The progress in the contemporary world in the field of media and communication has resulted in numerous social issues, challenges, and dangers, the most significant of which are those facing the value system. These developments have led to the erosion of the fundamental pillars upon which these values are based, subsequently changing them to foreign value elements promoted through an international system, some by military force and others by soft power, such as cinematic and television dramas and social media platforms. Not to mention the binding agreements for states that have mandated the acceptance of value systems that do not belong to the local cultures of Arab and Islamic countries.
If we accept that the value system is what guides the general behavior of societies and determines their acceptance or rejection of a particular value, we must understand that any change in the value system results in a change in individual behaviors from one pattern to another. The value system is composed of a triad: knowledge, emotion, and behavior, which are the components that stimulate an individual's choice, appreciation, bias, and action. The cognitive component drives the acceptance or rejection of the value, while the emotional component leads to attachment to the value, pride in it, and happiness in practicing it even if it has procedural consequences. The behavioral component confirms the practice of the action and the adoption of the value.
The Ummah's Value System Built by the Quran and Reinforced by the Sunnah
There are numerous examples of the value systems built for the Islamic Ummah in all aspects of life. To establish the value of chastity and the avoidance of the vice of adultery, the Quran and the purified Sunnah have built a value system starting with Allah's words, “Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts.” (An-Nur: 30), followed by, “And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts.” (An-Nur: 31) Preceding these ayahs is the guidance not to enter others' houses without permission, so as not to view their private matters. This is complemented by the Prophet's (peace be upon him) hadith: “The adultery of the eye is the lustful look and the adultery of the ears is listening to voluptuous (song or talk) and the adultery of the tongue is licentious speech and the adultery of the hand is the lustful grip (embrace) and the adultery of the feet is to walk (to the place) where he intends to commit adultery and the heart yearns and desires and the private parts approve all that or disapprove it.”
Over the past decade, various forms of dramatic production have significantly contributed to ethical and behavioral chaos.
Islam managed, from its early days until the 19th century, to preserve the unique value system of the Ummah, aligning with the practiced divine method through its cohesion within the governance system. This system evolved from Prophethood to the Rightly Guided Caliphate and then to the era of “biting kingship,” which maintained the Ummah's unity and distinctive value system.
However, cultural invasion has managed to penetrate the Muslim identity with the advent of “oppressive kingship,” marked by the emergence of smaller states and the collapse of the Caliphate/biting kingship, coinciding with the rise of media and communication technologies—from the printing press to the radio, cinema, television, and eventually social media. This penetration has influenced Muslims to adopt value systems far from their cultural and spiritual foundations.
Drama and Cultural Invasion
Several factors have interacted within Arab societies, producing a genuine cultural identity crisis for the Muslim individual. This individual now lives in a state of conflict between the intrusive Western cultural influences that have penetrated their value system and alienated them from the innate nature bestowed by Allah. This innate nature was once reinforced by educational means within the family, school, and mosque, whose roles have significantly diminished in recent years, leading to a structural imbalance in the previously dominant value systems.
In the face of the declining roles of educational, religious, and familial institutions, drama has emerged as one of the most dangerous invasive factors, carrying negative messages and content. With its intensive and daily doses, whether through traditional media (cinema, television, theater) or on “new media platforms,” drama has become a primary source for acquiring both positive and negative behaviors.
Observing the various forms of dramatic productions over the past decade reveals that they have contributed to moral and behavioral chaos. These productions have propagated messages promoting the normalization of family disintegration, violence, behavioral deviations (adultery, drugs, cohabitation), questioning the value of marriage, normalizing homosexuality, weakening and marginalizing the roles of fathers and religious figures, mocking religious laws and prophetic traditions, casting doubt on certain hadiths to undermine the purified Sunnah, disregarding values of modesty, purity, and virginity, and ridiculing all religious institutions, except the church.
Religious institutions should establish drama production entities to counter westernization and cultural invasion.
The above vices are present in Arab drama. When we consider the exposure to dubbed dramas from Indians and Koreans or translated dramas from Americans, we are faced with a scenario that undermines Islamic beliefs. These dramas distort the image of the Creator, whom Muslims have been taught to respect through their religious upbringing. They go as far as to glorify Shaitan, atheism, Buddhism, and all the idols and temples of Hinduism, promoting family degradations that align with these beliefs. They also portray the white man as a superhero capable of conquering the universe with his knowledge and weapons, depicting him as the guardian of human values and individual freedom, even when it violates the rights of others, sponsoring moral decay and rampant sexual behavior.
Our Normative Culture
The system governing Islamic culture is a normative one, measurable for individuals and societies. It is based on a conditional thinking structure that links attaining eternal happiness in the Hereafter and transient happiness in this world to adherence to the laws set by Allah (SWT) in the Quran and explained by the Prophet Muhammad in the Hadiths. The extent to which societies adhere to and align with this normative structure serves as a measure of their resilience against cultural invasion or defeat in the face of external cultural onslaughts.
This necessitates that religious institutions take action to address the emerging issues among the youth of the ummah, particularly because they are the most susceptible to shifts in the value system. Studies have shown that young people are the most exposed to and influenced by drama, often feeling alienated and imitating what they see across various platforms without any counter-products to challenge what is being broadcast to them, pulling them away from their convictions and affiliations.
We are not saying that religious institutions should increase sermons or deploy more preachers and scholars in channels, mosques, and public forums, as these traditional platforms are not appealing to the youth. Instead, religious institutions should devise a plan to establish production companies that create dramatic works to counteract the strategies of Westernization and cultural invasion.
Prior to this, these institutions must conduct research studies to identify the negative values that have been instilled in Muslim societies, deconstruct the content and messages that have been exported to our communities, measure them against the Islamic value system, and develop counter-messages. These studies should then be transformed into dramatic products by engaging creative individuals. An open subscription for the ummah should be launched to fund the dramatic production, considering this contribution a part of jihad.
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