Most Westerners tend to view the Islamic societies as somewhat backward in their beliefs according to Mazrui. Commonly Westerners believe that this is due to the oppressed religious beliefs of Islamic's. They also believe that the Islamic society is governed inhumanely in comparison to the enlightened, well-rounded democracy of the Western world. However the measurement of cultural differences between the West and Islam is somewhat complex, and the differences between the two is narrower than assumed by most Western beliefs. Islam is not considered just a religion, and most certainly is not just a fundamentalist political movement but is a civilization and a way of life that varies from one Muslim country to another. The Westerners seem fail to recognize how their own societies have failed to live up to their liberal mythology. Many aspects of Islamic culture that Westerners regard as medieval may even have prevailed in their own culture until fairly recently. In most cases, Islamic societies are onl

The sources and methods of censorship may differ but censorship is just a fact of life in Western societies as it is in the Muslim world. Censorship is often crudely, imposed by governments, mullahs and imams, and recently, militant Islamic movements. However, the Censorship in the West, is more polished and decentralized. The practitioners in the West are financial backers of the cultural activity and entertainment advertisers that buy time on commercial television. In regards to the division of church and state and the protection of minority religions through secularism in the West, Islam has tried to protect those religions through ecumenicalism throughout its history. One conclusion that can be drawn from this is that Westerners are less well rounded in their political behavior than they believe. The other conclusion is that Muslim societies historically have been more ecumenical, and are therefore more humane, than the Western critics have come to recognize. However, the Islamic ecumenicalism has protected religious minorities more effectively than the Westerners. O

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Approximate Word count = 725
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)