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| Islam and the West: A
Cultural and Psychological Analysis (Part-I) Dr. Durre S. Ahmad Introduction The conflict among civilizations will be
increasingly central: The West and Islam, Islam and Hindu civilizations in
India. Islam vs the Slavic Orthodox Russian civilization, China and Japan
as civilizations. These are going to be the major entities among which
international relations will take place... By now there are extensive scholarly
materials which have attempted to break down the monolithic stereotypes
regarding Islam, fundamentalism and the geopolitics of the subject after
the end of the Cold War. As one scans this material, however, there is a
certain sense of deja vu, leaving one wondering about the capacity of
those who teach, to learn themselves. The intellectual enterprise of
‘Soviet Studies’ is a case in point. In an article about the collapse of the
Soviet Union titled "Why Were We Surprised?", (The American
Scholar, Spring 1991) W.R. Connors asked a crucial question implicating
the western approach to knowledge about such issues; and the academic
tendency to view phenomena through the "thin slit of social
science" which pays attention to only a very narrow range of factors:
data on military force, economics, agricultural productivity and the
relationships among leaders. Frequently ignored are: The passions ... the appeal of ethnic
loyalty and nationalism, the demands for freedom of religious practice and
cultural expression - these conditions were "soft" or
"unscientific" and those who emphasized them could be scorned. Connors’ views were echoed by a spectrum
of intellectuals and academics and are summed up by an extensive editorial
in the Wilson Quarterly on the demise of Soviet Studies. As it points out,
Soviet Studies had as much to do with the various intellectual positions
within U.S. academe as without, in what was the Soviet Union itself. As a
consequence of these different, essentially philosophical perspectives
(e.g. liberal versus conservative) and despite "prodigious
intellectual labours and the prodigious sums spent to make them
possible", proponents of different views could not even vaguely
anticipate the events which led to the final collapse. While one applauds the western inclination
for doing such academic postmortems, it must also be said that they are
nevertheless, postmortems, conducted in hindsight by specialists whose
primary task was to gauge and monitor the future. It is perhaps premature
to conclude that the ghost of Soviet Studies has returned to haunt the
scholarship on Islam. At the same time, there is as yet scant evidence
that the experience of Soviet Studies has been absorbed and adapted to the
West’s newfound interest in what is now being called "another
despotic creed seeking to infiltrate the West". Once again, economics, and especially
politics, dominates the flow of analysis. It remains to be seen also, if
this particular endeavour will receive the same degree of academic and
research support in universities and think-tanks as did Soviet Studies.
With time, the substance of this research effort will become a major
indicator of the extent to which any genuine shift has occurred in western
intellectual consciousness and its theories and methods of knowledge. At present, one can say that in the same
way that it has taken the social sciences almost 20 years to begin a
serious re-examination of ‘development’, it has yet to come to a
substantive understanding of religion per se and especially Islam. The
current situation cannot be considered anti-Islamic as much as
anti-religion, stemming as it does, from the modern academic belief that
there is an ‘inconsistency’ between faith and knowledge and thus
‘those who believe cannot think and those who think cannot believe’.
