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Morality: The Hidden Dimension of the War.

 

By Ali Sina

Americans often wonder why Muslims hate them. It has partly to do with Islam and partly to how the Americans portray themselves abroad. We already discussed at length the intolerant and anti human teachings of Islam. But there is also one more thing that we have not discussed yet. It has to do with morality and how the West and especially America is perceived as a threat to the Muslims, their values and their identity and how this is translated into distrust, estrangement and eventually hate.    

One of the contributors to our forum in FFI wrote:

“Time Magazine (a liberal publication) in a cover story few years back wrote that Hollywood is controlled by some two hundred middle aged men who are working in high gear to impose their sexual fantasies on the American public and to deconstruct the American culture and traditions. “  

Unfortunately Hollywood , not only is imposing its moral decadence on the rest of America and desensitizing the younger generation with their hedonistic agenda; it also sends a very wrong and ultimately disastrous message to the rest of the world whose only contact with the American culture is through Hollywood .  

Hollywood ’s only goal is to make money. That is understandable! However, the fact is that the consumers of their products across the world do not see Hollywood just as an entertainment industry but also as a window to America .  

Hollywood defines the moral values of the society. The actors, singers and the comedians have taken the place of priests and philosophers. The negative effect of this shift of functions in the American society is noticeable. The effect of Hollywood , however, in the Eastern and mainly Islamic world is critical.  

The Eastern cultures and especially the Islamic world, has its own moral standards, where sexuality is taboo. Under no circumstances I condone such repressive ethos. However the clash of Holliwoodism, which in Islamic countries is seen as Americanism, with the indigenous cultures of these societies has been met with resentment and anger.  

People in these countries feel that their identity and their culture is under attack. Hollywoodism is corroding the social fibers of their society. Immorality, promiscuity, high rate of divorce and the sacrilege of marriage is shaking the foundation of these cultures, threatening their way life and their existence.   

This is perceived as cultural invasion, launched purposefully by the American government, to destroy the cultural identity of the Muslims and render them subservient to the West. The return to fundamentalist Islam is a backlash to this perceived threat.    

Osama Bin Laden, capitalized on this fear when he wrote his infamous “Letter to America”. He explained why Muslims hate America: .  

The second thing we call you to, is to stop your oppression, lies, immorality and debauchery that has spread among you.

(a) We call you to be a people of manners, principles, honour, and purity; to reject the immoral acts of fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants, gambling's, and trading with interest.

(b) It is saddening to tell you that you are the worst civilization witnessed by the history of mankind: “

(iv) You are a nation that permits acts of immorality, and you consider them to be pillars of personal freedom. You have continued to sink down this abyss from level to level until incest has spread amongst you, in the face of which neither your sense of honour nor your laws object.”

This degenerate criminal is merely echoing what is the common sentiment of the Muslims. Where do the Muslims get these ideas? Why they think America “permits acts of immorality and consider them to be pillars of personal freedom?” This idea is conveyed through Hollywood and TV shows.

Certainly the Islamic countries are far more corrupt and pervert than America . Pedophilia among the Mullahs is normal. In fact Quran promises “pearly boys” to the faithful in the afterlife. Thanks to sexual segregation, Incest is much more common in Islamic countries than in the West. But these are not often reported. The promiscuity is even legalized. Men are not only allowed to have four wives, or according to other interpretations as many as they want, in some cases they are also allowed to have temporary marriages that could last just one hour. Honor killing is considered to be an honorable thing to do and so on.

The Islamic world is the most pervert world; however no one reports those perversities and therefore they are not commonly known.

Hollywood, on the other hand glamorizes immorality and makes it look normal. Islamic countries already languishing with their own immorality now have to struggle with the superimposed immorality of Hollywood. This is interpreted as American cultural invasion and evokes the anti American sentiment. America itself is a victim of Hollywoodian decadence, yet in Islamic countries Hollywood is viewed as the prong of American imperialism intentionally created to “immoralize” and demoralize the Muslims, alienate them from their own traditions and then dominate them culturally. This is perceived as cultural invasion and viewed as an affront. So, Muslims feel besieged by "American imperialism" because of Hollywood's success as an entertainment industry.      

On April 8, 2003, right after the fall of Saddam, an Iranian cleric, Kazem al-Husseini al-Haeri, issued a religious edict for the to Shiite mullahs in Iraq, calling on them "to seize the first possible opportunity to fill the power vacuum in the administration of Iraqi cities."  

The edict said, "People have to be taught not to collapse morally before the means used by the Great Satan if it stays in Iraq, …It will try to spread moral decay, incite lust by allowing easy access to stimulating satellite channels and spread debauchery to weaken people's faith."  

Evoking fear of losing one’s cultural and moral identity to American “moral decay” is a potent tool in the hands of the Isalmists.  

25 years ago, Khomeini took full advantage of this fear. The Mullahs warned the ignorant masses against the Americanization of Iran, which as they construed, meant immorality, decadence and wickedness. America was equated to Satan and it became the duty of every faithful to defend Islam against the American cultural onslaught. Fighting America was suddenly seen as fighting for one’s own identity, fighting against evil and fighting to protect the moral integrity of the nation.  

What caused the fall of the Shah in 1979 and catapulted a bunch of religious clerics to power was not just the repression of the monarchy. Today the Mullahs are one hundred times more repressive. What made people rally around the Mullahs was their fear of the Americanization of Iran and the loss of their cultural identity and moral values.    

