I find this whole topic to be fascinating and deeply important. It seems to me to be often mentioned but rarely discussed with any clarity whatsoever. (Or perhaps my own mind lacks clarity on the issues and I read this into discussion by others who are clear).
What can we make of the fact that, as far as I can tell, (please correct me if I am wrong here) the common culture that developed in many if not all Muslim societies in fact contained much that contradicted Islam.
This is one of the possible contradictions of the “traditional Islam” crowd. If the above is truly the case, how can one argue that the mere fact that something has been long established in Muslim lands gives it some kind of stamp of approval?
I am sure many would argue that this is evidence of the fact that even if one wants to carve out a space for people to be righteous, one also has to allow for people to make other choices. That the “puritanical” attempt to truly command the good and forbid the wrong is ultimately self defeating?
Self-consciously setting out to “create” a culture is weird enough in itself, but how can one set out to create an “American Muslim” culture and include stuff that is haram in it? And is it possible to create a culture that will appeal to the average Muslim that is not filled with much that is at the very least highly questionable Islamically?
At the end of the day, this of course relates directly to your recent series of posts. Is it possible to have “Islamic Music” or even “Muslim Music” if music is haram? What about gender mixing?
In an article I think I’ve mentioned previously, Amer Haleem raises some of the problematic trends that arise from the fetishization of American culture. I agree with what I perceive to be his argument, but I’m still not 100% clear on the alternative way forward.
Help!
Allaah Knows Best.