CULTURE AND ITS VARIOUS ASPECTS Shah Abdul Hannan The Definition of Culture The definition of culture has been debated for the last one hundred years. The debate became more intense after the rise of Marxism. At that time there emerged a new philosophy in the form of ‘art for life’s sake’. This philosophy gave rise to a debate between ‘art for art’s sake’ and ‘art for life’s sake’. The debate was raised by the communists who ultimately went beyond the limit of the issue in concern. Here the term ‘art’ has been used in the sense of ‘culture’. They failed to highlight the fact that the term ‘culture’ should cover ‘a sense of beauty’. Conversely, the votaries of ‘art for art’s sake’ politicised the issue. They argued that art is for the sake of art and so it should take account of ‘the sense of beauty’ and the ‘spirit of beauty’ only. According to them, whatever beautifies the diverse aspects of life is culture. To be just, we would say that art or culture should have both aspects. It should be treated as something necessary for life. Art or culture should be for life, not something detached from life. On the other hand, it is also true that, what is not beautiful may not be regarded as art or culture, even though it is essential for life. So both elements are necessary. Both are true. The debate should be brought to an end. And I think it has almost come to an end. After the fall of Marxism, this debate does not seem to exist. Nor is this important for an idealist party. People should adjust these two aspects – beauty and life – in their culture. Beyond this theoretical discussion, it can be said that culture has many aspects. It has many dimensions. Literature, art, cinema, media, etc.—all are various parts of culture. While talking about culture, we have to consider its various dimensions. Culture includes everything from songs and music to literature, drama, cinema, etc. From another point of view, it can be said that culture is the lifestyle of people. It is their way of life. In this sense culture is a very comprehensive term. Regarding the definition of culture, there may be differences of opinions among commentators. However, we basically admit that culture is a broad subject. It is related to the entire way of life. Culture is an important element for every nation. As it has many dimensions, it can easily encompass both the aspects of life and beauty. That is, culture should have beauty and at the same time it should be for the sake of life. Culture and Human Being Culture and human cannot be detached from each other. However, it can be said that people are not for culture, but culture is for them. No human or society can be imagined without culture. Culture lies in every person. A person has an individual culture which is expressed by his character and behaviour. Every family may also have its own distinct culture which finds expression in its movement, manners, behaviours, style, speech, etc. A society or a country may also have its own distinctive culture. In a word, human is not beyond culture, and vice versa. The Basis of Culture Culture should be based on some foundations. It should stand on a sound belief. Since belief affects behaviour, a culture which is based on a wrong belief is bound to be wrong. Culture means behaviour behind which lies a belief. If this belief is corrupt, so is the behaviour. And if the belief is sound, behaviour will also be sound. As for the Muslims, their culture should be based on Tawhid. By ‘tawhid’ we understand that there is a Creator. Every creation has a purpose. We, human beings, are Allah’s vicegerents on earth. It is our duty to make His mission effective everywhere in the whole world. Hence Muslim culture should always be free from polytheism or pagan practices. It should uphold the dignity of vicegerents. It should be beautiful, polished, decent and free from obscenity. Since the basic foundation of culture is belief, the foundation of Muslim culture should be tawhid. As regards the culture of non-Muslims, it should be based on a sound belief and strong moral and ethical standards. They should acknowledge the existence of the Creator, even if they refuse to accept the concept of tawhid. If non-Muslims’ culture is based on atheism, it will be harmful. There is no doubt that a culture based on the belief in the existence of the Creator is much better than the one which is based on atheism. But if a particular culture is based on the adoration of a race or a clan, it will be a sick culture. Thus in the case of Muslims, undoubtedly, tawhid should be the foundation of their culture. But other religious or ideological groups who do not accept tawhid will have to have a sound belief for establishing a sound culture. It may be humanitarianism and belief in the Creator, but it should not be atheism. If it is based on atheism, it will be destructive. If it is racism, worship of a clan or a race, it will also be dangerous. So, we can say that a sound belief is a pre-requisite for culture. Secondly, it should be decent. A culture which is based on a sound belief is sure to be free from indecency, because no sound belief can indulge in indecency or vulgarity. Culture must be for the humankind. It should serve its purpose. It has to be humanitarian and