How Did Globalization Impact The Islamic World - Essay Example

From a religious perspective, globalization can be termed as a process, which links different religions of the world at varied levels through an exponentially expanding network of exchanges involving people, goods, ideas, cultures, technology, services and traditions (Razak, 2011).1 Globalization is inherently Americanized almost synonymous with Americanization. Economic globalization has been characterized by economic colonization of the economies of weaker nations by the stronger states. In light with this, this essay seeks to unravel the effects of globalization to the Muslim community in the world.

Due to the unbalanced economic relationship, Muslims have had to refer to the Koran for guidance and direction on issues of economic disparity and unequal opportunities to avert poverty and suffering occasioned by economic imbalance. In search of a solution, Muslims have had to form groups aimed at addressing indigence. . ns and cultures with the accompanying plethora of social and cultural mores demonstrated in food, clothing and fashion, music and films, political scrutiny and intolerance, cultural and religious practices causing tension and suspicion as has been the case between Muslim states in the Middle East and the west(Markham & Ozdemir, 2005).

3 While some Muslim countries have benefited from trends in trade influenced by globalization like acquisition of jobs through inclusive employment policies adopted by multinational corporate, others have suffered immensely due to the inextricably interwoven international financial networks. For example, Indonesia struggled with the 1997-1998 Asian financial crises (Perry & Maurer, 2003).4 To gain the most benefits of globalization, it is argued that Muslim countries will have to embrace key components of global transformation that ensure a successful engagement with global forces.

These components include, basic human rights and liberties, endorsing the rule of law, equal opportunity and an independent, and objective media (Razak, 2011).5 Despite globalization offering more diversity and access to information, the west has demonstrated considerable lack of knowledge of Islamic principles. This is aggravated by the social secularization, commercialization and death of religious taboos in the west. The fanatical defense of Islam by some Muslims is often regarded as intolerance and characteristic of the monolithic nature of Islam as was the case when a journalist depicted Prophet Mohammed in a cartoon.

This is contrary to the global nature of Islam with a diverse range of Muslim countries of varying economic strength and encapsulating both losers and beneficiaries of globalization. Muslim countries experience similar challenges to those of