Culture and Islamic Adaptation Psychology
Description:... The indiscriminate exportation of Western psychology to Muslim and third world countries can pose serious cultural and ideological dilemmas. When the exported commodity from North to South is physical in nature, the harm done can easily be identified; for example the quick detection of the life threatening birth defects caused by the drug thalidomide when taken during pregnancy or the flaws in the breaking system of a Japanese car. However, when the exported product is ideas and beliefs and ways of life, the indirect and sneaky damage, is often much more malevolent and long-lasting because it attacks the worldview of the recipients and it shakes their cherished beliefs.
Because of its technological supremacy Islamic and developing countries got used to wholeheartedly accepting any information coming from the West if it is under the tag of “science”. By presenting itself under this prestigious ‘mantra’ of science, students in Muslim countries swallow the kernel of psychology with its nutshell; the baby with its filthy water. The danger of this approach is greatly augmented by the shortcomings of our educational systems that discourages critical thinking and encourages the submissive acceptance of the words of the teacher and that of printed material.
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