As one has discussed elsewhere, this attitude is slowly changing and there
is now an openness and even an active return to religion in some western
academic circles. However, the direction of this change does not bode
well, in one’s opinion, for either the West or the rest - and for women
on both sides. While it claims to base itself on a rejection of modernity,
it goes on to endorse what one understands as basically a return to
fundamentalist Christianity and Judaism. That the focus in the West has been on
Islam’s militant/fundamentalist aspect, in a sense highlights and puts
to question many basic assumptions about religion and the approach of
modern knowledge systems to the study of religion. On the one hand, Islam
has been historically lumped with Judaism and Christianity as part of a
particular moral-partriarchal world view labelled ‘monotheism’. Yet,
it sticks out like a sore thumb, generating immense passions on both sides
of an ever increasing and violent divide the other side of which is
precisely those religious systems of which it is supposedly a confused,
received, and therefore invented version. The fact is that Islam largely
remains to be studied either in postmodern or its own terms, that is, from
a framework not only of comparative theology but its specific psychology,
as distinct from other religions, each of which infact have also different
psychologies. Some Theoretical Considerations Paranoia: In the context of its treatment, paranoia
is an exceedingly intransigent condition. Therapy relying on the ideal of
insight into oneself rarely works, not least because the majority of
paranoids are highly intelligent. Given the initial "false
belief", whatever the therapist may say and however rational and
factual it may be, the paranoid person interprets information which simply
confirms the initial belief. The roots of paranoia are thus deeply related
to two currently popular intellectual themes: epistemology and
interpretation. Indeed, as one considers the official material on
paranoia, it seems to be a peculiarly intellectual(s) disease: The Committee on Nomenclature and
Statistics of the American Psychology Association grouped paranoia and
paranoid states as psychoses without known brain pathology. It defined
them as cases showing persistent delusions, generally persecutory and
grandiose, and ordinarily without hallucinations ... Emotional response
and behaviour are consistent with the ideas held ... Intelligence is well
preserved ... It is characterized by an intricate, complex and slowly
developing system, often logically elaborated after a false interpretation
of an actual occurrence. The patient frequently considers himself endowed
with superior or unique abilities ... older psychiatrists called it
monomania ... essentially a disorder of the intellect ... but without
general personality deterioration. (My emphases) Applying these criteria to the mutual
paranoia of the West and Islam, there seems little cause for an optimistic
resolution between the two. However, since this discourse aims to remain
within an analytic framework as set down by the West itself, it will
continue to rely on the assumptions of western depth psychology/psychiatry
regarding insight, knowledge and change. As a psychotherapeutic endeavour
then, this paper is part of a series addressed to the
academic/intellectual mentality of both sides. For reasons of both
structure and space, the present focus is the West and the nature and
extent of Islam as the `other’ in Western consciousness which is not to
say that the reverse does not hold. Infact it does. But for reasons
related to clarity and different psychological concerns, the stance of the
protagonists will be discussed individually. Rapport and Psychotherapy The necessity of a common language is a
pre-requisite for the psychotherapeutic process. The earliest Freudian
model was based on the notion that it was the therapist’s task to
understand and `make sense’ of the patient’s condition hence the field
of depth psychology. Within the massive enterprise of what constitutes
psychotherapy in the West, today it is taken for granted that it is
important for the therapist to "speak the language" of the
patient, of "entering the patient’s world" and so on, as the
first and most crucial step towards successful therapy. The degree of
rapport then is inextricably related to the therapist’s ability to speak
the language(s) of the patient. In trying to establish an intellectual
rapport between Islam and the West, it is not enough to be simply writing
in English in order to attack the West for being prejudiced, hypocritical
etc, or then belligerently insisting on a different `indigenous’ vision,
stating it, and leaving it at that. While to a certain extent such an
attitude can be justified for asserting a post-colonial identity and
contrasting vision(s) it presents no solution as to how to bridge the
growing polarization between the protagonists. The need for such bridges
is becoming imperative in the light of problems which are global in scope
such as AIDS and the state of the environment. The pragmatics of human
communication are such that simply blaming the other rarely proves to be
conducive to dialogue or change. In psychological terms, such an approach
is essentially Freudian in which most problems are laid at the door of
powerful parental figures which, theoretically, can lead into an infinite
regress of blameworthy progenitors. It is also conceptually fruitless
since the `other’ is seen only as a protagonist to be either repelled or
