What Are "Western Values?"

A common objection against Islam from Westerners, particularly socially conservative Americans, is that Islamic values do not comply with "Western values." I have always wondered what Western values are, particularly since it can seem like quite a subjective concept. This article focuses on Islamic values as I am a Muslim, although the idea of something "not being compliant with Western values" is sometimes used by social conservatives to denigrate other beliefs, such as socialism and LGBTQ rights movements.

What Are "Islamic Values," and How Have They Been Implemented?

Islamic values come from the Sharia, which in turn is derived from the Quran (a holy book) and the Sunnah (the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which are preserved in books of Hadith with unbroken chains of narration tracing back to the Prophet ﷺ), alongside other sources such as scholarly interpretation, logic, and local customs. Through the graphic above, we see the Quran alone covers religious, financial, social, military, and legal topics, ensuring fairness and justice. We also see other lessons, such as freedom of religion, avoiding extremism in the religion via prohibiting monasticism, and seeking knowledge via reflecting upon the universe. Through the Sunnah, we also see that more topics, such as conduct of warfare, anti-racism, and animal rights, are touched upon.

The last time the Sharia was truly, fully, and properly implemented was in the Rashidun Caliphate, as Muslim states after, such as the Umayyads, would include un-Islamic things in their legislation, such as hereditary monarchies. Even today, various "Muslim" countries wrongfully legislate things such as alcohol sales, which I condemn. With that being said, we do still see Islam positively influencing societies today (even if on a more personal level), from lower suicide rates in most Muslim-majority countries according to the World Health Organization, to Medina, Saudi Arabia (the second-holiest city in Islam) being ranked at one point as the safest city in the world for female solo travelers.

What Are "Western Values," and How Have They Been Implemented?

Although this article is intended to cover the values of the West in general, I shall use the Constitution of the United States as the main source of such values, as it is one of the most well-known legal documents in the world, carrying heavy influence on other countries' values.

Through this Constitution, we can see American (and Western) values are based mainly on secularism (with many social conservatives also saying Western society is built upon "Judeo-Christian values"), democracy (often defined as "rule by the people"), and liberalism (a philosophy that preaches "the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, right to private property, and equality before the law" according to Wikipedia, even if this may not always be implemented). It is important to note this Constitution was written by genocidal rapists who participated in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which I may write another blog about in the future.

Countries such as the United States have had a dark history regarding the protection and implementation of such rights. Examples include the trans-Atlantic race-based slave trade, the ethnic cleansings of Native Americans, lynchings of African Americans, and Japanese Americans being sent to concentration camps during World War II. Even as these nations improve, they still have many issues to be addressed, such as extreme immigration raids, lax gun laws leading to mass-shootings, drug abuse, hypersexualisation, and continued general tensions with minorities (particularly in the United States). Additionally, they tend to be very brutal and interventionist via institutions such as the United States Armed Forces, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Western proxy Israel, leading to many being raped, abducted, tortured, mutilated, and murdered under the name of spreading freedom, liberalism, and democracy as entire countries' governments are overthrown and replaced with unstable puppet regimes (Iraq's treatment by the United States being a notorious example of this).

Are Islamic Values and Western Values Compatible?

There are certainly values found in both Islam and the West. These range from freedom of religion and equality (during the last sermon of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, one of the commandments he gave to his followers was to keep in mind that piety and good deeds are what determine superiority, not ethnicity or other factors) to the freedom of speech (Hadith 34 of An-Nawawi's 40 Hadith states that the Prophet ﷺ commanded people to fight injustice with direct action, or with openly speaking against it if direct action cannot work, or sincerely rejecting injustice in one's conscience if openly speaking against it cannot work) and the right to life (Verse 32 of Surat al-Ma'idah has God telling the Israelites that saving a life is equivalent to saving humanity and ending a life is equivalent to ending humanity, and scholars say this applies to all peoples of all times). Although legislation belongs to God and not to ordinary humans, there are still elements of democracy found in Islam, such as the Caliph (under proper implementation of Sharia, a Caliphate would need to exist) being chosen via being elected by knowledgeable people and the Caliph having to be "for the people."

However, there are also aspects where the two systems of values may clash. For example, in order to truly uphold the goodness of Islam, society must be Islamic rather than secular, as morality from God is objective and unchanging, making sure things such as Jim Crow laws would never exist (or at the very least, be suppressed as soon as possible). Another instance where Islam and the West clash are the West's excessive focus of the individual. To many Westerners, the welfare of society as a whole is not as important as personal pleasure, which is how we see destructive habits such as abuse of alcohol and illicit drugs, pornography addiction, prostitution, abortion, and more. In contrast, Islam is very focused on discipline and collectivism, even if there are aspects of improving the self. Islam additionally supports gender roles (not gender inequality), which disagrees with people who claim things like gender not being a real thing.

Overall Conclusion

The question of if Islam is compliant with Western values depends on what Islamic values and Western values are defined as. It is important to note every culture will have something that clashes with Islam, even if said cultures are of peoples that follow Islam, as humans will naturally have a tendency to defy God. With that being said, it is also clear that the goodness found in Western values need to be implemented better, as they are not seen historically. Additionally, those in the West need to revise certain values and consider if they are ultimately beneficial for the West in the long run.