustainer, he takes on himself not only all his own needs and problems, which he cannot secure, but also, since he is connected to the rest of the universe, he will be weighed down by all the problems and injustices in the world, which he is certainly powerless to solve. And then there is death, that inescapable reality that stands implacably at the end of the passage of life. What real hope or joy can death leave to someone who subscribes to materialist philosophy?
These great burdens of unbelief lead to a men­tality of escapism. Western civilization compels people to entirely wrap themselves up in veils of oblivion in order to escape from the pain and despair that it inflicts on them. It is quite clear once one starts to notice it. Fiction, science-fiction, sport, music, television, video, films, 'cul­ture'; they are all universally used as' means of escaping. Many people openly admit that they indulge in such pastimes and hobbies in order to escape from the realities of life. Walk down any street or even comb the universities or seek out the intellectuals and see how many will be pre­pared to sit down and have a serious discussion of the meaning of life and death. They will avoid it at all costs. For if they do not recognize that Sin­gle All-Compassionate Sustainer, the reality is just too painful and terrifying.
This escapism is strenunously encouraged in the West as the major means of perpetuating the system, but the true nature of Western civilization is now becoming inescapably clear. For four and a half centuries the West was engaged in a vigor­ous expansion, and the aggressive forces men­tioned above were directed outside itself and towards that expansion. But with its contraction an equilibrium cannot be maintained. The West­ern materialist system necessitates the excitement and release of those aggressive forces, but in the restricted sphere they turn inwards, as it were, resulting in conflict and violence that can no longer be controlled. This conflict and violence, too, has become familiar to us in the form of foot­ball hooliganism, racial violence, political Vio­lence, violent crime. In many areas, it is no longer safe even to walk in the streets; there is an atmo­sphere of anarchy, aggressiveness, and fear.
The society and civilization that revealed relig­ion gives rise to presents a completely different picture. The need for force and aggression does not arise since all power and ownership is attrib­uted directly to the True Owner of the universe. A believer recognizes that while being the aim and fruit of creation to whom the universe is in trust, the requirement of his exalted position is to use all the faculties and abilities he has been given in the service of that Ail-Powerful and Generous Owner. By conforming to the law and commands that He has revealed, he too will manifest the jus­tice, balancé and equilibrium that is so apparent in the universe. Since he-recognizes God, the All-Wise and Compassionate Possessor of Absolute Power and  Absolute Knowledge, and knows himself to be powerless and utterly needy, he understands that all benefits, bounty and good are given directly by God, so, while striving his utmost to receive God's bounty and pleasure, he will gratefully receive what is given and will shrink from exploiting in any manner his fellow creatures. For to act in self-interest and to seek benefits for oneself is to caim ownership of one­self and to attempt to extend that ownership over other creatures; it necessarily entails aggression in some form against them, as well as being a viola­tion of the balance and order in the universe.
Since society is formed of individuals, a truly Islamic society and civilization can only come into being as a result of people understanding, believing and acting on these principles. Only when the True Owner of the universe is recog­nized with all His functioning Names and attrib­utes can believers act with true justice and mani­fest love and sincere brotherhood and co­operation in society. Only then can they rise above petty self-interest and that most damaging modern sickness, nationalism, which, together with racialism, is again the false claiming of own­ership and constitutes an aggresssion against fel­low creatures, let alone the damage that it does to the Muslim community. In fact, as the principle of jihad shows us, in no circumstances can there be aggression, only defence against outside aggression.
Furthermore, since a truly Islamic society reflects how each believer sees the universe and since the believer sees the universe not in terms of conflict, 'the survival of the fittest,' and such like, but as a vast system of mutual assistance and co-operation, he extends this principle to every aspect of his personal and social life. He attempts to conform to the wisdom, balance and order in the universe, to the Law and commands sent by its True Owner, to the practices of His Most Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace), whom He sent as a mercy to all the worlds.
As we stated at the beginning, our aim in ana­lysing Western civilization is not merely to deni­grate it, but rather in discovering its foundations and true face to be able to learn something of the relationship of Christianity to that civilization, and thus to find ways in which true Christianity might draw closer to the complete religion of Islam, the religion of God Almighty's final revealed book, the Qur'an, and His final prophet, the Prophet Muhammad (Upon whom be bless­ings and peace), in the hope that together we. might fight our common enemies of atheism and irreligion. We therefore draw the following con­clusions.
Firstly, that the churches as institutions do not represent true Christianity. Nevertheless, contem­porary movements within them suggest a tendency towards it. For example, in the Catholic Church,   the   movement   of   'aggiornamento'

themselves from the bog of materialism and enter the complete and wholesome world of God Almighty's revealed religion.