conquered. This particular discourse then is based on
the assumption that communication is more effective through a common
theoretical/analytic language, one belonging to the West. In this instance
it is the Jungian method of analytical psychology. Apart from offering a
conceptually rich field of ideas, it is suitable since it takes into
account widely divergent cultures and religions in its view of collective
and individual behaviour. At times, in the course of the analysis, the
shortcomings inherent in the theory will be difficult to ignore. Yet, the
main purpose is not to do a critique of Jungian theory. Rather, as a first
step towards mutual understanding, the aim at this initial stage is to set
out the West’s understanding of the psychology of Islam. Even in the
context of criticism, it is preferable not to launch into a diatribe on
behalf of `the rest’. One of the most distinctive and admirable features
of the Western approach to knowledge is a healthy tendency towards
self-criticism which is markedly lacking in its opponents. In sum, the
effort is to be neither acrimonious nor condemnatory but to communicate,
on the basis of facts, the West’s view of Islam as provided by the West
itself. The Other The term `other’ is rapidly becoming a
cliche in sociology and anthropology but in its source context of
psychology, it continues to be an important concept. Uprooted from its
original matrix and made into a label, the term has been claimed mostly by
the rest to bash the West. At the same time, all sides tend to overlook
the psychological fact that such a division between `self’ and
`other’, serves a crucial function in the advancement of the evolution
of human consciousness. That is, the ‘other’ is vital to knowledge
about oneself, regardless of whether this self belongs to the West or the
rest. As Jung pointed out, the ability to differentiate is the sine qua
non of consciousness and all knowledge (including morality) presupposes
such a consciousness. The necessity of
differentiation-as-knowledge can be considered a law, functioning as it
does at the most basic levels of human perception. The human sensorium can
only function on the basis of contrast and difference. There can be no
information/knowledge without contrast. For example, subjects placed in a
room painted a uniform white with absolutely no present of contrast start
experiencing visual distortion and then `blindness’ until contrast it
introduced even as a spot of black thereby restoring perspective and
balance. The same holds for all the other senses. Similarly, knowledge of
oneself, individual or cultural, is possible only in the context of
difference, which is perhaps why, since antiquity, the sages have looked
to travel as a source of wisdom. Thus, the current negative viewing of the
notion of the `other’ is both fruitless and limiting. And the
observation that "to understand himself man needs to be understood by
another; to be understood by another, he needs to understand the
other", is applicable to the rest and the West. The issue of the other is also close to the
heart of the therapeutic enterprise. More than most disciplines, the
structure of psychotherapy insists on the recognition of this other. The
therapeutic context becomes a microcosmic arena in which different levels
of other-ness and their relationship(s) with both therapist are played out
on the assumption that these encounters will lead to further insight - and
change. At one level, patient and therapist mutually reflect an other.
Similarly, most depth psychology theories assume the existence of
another–or others–within each individual. The therapist’s training
assumes that he/she has developed a knowledge of and therefore a
comfortable relationship with the `other(s) within. Based on this sort of
self-knowledge, the therapist can assist the patient to do the same. Thus, for example, the Freudian `id’ and
its counterpart of the `superego’ can be postulated as different
`others’ which have to be firstly recognized and subsequently brought
under the control of the rational `ego’. The Jungian approach assumes a
host of psychological `others’ which need to be `integrated’ in order
for a person to feel whole and `individuated’. To quote Jung: No one who does not know himself can know
others. And in each of us there is another whom we do not know. He speaks
to us in dreams and tells us how differently he sees us from the way we
see ourselves. When therefore we find ourselves in a difficult situation
to which there is no solution, he can sometimes kindle a light that
radically alters our attitude–the very attitude that led us into there
difficult situation. To simply say then, that the West sees
Islam as the ‘other’ is to trivialize and render irrelevant what is
obviously becoming a serious situation. After all, if the `other’ is
basically a matter of difference, the question arises as to how to
distinguish the quality of response between, for example, Hinduism as
`other’ and Islam? Setting aside obvious disparities of
numerical scale, the question needs a frame of reference which would
permit reasonable comparisons. Within psychology and psychiatry, such a
frame is provided by The Collected Works of C.G. Jung, the best of the
West/Symbol. Carl Jung: Biography and Background. Perhaps even more than Freud, Carl Jung
remains a controversial figure in western intellectual history. Numerous
biographies and commentaries have been written on Jung’s life and work,
many of them linking personal events with the formulation of his theories.