welfare-oriented. Another basis of culture is the sense of beauty. There should be a beautiful sense here. Nothing should be made graceless. For this we should accept the concept of pluralism. Various groups of people in the world are not identical. People do not belong to one race or religion only. Allah (SWT) Himself has said that if He had so willed, all people would have been the followers of Islam. All would have been on the straight path. But He did not plan that way. He has given freedom to humans. That is, due to this freedom, members of humankind will use their free will and may not follow the same path. Thus it can be said that, since people are of different types and different opinions, for Muslims sound belief is tawhid, and for others it should be universally-accepted human values. Belief in the Creator is a must even if it is not tawhid. It is only then that a culture can be sound. This culture will be much better than the one which is based on atheism. No sound culture can develop on the foundation of atheism or racism. Control on Culture Is culture controlled by people? If it is, how much? In fact, the answer can be both yes and no. It is true that human being build up culture. But a particular person alone cannot establish a culture. It takes hundreds of or even thousands of years to establish a culture through many actions and reactions involving many people. A particular human being, a particular generation or a particular clan does not have any control over the formation of culture. In this sense it can be said that it is not controlled by human. At the same time it is also true that culture has been shaped by humans. All people collectively form it. Therefore, we can say that culture is actually formed by men and in this sense it is controlled by men. But in another sense it is not controlled since it has not been formed by a particular race or a particular generation. Culture is a matter of a historical identity. That is why on different occasions I have said that nobody should play with culture. Culture sprouts from the deep spirit of humankind. It is a very sensitive issue which should be dealt with very cautiously. There are things in our culture which we may not like, but they should be removed bit by bit and with patience. As we know, in the early years of Islam the Messenger (SAWS) accepted many local customs and practices which were not directly conflicting with Islam. He accepted Arab customs. There is a famous fatwa (non-binding juristic opinion) of Ibn Taymiyyah which says that the local custom of any country, if it is not directly conflicting with Islam and thus is not categorically impermissible, will remain as it is. Due to our thoughtlessness sometimes we commit excesses. We should guard ourselves from such tendencies. We should think of the greatness, wholeness and comprehensive of Islam and also of the fact that there is room for diverse ways and opinions within the fold of Islam. Otherwise, it would have not been possible for so many mazhabs (schools of thought) to co-exist. Nor would it have been possible for the Sunni Muslims to follow four different mazhabs. Again it is because of Islam’s tolerant attitude that there are various schools of thoughts among the Shiites. As regards culture, we have to tolerate different opinions. We have to recognize different ways and opinions. The worldwide Islamic culture has different forms in different countries. The Islamic culture in Indonesia will be both Islamic and Indonesian in purport, colour and form; but there will be no conflict between them. There should be no objection for a culture to be Islamic so long as it does not contain any fundamental element clearly in conflict with Islam. The same rule applies to Bangladesh as it does to other Muslim-majority countries. Culture of each country will assume its own colour. In this respect my opinion is that in the same garden of Islam there will be flower plants of hundred different types. Islamic cultural workers should think over these issues. Cultural Heritage Cultural heritage is an important issue. Culture is one of the identities of heritage. It is difficult to form a new identity for it. Identity is essential for human. It is not possible for people to form a new identity overnight. They have to retain the old identity, excluding only that part which is not good for the humanity. It is the duty of an individual to preserve his/her culture leaving out only that portion which does not have beauty, which is full of indecency, polytheistic in nature or goes against the fundamental teachings of Islam. Cultural Individuality in the Context of Globalization Globalization is a major event in the contemporary world. Basically it has occurred via electronic media. It is true that journey has become easy today. However, a small number of people – five percent at best – make journeys. If we take America as an example, we see that very few people of the country go abroad in a year. If this is the condition, we can say that globalization has occurred not because of journeys. Rather, it has occurred because of the development of the electronic media. We make journeys through the whole world, but not physically. We journey through our minds, eyes, ears. By dint of this new journey a silent communication and transaction gets underway. It may result in the spread of wellbeing throughout the world. