Cultural Conservatism in the Islamic Empire - Essay Example

? CULTURAL CONSERVATISM IN THE ISLAMIC EMPIRE Mohamed Kassim History 116 of Month, Introduction The Islamic Empire has experienced cultural Conservatism for a long time within the Islamic States. This conservatism has had political, economical and social cultural influence on the Muslim society. The implication of the Islamic conservativeness is likely to be greater on the increasing developments in science and technology. The Islamic empires of the 17th century were characterized by rigidity to the change of techniques and equipment in their military and commercial sectors and thus they began to decline. The assimilation of some communities to the Islamic empires is the result of the modern Islamic communities which are more diverse and less conservative. This paper gives a critical analysis of the factors which contributed to the increased conservatism in the Islamic empire during the 17th century and its implication on the adoption of scientific and technological advances in the modern Islamic community. The conservativeness of the Muslim empires has been felt during its ascension into the modern day Islamic society. During the seventeenth century there was strong resistance against incorporation of non Islamic ideas into the society. But in the recent past, the Islamic states have become more accommodative to foreign ideas which have been included into the Islamic practices and ways of conducting business1. The earlier resistance of foreign ideas by the Islamic community was due to the need of the leaders to maintain a status quo within the states. There was need for growth and development in the political, economic, social and technological dimension2. Therefore the modern Islamic society has incorporated western ideas, policies and practices so that it would be part of the modern globalization of the economy and the civilization of the world communities. However, it is important to note that the conservative nature of the 17th century within this community and the factors which led to it have implications on the technological and scientific growth within the Islamic states. During the 17th century, the Islamic states wanted to maintain their unique cultural identity. As a result they declined the pressure of the western countries of incorporating new practices within their political, economic and social systems. The leaders within Islamic states during this period refused to accept that they there were things which they would learn from the Europeans. This is because the Islamic states believed that they were a superior group with a rich culture and thus they were not obliged to incorporate western ideas into their systems of social life, governance and the economy. It is therefore evidence that the leaders of the Islamic states during the 17th century did not consider that different countries in the world had a strong influence on the growth of the states. The justification of the conservatism of the Islamic states can be attributed to the fact that globalization had not yet been experienced during thus period and thus the Islamic community believed that they were self reliant and they did not need to depend on the assistance of other3. The Islamic states in the 7th century were characterized with decline in the sectors of the economy in addition to reduced scientific innovativeness. What would have been expected of these states is collaboration with other states through alliances in their economic sectors. But this is what would be possible in the modern global and civilized economy. The 17th century perception among the Islamic states was that they would only recover from the economic decline which they were experiencing only if they alienated themselves from the western influence. The motivation of the conservatism of the Islamic state was the maintenance of their unique cultural values from foreign ideas which were believed to be the cause of the decline of the Islamic empire. A deeper evaluation of the Islamic conservatism during the 17th century by the leaders of the Islamic states demonstrated that their motivation was the desire to protect their authority from the influence of the western countries. The Islamic community was made to believe that the western influence on the empire would lead to the loss of their cultural values. The Islamic rulers passed policies and regulations whose foundation was cultural conservatism. The policies were integrated into the Islamic rule with the intention of reviving the fading of the Islamic states. The conservative policies of the Islamic rule during the 17th century limited European exploration to the Islamic territories. This was as a result of fear of the loss of the political control of the empire to the western explorers. The policies also determined the Islamic military action and the geographic expansion of the empire. Moreover, there were rules and practices which ensured that the Islamic community lived in harmony. The cornerstone of these practices was cultural conservatism which was believed to the solution to the failure of the Islamic states during this period 4. The Ottoman Empire for example had conservative military policies which were build on cultural conservatism. The empire believed that it was superior and hence would not adopt new military equipment and techniques from other societies. This empire was very militarily very strong but the rigidity to change in the military tactics led to the weakening of the empire due to the decrease in the effectiveness of its military action 5. The failure of the Ottoman Empire thus gives a good example of the negative implication of the cultural conservatism on innovation and growth within the society. The failure of the Islamic empires is therefore attributed to the increased military strength of their rivals who incorporated military innovation through the application of new techniques and equipment during war. The impact of the Islamic conservatism in the modern society can be related to the happenings of the 17th century in the Islamic empire. Science and technology are the drivers of modern growth in the world economies. Economic, political and social developments in the modern world are facilitated by growth in science and technology. The conservatism ideas in the Islamic empires in the past are likely to lower the speed of application of newer technological advancements within its industries. Even though the Islamic society has changed with time by becoming less conservative, the old practices have some traces within the modern community. This can be attributed to the slow rate of growth of the political systems in the modern Islamic countries. The democratization process in the Islamic communities cannot be compared to that of the western world. In addition, most Islamic states have remained in the category of the developing economies for a long time despite the rich economic resources available within these states6. The cultural conservatism of the Islamic empire within the 17th century was characterized by the use of their traditional trade routes which demonstrates their unwillingness in the establishment of new trade tactics7. This may have a negative implication in the modern Islamic economy because the cultural practices of the Islamic society have been influenced by the old conservatism practices. As a result the application of new technology in business transaction may suffer sow adoption. The world economy applies business packages in conducting transactions which have led to the globalization of the economy. In addition, new scientific techniques are applied in industrial processes which have increased the speed, quality and quantity of production. Slow adoption of the Islamic community of these techniques and technologies would lead to a decreased rate of economic development within the Islamic countries. The Islamic empire assimilated some communities regardless of the fact that it did not expand geographically. This led to development of new cultural identities within the empire because it was hard to apply the cultural conservatism in controlling the influence social groups had on each other. This is the result of the modern Islamic community which has new religious and cultural inclusions in the society. The cultural conservatism in the modern day Islamic countries has reduced tremendously even through the impact of the old conservatism policies is felt by the slowed application of science and technology in the political, economic and social dimensions of the economy. Conclusion The Islamic empire of the 17th century had significant cultural conservatism and as a result they were opposed to the incorporation of foreign ways. The Islamic states within the empire stated to fail because they were rigid to the application of new military techniques and equipment which caused their rivals to overcome them. Absorption of other communities into the Islamic empires is attributed to the modern Islamic society which is less conservative than before. However the rate of adoption of science and technology within the Islamic communities is slower as compared to the western states hence the disparity in the economic performance. Bibliography Bentley Jerry and Herbert Ziegler, Traditions and Encounters, From 1500 to the Present, (McGraw-Hill: New York, 2003), 763-766. Jakelic Slavica, Collectivistic Religions: Religion, Choice, and Identity in Late Modernity, (Ashgate Publishing Group: Burlington, 2010), 123-134. Moaddel Mansoor, The Study of Islamic Culture and Politics: An Overview and Assessment, Annual Review of Sociology 28, (2002), 359-386 Edward Van Dyck, United States Department of State. Capitulations of the Ottoman Empire, (Government Printing Office: Washington: 1881), 194 Zafirovski Milan, Modern Free Society and Its Nemesis: Liberty versus Conservatism in the New Millennium, (Lexington Books: Lanham, 2008), 263 Read More