The wide and intense spectrum of response that he generated can be gauged
by a sampling of just the titles of some of these texts. Paul Stern’s
C.G.Jung: The Haunted Prophet is a highly critical biography verging on
character assassination. A Freudian analyst, Stern saw Jung as a man of
bad conscience, an extortionist, a terrible family man not interested in
his children who married his wife primarily for his money. Stern is also
convinced of Jung’s anti-semitism. At the other extreme is a book by the
prolific author, traveller and latter day renaissance man, Laurens van der
Post and his Jung and the Story of Our Times. It is Post’s conviction
that sooner rather than later, Jung "will be seen for what he is, one
of the great turning points in history, already being recognized by the
Old and New Worlds". Insofar as Post is not a psychologist, his
undoubtedly adulatory tone can be considered a forerunner to the current
absorption of the `New Age’ in the West with Jungian and post-Jungian
concepts. As Post notes, Jung enabled the opening of a dialogue and a
meeting point between East and West. In this sense, Post’s view is
perhaps the most widespread and representative for our purpose of a
mutually acceptable analytic framework. A third biography on Jung is by Vincent
Brome who like Stern, is a psychiatrist. Academically, however, his
approach is far more balanced. Thus in the book Jung: Man and Myth, Brome
notes the facts regarding Jung’s bisexual impulses, his forays into
adultery and his remaining "unreconciled to Christianity". Yet,
there are other facets which are also highlighted. Brome takes care to
establish Jung’s academic credentials including the awarding of numerous
honorary degrees by prestigious universities across the continents. He
confirms what is anyway evident in Jung’s Collected Works of an
erudition on a gigantic scale. Brome’s assessment of Jung’s influence
on other disciplines is similarly comprehensive. He notes the frequently
obscured fact that despite the bitter differences with Freud, Jung’s
ideas were to clearly influence psychoanalysis itself. Similarly, his
careful consideration of the anti-semitic accusation, exonerates Jung from
the essentially Freudian motivated charge. Jung’s Contemporary Status and
Influence Today, Jung’s obscurity is no longer an
issue. While he has yet to have the same impact as Freud on academe, the
comparison is perhaps misplaced since in many ways academe has itself
undergone a transformation since the advent of Freud. As Brome has pointed
out, analogies to Jungian concepts are not difficult to find in fields
ranging from anthropology to sociology. The feminist movement and its
mostly successful insistence on the centrality of gender and
interpretation, owes a substantial debt to Jung. Numerous writers have described how the
quarrel between Freud and Jung can be seen as a battle between the
Freudian masculine patriarch and Jung’s effort to restore the lost
elements of the Great Mother Goddess. Many books have documented the story
of the separation between Freud and Jung as a battle between father and
son. The battle, of course, was over the human Psyche, classically a
female, and who among the two men had the more appropriate theory and
method to formulate a logos of the psyche: Psychology. Half a century
later, while the battle continues, Jung stands if not vindicated then at
least in a position where a different feminine voice is now an audible
contrast to Freud’s masculine one. The dethroning of Freud, with his
virulent anti-female bias, has been a major force in the search for
alternative explanations of what can be called normal and abnormal. While
one has argued that much of what is considered post-Freudian psychology is
infect more of the same, the feminist reaction to Freud has at least
succeeded in making space for other views, including Jung’s. Which is
not to say that Jungian theory is a particularly sympathetic and accurate
portrait of the psychology of women. That is another story. This one is
about Jung and how he can be considered a symbol of a particular type of
geopolitical/cultural consciousness. Brome’s review of Jung’s influence is
important since it reveals long-obscured facts pertaining to a range of
contemporary knowledge systems. It illustrates that, unlike Freud whose
methods have long been discarded by disciplines other than psychology,
Jungian concepts continue to flourish in many fields, albeit
unacknowledged. According to Brome, within psychology, Neo-Freudians owe
much to Jung whose concept of `individuation’ anticipated the notion of
`self-actualization’. Existential analysts are similarly indebted in
their theoretical constructs. Painting as a means of insight is today a
common therapeutic method and has its origins in Jung’s analytic
psychology. Terms such as `complex’, `introvert’ and `extrovert’
inspired even Freud to revise his libido theory. Subsequently, the
introversion/extraversion model was employed by Eysenk as one important
dimension of personality. Jung’s early work on word association
inspired the Rorschach test and other projective techniques leading to the
invention of the lie-detector. His preoccupation with myths, fairy tales,
symbols and archetypes led to a new understanding of not only
schizophrenia but of the psychological significance of these materials for
individuals and entire cultures. In literary criticism, the cross
fertilization has been equally rich. For example, Northrop Frye’s
classic text The Anatomy of Criticism is clearly influenced by Jung.
