I think this Q&A is vital reading to help understand the current situation we are in, from a cultural psychological point of view. I chose not to put it into the Politics & War subform as I believe its logic is something that everyone should read.
Interview with psychologist Nicolai Sennels: “Muslims instinctively see our lack of reaction as fear, its an invitation to attack”
While I think he does a brilliant job of laying out the cultural cognitive dissonance right there, I urge you to read the rest of the Q&A in the link. It's an opinion highly worth considering.
Interview with psychologist Nicolai Sennels: “Muslims instinctively see our lack of reaction as fear, its an invitation to attack”
Quote:Quote:
1) What are the differences between the Muslim and Western man?
Nicolai: Working with Muslim clients I found four important psychological differences. Understanding these differences makes us more able to understand the psychological aspects of integration problems that the West experiences when it comes to Muslim immigrants.
The first difference concerns anger. Western cultures see anger as a weakness, and expression of anger is a way to lose social status. In the Muslim culture, where , “might is right”, anger is seen as strength. Some Muslim communities even declare “days of anger”, where they try to convince others by screaming, shooting in the air and hopping up and down. While we Westerners see such behavior as embracing or even psychiatric, Muslim culture defines our lack of aggression as weakness, that can – and should – be exploited. To avoid such invitations to exploitation, we should speak the truth, make demands, be consequent – and carry a big stick.
The second difference concerns honor and self confidence. Inside the Western culture it is generally seen as a sign of honor and self confidence, if we are able to handle criticism either with and shrug (if we disagree) or with a “I think you are right – thanks for helping me to improve”. In Muslim culture, it is honorable to defend against criticism with aggression and exhibit the courage to risk physical confrontation – no matter if the criticism is true or not. Islam can not defend, Islam can only attack. This is why we very seldom hear Muslims defend their religion through logic or reason, but almost always with intimidation and violence: It does not matter who is right, it matters who is the strongest. From the perspective of traditional Muslim culture, the Western concept of honor is dishonorable. It makes us look pathetic and fearful, and for a religion that is basically imperialistic and aggressive, it is an invitation to attack.
The third difference concerns self responsibility, and here the psychological term “locus of control” is important to understand. Western culture leans towards an inner locus of control, meaning that we think that our lives are mainly governed by inner factors, such as our own choices, our own view and our way of handling our emotions. That is why we have countless therapists, coaches etc., and countless books and magazines, which all aim at helping us to be better at helping ourselves. Muslim culture and especially Islam is strongly characterized by outer locus of control. Everything happens “Inshallah”; almost every aspect of life is regulated by Islamic law, the brutal sharia that steals away so many human rights from the people living under it; male authorities – fathers, big brothers, uncles, imams, etc. – make the rules and have enormous power over especially the women. There is very little room for personal choices and freedoms, and this naturally creates a feeling of outer locus of control: Your life is created by outside factors, and the freedom to explore and train inner locus of control is very limited. This is also the reason for the world famous, and – from a Western perspective – embarrassing and childish victim mentality, that characterizes many Muslim communities and immigrants. When this victim mentality meets with our Western compassion and questions like “what would you like to do”, integration is doomed to fail. Only now are Western authorities beginning to learn that we need to meet Muslim immigrants with demands, and consequences – “you have to do this and that and this is the consequences if you do not.” People with outer locus of control mostly have very little control and needs clear communication, a clear frame work and clear consequences if they break the rules. But even though we are starting to realize this now, it might be too late to stop the failed integration of millions of people from this very different culture from destroying our societies.
The fourth difference concerns tolerance and openness. In the West, being “tolerant and open” is considered a de facto definition of a good person. Hundred years ago, “good persons” went to church every Sunday, while today they stand with “RefugeesWelcome” signs on train stations. In Islam, a good person is somebody adhering strictly to the sharia, which is very intolerant and closed – even violent – towards outsiders. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to predict how the meeting between to such different cultures will evolve: As a cultural osmosis, the “open” culture will be consumed by the intolerant culture: The cultural exchange will be a one-way street. This is what is eating up our countries these years in the form of Islamic parallel societies that develop into small Gaza Strips with extreme dense population; radical Islam going viral; poverty, low education and dependence on economic support from outside; and a hostile and violent attitude towards their non-Muslim surroundings: A constant source of aggression that needs constant containment in order not to spill over and into its context.
While I think he does a brilliant job of laying out the cultural cognitive dissonance right there, I urge you to read the rest of the Q&A in the link. It's an opinion highly worth considering.