Religion mixed with politics is a potent and a dangerous brew. Political power attained through religious sentiment can topple governments, cause revolutions and withstand the mightiest forces on Earth.  

America and the civilized world are fighting a losing battle unless and until the religious dimension of this war is taken into equation.  

How to fight the religious war?  

This war has to be fought in two fronts: One is to fight Islam itself directly and frontally. The legitimacy of Islam must come under attack, its essentially deceitful and corrupt nature must be highlighted, the credibility of its founder must be undermined, and the divine nature of its holy book must be questioned.    

But there is also another front that has nothing to do with Islam and has to be fought at home. This fight is against immorality and decadence that has characterized America since 1960s  

No, it is not necessary to create a “moral police department” a la Taliban to tell people how they should live their lives. But America and the Western culture must reclaim their moral hegemony. People must be free to choose their lifestyle and define their own morality, nevertheless those who wish to live morally and with traditional values must also be free from constant onslaught of the “alternative lifestyle” crowd.  

I am not suggesting banning the Reality TV shows with explicit sexuality that trivialize immorality or the Internet porn sites. However, I am very much concerned about raising my children in a society that glamorizes and legitimizes indecency. 

Freedom of speech must be protected. But also freedom from listening and watching nudities and obscenities must be guaranteed.  

Pornography is easily accessible through the Internet and TV. The promiscuity seems to be the norm. Television and Hollywood portray the worse of the society, They try to shock to get noticed. Soon what was shocking once, becomes normal and hence the entertainment industry stoops even lower to make the shock. This race has no end until people rebel and laws are revised penalizing obscenity.  

The entertainment industry does very little to encourage fidelity, chastity and family values. The sacredness of marriage is under attack and the examples set by the movie icons are deplorable.  

The negative effect of this moral decadence in our own society is obvious.  

The writer that I quoted above also wrote:

“The overwhelming proportion of children with one parent (85% of Blacks and 35% of whites), usually end up on welfare or at the bottom of the economic ladder contributing to unnecessary increase in poverty and its perpetuation. The majority are poorly educated and not fit for jobs when they grow up. They are incapable of getting and or holding a job in the advanced industrial age and information technology age. The welfare state provides board and shelter to take care of the needs of the single parent children who are in need. Even as physical needs are met at minimum level, the moral, ethical, intellectual, and emotional needs are neglected because the state is not suited and prepared to develop these attributes which are essential in development of a self supporting and civic minded citizen. This is a travesty, and robs the nation from the intellectual and productive contributions of a significant segment of its citizens. it contributes to uncivil behaviour and a high crime rate. The huge prison population in the U.S. is a scandal and indictment of the failure of the abandonment of traditional marriage and family institutions by a large number of citizens encouraged by Liberal Left policies and their counterparts in the entertainment media.”   

As you see, we ourselves are victims of this moral decadence. Freedom of speech must be protected but also freedom from being exposed to indecency, obscenity and immorality must be guaranteed.  A free society is not a licentious society. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom to cuss, pronounce obscenities and make a show of one’s immorality.  

This decadence is not just corroding our own culture, by undermining the importance of family, which is the foundation of any society; it also has tremendous social, economical and emotional costs. But that is not all. It is also making enemies.  

Hollywood exports American movies all around the world and makes humongous amount of money. However, it is also exporting decadence and immorality, which alarm people and makes them angry at America.  

This is one product that the world does not want to buy and there is no benefit for America in selling it. Selling immorality is indeed a lose/lose trade. By doing so, America only alienates other people and makes enemies.  

Democracy is good, freedom of speech is good. But if freedom of speech entails freedom to promote immorality, then we have a very tough sell to make.  

America also must understand that other people have their own cultures and values and those values are sacrosanct to them. For a Muslim, it is far more desirable to live in a repressive country than espousing democracy and exposing his children to the kind of moral decadence that is corroding the Western societies.    

When America goes to liberate a people, she must make it clear that she has no intention to dominate them culturally and does not intend to impose on them alien values.  

Furthermore, America must change her public image. As long as the Muslims perceive America as an immoral nation, they will resent American telling them how to live their lives. They will view America as their enemy because America is a threat to their beliefs, values and culture.  

To win the war against Islamic terrorism, we have to do more than just improve our espionage and fighting ability. We have to win the hearts and the minds of the Muslims. To do that, we have to win the war against immorality at home first.  A nation that is viewed as immoral, decadent and pervert cannot be trusted as liberator by people who would kill their own daughters if accused of lewdness to save their honor.  

Hollywood is not just an industry but also the American cultural ambassador to the world. This ambassador has portrayed a very distorted and negative image of America and there lies the source of distrust and dislike of America.  

If Hollywood is the ambassador of American culture, American people and ultimately the American government must regulate what kind of message it delivers.  

I am not proposing censorship of the movie industry. However, it is a fact that Hollywood has taken the place of the Church and it defines morality for everyone else, in America and abroad. Can we just leave the moral education of a mighty nation and its image among other nations in the hands of a bunch of morally depraved profit seeking movie makers? Can we afford to portray America as an immoral nation across the world and alienate the rest of mankind?  

Yes, the immoral image of America has a lot to do with the hatred of America in Islamic countries.  This image must be changed. For America to be respected and loved, she must reclaim her moral hegemony and family values. 

In brief, paradoxically, the solution to the world's political problems lies in spiritual and moral grounds.

 

 

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