East and West

The East and the West Author: René Guénon Translator: Osama Shafi' Al-Sayyid Publisher: Madarat In the presence of Dr. Ahmed Amin in 1947, a conference on Palestine was held in London, and there he noticed a number of differences between what he suffers in his country and what he observed in England. He dedicated himself to studying these differences, and the result was this book, "The East and the West." Ahmed Amin, who wrote "The Dawn of Islam" and "The Noon of Islam," was known in his time as a historian and researcher, and perhaps the year 1947 indicates a pivotal period in the relations between the East and the West. The 1940s was the timeframe in which this issue began to take shape, and perhaps Ahmed Amin’s book "The East and the West" was a pioneer in its time. The introduction of Ahmed Amin to his study contains a central question: Is the current Europe the result of its scientific and historical development, or did this development result from it, its nature, and its circumstances? It is clear that Ahmed Amin’s question did not come out of nowhere; at the time, there was a theory that attributed Europe’s economic and political development to its geographical and climatic nature: coldness and the geographical shaping that imposes strict internal conditions on the regions and prevents their connection. Initially, Ahmed Amin addresses the terms East and West, seeing them as two broad concepts, and believes that the strict differentiation between them is meaningless. He concludes that geography does not constitute a decisive difference between them, and that modern Western civilization is not superior to other civilizations. It has glaring flaws, and despite being based on science, it bears moral deficiencies. Among its flaws is that it confines itself to things it forbids others from doing. Regarding tyranny and democracy, the West has known strong dictatorships, while the East has experienced periods of justice. The West is not a land of democracy, nor is the East a fortress of tyranny. Among the flaws of modern civilization, in Amin’s view, are wars, racism, the worship of power, and the exaggeration of women’s dominance over men. The Western city grew up without a heart, even if its mind developed. As for culture, the Eastern culture has become twofold: inherited culture and Western imitation. The Eastern person emerges without either. The difference is also evident in social life: Westerners work a lot and sometimes without purpose, suffering from excess power and surplus production, while the Eastern may enjoy relaxation. The West is always optimistic, whereas the East tends toward sadness and pessimism. The individual in the West is independent, while the Eastern belongs to his family. Both situations have their flaws, but kinship and family have clear benefits. Excessive freedom here is like excessive restriction. Women in the West are independent, but in the East, she is primarily a mother, and the Western woman, with her independence, risks her femininity. Regarding tradition and innovation, Westerners tend toward innovation, while the Eastern suffers not only from imitating the ancients but also from the major flaw of copying Westerners in everything. As for materialism in the West and spirituality in the East, both have roots deep in history. In the end, the West is not the ideal, nor is the East; both complain of flaws and imperfections. The ideal is to combine science and religion, men and women, morality, benefit, innovation, imitation, materialism, and spirituality.