Frye’s subsequent and highly influential wrestling’s reflect a
continuing deepening of this influence. Similarly, another critical
classic, Archetypal Patterns in Poetry by Maud Bodkin is directly
derivative in its very title. Jung’s influence is also evident in the
writings of Gillbert Murray, J.B. Priestley’s Literature and Western
Man, Gottfried Diener’s study of Faust and James Kirsch’s
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the artistic domain, an entire aesthetic
has been worked out by Phipson based on Jungian principles. Eric
Neumann’s analysis of Henry Moore, Herbert Read’s studies of painting
and Michael Tippett’s musical criticism are all anchored in Jungian
concepts. David Reisman’s The Lonely Crowd developed the
introversion-extraversion categories in sociological terms. Jung’s views
on religions provided lively debates in both Catholic and Protestant
theologians and Paul Tillich especially found a reaffirmation of
Protestant theology in many Jungian ideas. As Brome documents, in Europe especially,
Jung’s ideas were brought to bear on political philosophy, jurisprudence
and even economics. The historian Arnold Toynbee classified many world
religions in terms of Jung’s psychological types. Long before Derrida et
al, Jung talked of signs, symbols and Semitics. Similarly, Chomsky’s
innate structures, Levi-Strauss’ structuralism, and Piaget’s theories
are derived from an essentially Jungian methodology: Extrapolate some of the structures
underlying Jung’s thinking–the principle of opposites, of
complementarity of phylogentic structures, of feminine and masculine,
conscious and unconscious and it is not difficult to find analogies in
many fields (p.293) While Brome’s review attempts to redress
the balance of ignorance regarding Jung in the academic world, it does not
go into related reasons regarding the reasons for Jung’s obscurity and
the explanatory detour can be considered marginal to the purpose at hand
(the West and Islam), it does provide a context to understanding western
consciousness and certain dominant motifs in its intellectual history. Freud versus Jung Starting from his initial position as one
of Freud’s most brilliant and devoted disciples, to his subsequent
departure from the inner circle of psychoanalysis, Jung’s conception of
human behaviour forms the other pillar of the house of psychology which
until recently was inhabited primarily be the heirs of the Freudian
tradition. Both had the same academic and practical credentials and
Jung’s opus is possibly more extensive than Freud’s. Jung’s relative
obscurity in academia can be briefly summed up within two broad
categories. The first was related to the accusations emerging from the
Freudian camp regarding Jung’s alleged anti-semitism which for anyone
thoroughly familiar with Jung’s sprawling Collected Works is essentially
anti-Freud not anti-semitic. The fact that Jung gave greater importance to
factors such as culture, history and religion, coupled with applying
certain analytic principles propounded by Freud to Freud himself, were
convenient grist for the "anti-semitic" mill. The second reason for Jung’s obscurity is
linked to the inner workings of the disciplines/professions of psychiatry
and clinical psychology. Unlike Freud, Jung never gave a specific etiology
of neurosis or psychosis. Mental illness for Jung was basically a
one-sidedness in the presence of multiplicity. Related to this theoretical
frame, the Freudian emphasis on sexuality was for Jung an incomplete and
exceedingly narrow view of human behaviour–normal or otherwise. A more
comprehensive picture was only possible if the practitioner was aware of
numerous cultural and historical factors which also affect psychological
consciousness, including the domains of culture, art, religion, and
spirituality. The practice of psychotherapy within such broad intellectual
parameters without the benefit of a well-structured etiology is not an
