Among the western civilization's more dubious claims is that western man possesses the ability to define and delimit all knowledge. While colonization used murder and bribery to great effect, a lasting impact of the western incursion is in the area of epistemology, the nature of knowledge.
One hears a lot of talk about ‘the millennium. There’s a daily countdown - one can buy watches that number the days. And there are numerous academic conferences involving Muslims in programs like, ‘interfaith dialogues for the new millennium’ or ‘new thoughts for the new millennium.’
There is in Malaysia a truly George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty Four scenario. There is an ‘Anti-Corruption Act’ to nab those who complain about corruption; an Institute of Islamic Understanding to promote an orientalist version of Islam; non-Muslims advising the Muslims how to reform Islam, else Islam will `die off’ due to its failure to change with the time...
