Translator: Judy Fong

When discussion arises about integration of newcomers into a new society, differing values are often mentioned as a reason for the difficulty of peaceful coexistence of different cultures. This was the theory that the American political scientist, Samuel Huntington, laid out in his book The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order published in 1996. Huntington predicted that cultural and religious beliefs between different groups would become the major source of conflict in the world after the end of the Cold War.

The problem with Huntington’s theory is that research into the values of various societies and religious beliefs point in a different direction. First, no culture appears as one homogeneous and unchanging collective. If we take western society and democracy as an example, democracy has not always been the dominant value in our part of the world: many western countries did not become democracies until the twentieth century, some were even dictatorships for a large part of the last century. In fact, there is no guarantee that western nations will continue to be democracies forever, as several human rights associations have raised concerns about the decline of democracy in countries such as Hungary, Austria, and the United States.

Accordingly, different political circumstances in different cultural spheres are not a clear sign of different values, although the scarcity of democratic processes and rights in the Middle East are often interpreted as such. Polls which have been conducted in these countries paint an entirely different picture. When residents of the Middle East are asked, “how important is it for you to live in a country that is governed democratically?” 91% of Egyptians and 88% of Iranians consider it important or very important, according to the World Values Survey (on a scale from 1 to 10). The birthplace of democracy, the United States, does not score especially high on this “democratic” scale, with only 83% compared to the aforementioned countries. In 2021 in fact, journalists from the Washington Post reported that 40% of Americans thought that “a military coup would be justified when there is a lot of corruption,” according to a recent poll (including 50% of Republicans).

The World Values Survey also shows Middle Easterns to be very pro-citizen rights, as 84% of Iranians and 81% of Pakistani agree that “in a democracy, citizens’ rights should protect the freedoms of citizens against state oppression,” whereas only 77% of Americans and 51% of Thai people agree to that statement.

Armed conflict and terrorist attacks in the Middle East in the past years can convey the picture that violence for political or religious reasons is to a greater degree deemed justifiable in that region, but the numbers tell a different tale. Only 1 to 2% of Middle Easterners consider terrorist attacks to be justified according to the World Values Survey, a value similar to those of other countries (1.6% of Americans and 1.9% of Russians think the same). In America, 78% of citizens of islamic faith believe the army should “never attack civilians,” while only 40% of those who hold other religious beliefs (or none) hold the same viewpoint, according to a Gallup poll (2010).

Then why is the Middle East so prone to violence, political instability and tyranny, one might ask? The answer is likely multifaceted: aftermath of colonialism, historical context, insufficiently strong democratic institutions and competition for precious oil resources are factors to consider, but a deep analysis of the factors at play would be worthy of a lengthy PhD thesis. However, the data clearly shows that “values” have little to do with the current situation, as what we call “western values” are neither unique nor confined to the Western World. The tyrants and corrupt leaders who govern countries of the middle east, often with approval from the West, simply do not care much about the “values” that their citizens hold.

Armed conflict is usually not a sign of differing values, but rather an example that we do not follow the values that we pretend to cherish. This holds true for the West and the Middle East alike; the conflict in Israel and Palestine has exposed this double standard on both sides. Western countries, which have steadfastly condemned the invasion and occupation by Russia in Ukraine, have refused to take a similar stance regarding the occupation and invasion by Israel of Palestine during the past 75 years. At the same time the Arab world has continued to make business deals with Israel, as if nothing was the matter, and in spite of their occasional verbal condemnations and talk of brotherhood among Muslims. After all is said and done, two values trump them all, no matter who is involved: business interests on the one hand and the desire for power on the other hand, as they tend to trample over everything else…

Multiculturalism: Are Western Values Unique?