There is rage towards the West among Muslims today; I suggest we emulate rather than hate. The West of course has its own blemishes, but we should absorb the best and reject the rest.

Early Muslims eagerly learnt from the leading philosophers of their time. Those Muslims mastered and subsequently improved on the works of the Hellenic scholars, and in the process significantly advanced the state of knowledge for all mankind. That was the golden age of Islam that produced great scholars like Ibn Sini and Ibn Rashid. What characterised Muslims then were their eagerness to learn and ready acceptance of new ideas, and also their tolerance for dissenting views. We would do well to emulate those sterling qualities.

There are three aspects of the West, specifically America, we should adopt: diversity, charity, and curiosity.

The Muslim world shares with America the diversity of its people. The American motto, E pluribus unum (Out of many, one), also applies to Muslims. Today Americans, black and white, believers and atheists, rich and poor, are equal in fact and in law. Likewise, Muslims everywhere consider themselves as one ummah (community).

America's generous social safety net exemplifies its charity at the institutional level. Americans are no less charitable on a personal level. They contributed nearly a billion dollars in short order for the victims of the recent tragedy. As for curiosity and thirst for knowledge, more Americans complete high school and college than any other nation. Every year Americans routinely garner more than their share of Nobel prizes.

Celebrate diversity

Unlike America, the Muslim world is spared the blight of racism. Muslims should capitalise on this tolerance. We should not only tolerate diversity but also more importantly, celebrate it. Islam is the most ethnically and culturally diverse religion. While Islam is welcoming of people from different heritage and culture, Muslims have difficulty tolerating and accommodating differences in our views.

Early Islam for example, was violently split over differences on who should succeed the prophet as leader of the faith. It is illustrative that two of the first four caliphs were assassinated. Muslims, past and present, have this messianic zeal that their interpretation of the faith is the only true and valid one. All others are not only wrong but must be condemned and their followers killed, if necessary.

Such certitudes and the consequent intolerances are of course taught. Young Muslims are indoctrinated from very early that everything has been laid out. It is all there in the Quran and the sunnah (ways of the prophet), crystal clear. There is no need to think or analyse further. Just absorb and regurgitate. No new interpretations are warranted. We implicitly trust our predecessors and scholars.

All Muslims subscribe to the basic tenet of the faith; we differ only on the periphery. We should learn to accept such differences with civility. If we can get along with our fellow Muslims then we would also get along well with non-Muslims.

A hadith to the effect that the best generation of Muslims are those of the prophet's; the second best, the generation immediately following; and so on, implies the fatalistic acceptance that subsequent generations are doomed to ever increasing mediocrity. The best that we can hope is to reduce the slope of the decline. How pathetic! This is definitely not the recipe for advancement.

Such an attitude dampens our curiosity. If everything is already settled and answered, there is no need to venture further, to be inquisitive. Allah created this wonderful universe and made humans His vice-regent, His trustee. When one is given a gift, the greatest tribute one can give to the donor is to study and learn as much as possible about that gift. Thus we honour Allah immensely when we study the universe around and within us.

When I operate on the human body, I cannot help but be humbled by Allah's wonders. Astronomers studying the distant stars marvel at the beauty of Allah's intricate and complex creation. The bountiful life around us, too, is part of Allah's grand design. But we will never appreciate these divine gifts unless we diligently study them. Ancient Muslim scholars like Ibn Batustta were awestruck by this wonderful earth. It inspired Batustta to travel and unravel its wonders.

Progress in the West is predicated on this same curiosity to learn as much about nature as possible. Westerners take the Quranic refrain of using our God-given akal (intellect) to heart.

Charity of spirit

Charity, zakat, is rightly one of the pillars of our faith, if not the central one. A passage in our Holy Book declares that our prayers are meaningless if we are not charitable. Unfortunately, modern-day Muslims treat charity mechanically. They are deemed to have done their duty when they have contributed their tithe. But what is also badly needed is charity of spirit.

A while back I was a guest of a high religious official (as indicated by his plush government-issued bungalow). I was stunned at how he treated his 'servants. They were literally slaves and given no respect. I, too, had a maid when my children were young, but my wife and I considered her our helper. My children still had to clean their rooms, and she ate with us. We would not have it any other way.

In 1998 we had the rare opportunity of celebrating Hari Raya together with Chinese New Year. The government rightly seized on the occasion to preach tolerance and diversity. Businesses, too, joined in the uplifting mood with their own creative commercials celebrating the country's two great cultural traditions.

But at the mosque in Petaling Jaya I heard little of that generosity. The Imam in his sermon venomously lashed out at those who dared elevate non-Islamic festivities to the exalted status of Eid, a direct assault on the government's noble intentions. His fulminating tirade was irreverently incongruous at a place of worship, and at a traditional season for forgiveness. There was certainly little charity exhibited by that mullah.

Later at an open house of a 'friend of a friend', I ventured why the visibly poor in the neighbourhood were not invited. "Oh, those are illegal Indonesians!" came the prompt smug reply. I cannot find any reference in the Quran on legal and illegal Muslims.

How did we Muslims get to be like this? We have to look at our schools, madrasahs, and other institutions for the answers as to why present-day Muslims are less tolerant, less charitable, and less curious.