Changes in
the Criterion of Power

The caravan of the West was like a rapidly flowing river, while the East turned into a stagnant pond. Before the Ulama of the East, the task was to prepare its people to think creatively, imbibe the spirit of freedom of thought, critical thinking, and not fall prey to intellectual stagnation.

What we have just discussed relates to some philosophical aspects linked to the discovery of the laws of Nature. From a practical point of view, this discovery provided the West with a great advantage. It made it possible for the Western people to change the criterion of power. They developed a new understanding of power, which was hitherto unknown. The West replaced the old, traditional age with the scientific age. They replaced handicrafts with machine-based production. They replaced hand-wielded weapons with weapons that could fire from a distance. They made it possible for humans to travel by air, and not only, as before, by land or sea. They replaced animal-drawn modes of transport with engine-driven vehicles.

Previously, the difference between contending powers was essentially quantitative. However, the West ushered in a new age, wherein the difference between the Western nations and others was a fundamentally qualitative one. This transformation gave the West a clear and decisive advantage over the rest of the world.

These developments also brought about significant changes at the human level. The Westerners imbibed a new mentality resulting from discoveries, which set them apart from people in the East, whose thought processes continued to be shaped by traditional beliefs. The former attached great importance to change and creative thinking, while the latter clung to the blind imitation of past precedent. The former hailed the spirit of freedom of thought and criticism, while the latter fell prey to intellectual stagnation.

The caravan of the West was like a rapidly flowing river, while the East turned into a stagnant pond. The West was energetic and active, driven by a cause, while people had lost the very notion of a cause to live for in the East. Their bubbling energy united the Westerners, while the Easterners, who had now gone into decline, had lost those qualities that keep people together. The Westerners were now fired by a passionate zeal to spread the civilisation they had developed to the rest of the world, while the Easterners remained alive simply on the memories of what they had inherited from their ancestors. The Westerners were full of energy and excitement, while, at the very most, the Easterners were concerned simply to defend or protect whatever little remained with them.

These fundamental differences between the people in the West and the East were akin to the distinction between an alert and active army, on the one hand, and one that is tired and listless, on the other. In such a situation, the task before the East was to prepare its people once again, rather than stirring ill-prepared folks using emotional speeches to fight their opponents—but that is precisely what the Ulama of the present age did.