The Personal Website of Mark W. Dawson

The Conflicts of Eastern, Islamic, and Western Values and Culture

Today, the biggest conflicts in the world are the differences between Eastern, Islamic, and Western civilization values and culture. The Wikipedia articles on Islamic culture, Eastern culture, and Western culture form the basis of what I will be discussing in this Article. These Wikipedia articles illuminate the core concepts that can be utilized to accentuate the differences between Islamic, Eastern, and Western Values, and a quick read of the first few paragraphs of these articles would be helpful in understanding these values. The website “This vs. That” has some interesting comparisons and explanations between Eastern and Western Cultures and Values in their articles on “Eastern Values vs. Western Values” and “Eastern Culture vs. Western Culture”. Their comparisons are:

Values Comparisons:

Attribute	Eastern Values	Western Values
Individualism vs. Collectivism	Emphasis on community and group harmony	Emphasis on individual rights and freedoms
Relationships	Importance of family and social connections	Focus on personal achievement and success
Spirituality	Emphasis on inner peace and harmony	Varied beliefs and practices, including Christianity and secularism
Work Ethic	Hard work and dedication valued	Emphasis on efficiency and productivity
Education	Respect for teachers and elders	Focus on critical thinking and innovation

 

Culture Comparisons:

Attribute	Eastern Culture	Western Culture
Religion	Varies (Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, etc.)	Varies (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.)
Individualism vs Collectivism	Collectivism	Individualism
Communication Style	Indirect, implicit	Direct, explicit
Family Structure	Extended family, strong emphasis on filial piety	Nuclear family, emphasis on independence
Education System	Emphasis on rote learning, respect for authority	Emphasis on critical thinking, individuality
Food	Rice, noodles, seafood, vegetables	Meat, potatoes, bread, dairy
Art and Aesthetics	Calligraphy, ink painting, tea ceremonies	Realism, perspective, individual expression
Time Orientation	Long-term, focus on history and tradition	Short-term, focus on progress and future
Gender Roles	Traditional, emphasis on harmony and hierarchy	Varies, emphasis on equality and individual rights
Social Etiquette	Politeness, respect for elders, saving face	Directness, individualism, personal space

As can be seen in the above tables, the values and cultures of Eastern and Western civilizations are distinct, and such distinctions are the cause of much conflict in the world. When Eastern and Western Civilizations collide, these differences are often at the root of the conflict. These conflicts are also the result of the tumultuous history within and between these civilizations, but this history is not the focus of this Article.

The main difference between the Eastern and Western Civilizations is collectivism and individualism. Eastern civilizations have instituted oligarchic governments to enforce collectivism, while Western civilizations have instituted democratic governments in support of individualism. Most of these oligarchic Eastern civilization governments are led by a strong man who is authoritarian, and obedience to the strong man is expected. Dissonance and dissent are rarely tolerated in Eastern civilization, and punishments for such are often severe.

The family structure is all-important in Eastern cultures, and deference to the elder male in the family and society is common in Eastern civilizations. Harmony within the family and society, along with inner peace, is a goal to be achieved by all Eastern peoples. Traditions and ceremonies, along with proper etiquette and formality, are to be observed in Eastern civilizations, and all speech is to be polite and respectful.

I believe that Islamic values and culture are distinct enough from Eastern and Western values and culture to deserve their own comparison. Although both Islam and Western history have had periods of fluctuations in these values and cultures, this comparison is based on post-World War II values and culture.

Values Comparisons:

Attribute	Islamic Values	Western Values
Individualism vs. Collectivism	Collective and Individual Obedience to the teachings of Muhammad	Emphasis on individual rights and freedoms
Relationships	Focus on society and Islamic norms	Focus on personal achievement and success
Spirituality	Quran is the verbatim word of God	Varied beliefs and practices, including Christianity and secularism
Work Ethic	Emphasis on hard work and diligence	Emphasis on efficiency and productivity
Education	Quran primarily, others in support of vocation	Focus on critical thinking and innovation

 

Culture Comparisons:

Attribute	Islamic Culture	Western Culture
Religion	Islam	Varies (Christianity, Judaism, etc.)
Individualism vs Collectivism	Collectivism	Individualism
Communication Style	Implicit and restrained to Islamic boundaries	Direct, explicit
Family Structure	Nuclear family, emphasis on obedience to the teachings of Muhammad	Nuclear family, emphasis on independence
Education System	Quran primarily, others in support of vocation	Emphasis on critical thinking, individuality
Food	Meat, potatoes, bread, and dairy with prohibited foods and no alcoholic beverages	Meat, potatoes, bread, dairy, no prohibited foods, and alcoholic beverages permitted
Art and Aesthetics	Realistic scenes, geometric patterns, calligraphy, restrained music and dance	Realism, perspective, individual expression
Time Orientation	Long-term, with past history veneration and focus on Islamic supremacy in the future world	Short-term, focus on progress and future
Gender Roles	Male Dominance	Varies, emphasis on equality and individual rights
Social Etiquette	Many formal greetings and locutions, proprieties in social gatherings	Directness, individualism, personal space

The main difference between Islamic Culture and Western Culture is the focus on religiosity in Islamic Culture and individualism in Western Culture. Religious identity and conformance to religious doctrines is primary in Islamic cultures, while Western Culture focuses on individual Freedoms and Liberties.

While Islam is fine with conversion to Islam by force or intimidation, Westerners believe that religious conversion should only be by peaceful proselytism. Islamic culture brooks no dissent nor criticism of Mohammad and the Quran or the teachings or preachings of Islamic religious leaders. Muslims can be severely punished or executed for criticizing Mohammad, the Quran, religious leaders, or violations of religious laws by decrees or courts that are beholden to Islam religious doctrines and not equality under the law that is practiced in Western Culture. Thus, their free speech and, with it, free thought are severely limited to within the bounds of Islam. If a Muslim converts to another religion, they may be and should be, executed by other Muslims. Muslims believe in the primacy of males and the subservience of females in family, society, and religion.

Thus, Islamic values and cultures are different from Western values and cultures, and individualism only exists within the boundaries of Islam. The Western Values and Culture, as delineated in the above tables, are secondary and restricted or nonexistent in Islamic Culture. Islamic political leadership is (mostly) non-democratic, and their governments are focused on the rulership of the people and the advancement of Islam. Military force or intimidation is utilized to control their people, and terrorism to advance Islam in other countries is acceptable to most Muslims. And it can be said that Islam is not a religion of peace, as the only peace that is acceptable to Muslims is the peace of subservience to the beliefs and teachings of Islam.

Consequently, it is a mistake to equate Islam and Western civilizations, as Islamic values and cultures are distinct from Western values and cultures. As I have written in my Chirp on “03/02/25 Modern Western Civilization”, no civilization in the history of humankind has been more responsible for the advancement of humankind than Western civilization. These Western civilization advancements far exceed that of any other civilization, and they have brought Liberties and Freedoms, along with health and prosperity, to all of humanity. Yet Western civilization has been in decline for several decades, but there is still hope. It is time for us to reeducate and rekindle ourselves in the spirit of Western values and culture and recognize that Islamic and Eastern values and culture are not a path for the advancement of humankind. If we do not do so, then Western Civilization will be extinguished, and humanity will slide into another Dark Age in which the rule of humankind is under Islamic and/or Eastern Civilizations that embrace despotism, religious authoritarianism, or totalitarianism.