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Islam Rejects Cultural Centrism
but we think though that islam as a religion and as a civilization - when it calls to conversing with the other - denies (the cultural centrism) which sees the world as a one dominating civilization, controlling other civilization forms. as islam wants the world to be a (multiple civilizations forum). islam wants for these civilizations to interact and cooperate in every shared, general humane matter. and if islam is a global religion, and the seal of all religions, yet in the very core of its call and the very essence of it's message doesn't shed light on the (religious centrism) which forces the world to hold on to one religion.
it refutes this compulsion as it sees the multiple religious legislation as one of allah's plans in the universe:
" to every one of you we have made a legislation and a program. and if allah had so decided, he would indeed have made you one nation; but (he did not) that he may try you in what he has brought you. so race with each other in the charitable (deeds); to allah will be your return, altogether; so he will fully inform you of that wherein you used to differ. " and he also says : " and if your lord had (so) decided, he would indeed have made mankind one nation; and (i.e., but) they do not cease differing (among themselves)."
the prophet's (pbuh) call to conversing with the rest of the countries and civilizations is derived from his view about dealing with non-muslims who believe in their heavenly message; as a muslim's belief is never complete unless he believes in all prophets. allah almighty says:
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the messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his lord, and (so do) the believers. each one believes in allah, his angels, his books, and his messengers. they say, "we make no distinction between one another of his messengers" - and they say, "we hear, and we obey. (we seek) your forgiveness, our lord, and to you is the return (of all)."the prophet of mercy (pbuh) and his followers had spread the supreme values and sublime ideals of islam all over the world, without obliging people to embrace them. then, the interaction process between the islamic civilization and the european, egyptian, persian and indian civilizations had started. therefore, islam neither obliterated the egyptian civilization, but it enhanced it, nor it obliterated the indian one, but it refined it. it also had purged all civilizations from all sordid doctrines and thoughts. then, it polished out the good, beneficial heritage and cultures.
and as time went by, a new islamic civilization was born. components of the other nations and civilizations which embraced islam contributed to its growth. then, the islamic civilization was enriched by all that through conversing and interacting. later - when europe started to rise from its deep sleep - the islamic civilization was an important cultural component which supported the western european civilization with every diverted knowledge, values and cultural giving it owns.
the same thing can be said about the western civilization which hadn't emerge suddenly, yet it had to form in so many centuries until it reached its peak in our modern time. this is due to the cultural interaction with other hellenic, roman and other civilizations, the historical accumulation, and interactive processes of giving and taking throughout the modern human history.
the clearest evidence on the fact that the islamic civilization had never crave at any time to clash with the western civilization was that both arabs and muslims didn't aim at any time to destroy the privacies of the western civilization and its cultural identity.
