Islam's Culture War – Christianity Today Magazine
A review article Islam’s Culture War in Christianity Today Magazine on Why the Rest Hates the West from church historian Meic Pearse.
Pearse argues that Western culture has changed so much since the Enlightenment that Western “common sense” is no longer self-evident to other cultures. Islamic cultures believe the West is “barbaric,” showing lack of respect for the past, religion, family, and honor, while overindulging in sports, entertainment, and sex.
Woodberry agrees somewhat with this but he also argues:
I have recently been served a tv diet of American professional wrestling and the exhibitionism of former basketball player Dennis Rodman in a Pakistani airport and in an Arab-operated airplane, so I appreciate the author’s critique. But we should not overemphasize cultural issues. A Pew survey in June 2003 that reported growing Islamic rage at the United States also found that Muslims are attracted to democratic freedoms. A poll of 50 countries found that people even in monarchies (like Jordan and Kuwait) and more authoritarian states (like Uzbekistan and Pakistan) desire freedom of expression and of the press, multiparty systems, and equal treatment under the law.