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of the spread of evils as well. Either is possible. In this situation, it is difficult to predict as to how distinctive a culture will remain in the days to come. I think many elements of a particular culture will be identical to those of others. As for an example, it is not impossible that the dress and clothes of the whole world may gradually come closer. If we take the case of menswear, we notice that the design of shirts and pants has already become identical among men of various cultures. On the other hand, as regards the clothing of women, the case is different. Women of the Muslim world wear different clothes on various grounds. So I think that in spite of the general tendency to come closer, differences will remain in many respects. For example, eating habits and the elements of food will remain distinctive in different regions. Besides, the individuality of songs and music of different places will be preserved. Every region has its own environment, rivers, seas, forests, fields, crops, etc. Individuality will also be preserved in the field of literature because of the distinctiveness of the people of every region and the differences between peoples and areas. One of the determining factors of culture is religion or belief. In one sense it controls culture. Because of the differences of the characteristics of this factor, cultures will always be different. It may so happen that hundreds of cultures will not exist, but at list five to ten cultures will survive in the world. However, it is difficult to predict as to what is going to happen in future. But unity will be strengthened in many respects. Cultural unity will increase. Mutual communication will increase to a large extent. Yet differences will also exist in many aspects. If we are able to see the difference between interaction and aggression, instead of confusing one with the other, it will be good. Interaction means reciprocity or mutual dealings, whereas aggress is something imposed. We must resist any deliberate effort to impose anything on us. The significance of this also lies in the Qur’anic precept “Let there be no compulsion in religion” (2:256). In his first treaty with the Jews, the Messenger (SAWS) gave them all their internal freedom. He gave them the freedom to practise their own culture. This proves that changing a culture by force is neither Islamic nor humanistic. Western culture is based on materialism. Materialism promotes Epicureanism and selfishness. That is why Western culture has turned ugly. It has turned erotic in nature. It is now centred on the misuse of women. The tendency to spread such a culture throughout the world should be resisted. Those who are good among the Westerners should also be encouraged to work against cultural aggression of the West. The Western materialism is irreligion, if not atheism. All should stand against it throughout the world. This materialism is not beneficial for humanity. The Culture of Entertainment None can think of living without culture. No society can exist without culture. So it is not possible for anybody to be averse to culture. But, if some people turn into offenders because of the lack of good education or of poverty, then the culture becomes bad, corrupt. Besides, everybody has his own culture. Some may like patriotic songs, some others are fond of hamd (songs in praise of Allah) and na’t (songs in praise of the Messenger of Allah). This is one aspect. But songs and music are not essential parts of culture. The main aspect of culture is lifestyle, the whole life. Each and every word of a man—his speech, utterance, parlance, his movement, his journey—everything is his culture. Unfortunately, ignoring all these, people tend to consider songs and dance as major elements of culture. This is because many do not think about things from the depth of knowledge and understanding. However, a nation can be cultured even though there is no song or music. There are many nations whose songs are not that much popular, who do not practise dance—that does not make their culture any less significant. We cannot do whatever we wish in the name of entertainment. Entertainment is one of the most important elements of life. It is required. In the modern world entertainment should be given importance. We know that a significant amount of time of a person’s daily life is spent on travelling, not to mention the time spent in office. Everywhere he is busy. In this situation there must be an arrangement for entertainment which would be sound; it should not be sick. Nor should it be obscene. One should not do anything that leads to bad habits or spreads crimes. It is not necessary that everything should be communicated to the nation—especially those objectionable incidents that occur infrequently. Truly, there must be a limit to entertainment. The boundary line should be determined by law and customs. Here we cannot approve of malpractice in the name of liberty. We do not want that kind of liberty which turns human into a brute.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 06:29:03 +0000
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