easy task. It becomes even more difficult to
accomplish when one takes into account the considerable time required to
qualify simply as a medical doctor. Thus, it was the Freudian perspective
with its singular emphasis on sexuality and the dismissing of religion as
"infantile", which was absorbed into the mainstream of the newly
emerging discipline of psychiatry. While both Freud and Jung eventually
declared that psychotherapy need not be restricted to only medical
doctors, the status of psychiatry over all other non-medical forms of
therapy, consolidated Freud’s position over Jung. In the last fifty
years, until recently, this situation has remained basically the same,
especially with psychiatry. Even though the method initiated by Freud,
psychoanalysis, is today a crumbling fortress, Freud’s legacy lives on
in numerous schools and theories of psychology. Similarly, it would be no
exaggeration to say that worldwide, in the public imagination, people are
still more apt to recognize and think in Freudian rather than in Jungian
concepts. Id, ego, superego are popularly much more `accessible’ than,
for example, the concepts of archetype, anima and enantrodromia. But with
the advent of postmodernism, this is slowly changing. Jung, The ‘New Age’ Movement and
Religion The New Age movement and its academic
counterpart of Alternatives, suggest a significant change in western
attitudes regarding self, other and society. Underlying, and in many
instances pre-empting this change, is Jung’s vision of complexity and
diversity in human nature and the centrality of a mode of consciousness
that can be loosely termed the Feminine and the critical need for western
civilization to consider the consequences of what Jung termed its loss of
soul. Many of the ideas (and practices) of the New Age movement can be
traced to Jungian perspectives on physical and mental health. This
historical link is evident insofar as Jung was among the first medical
scientists who, as early as the 40s and 50s, suggested that modern man’s
search for mental health would be better served by many of the
psychological principles underlying eastern spiritual practices rather
than mainstream Protestant Christianity or Freudian analysis. Presently, Jung’s ideas are finding an
even larger audience, thanks primarily to outstanding post-Jungian
scholars such as James Hillman. The present almost cult like status of the
poet Robert Bligh, author of Iron John, and the swirl of debate over
masculine and feminine modes of consciousness, are almost entirely due to
the writings of post-Jungians such as Hillman. The ubiquitous use of terms
such as `soul’, `meditation’, `visualization’, `holism’,
`wholeness’, etc, all emerge from a Jungian matrix now dispersed by time
and by the sheer volume of concepts it has generated. It was mainly Jung’s writings on religion
and psychology which led him to being called a "new Messiah" and
"psychiatrist to God". He made no secret of his enthusiasm
regarding numerous aspects of these ‘alien’ philosophies and saw a
profound resonance between his own ideas and these traditions. His range
and grasp of the psychology of religion is immense, ranging from ancient
African beliefs to those of the American Indian, the Chinese, Hindus and
other lesser known systems. His personal and cultural milieu assured him
of a strong grasp of Christianity and Judaism. The extensive and
enormously erudite writings on many aspects of the Judaeo-Christian
tradition ensured his being branded anti-semitic on the one hand, and a
heretic on the other. Post-Jungians such as James Hillman continue to
fight the battle initiated by Jung, especially with mainstream
psychology/psychiatry and Protestant Christianity. All this needed to be set down as part of the attempt to make way for a common ground and language regarding the West versus the rest and especially Islam. As one has tried to show, this ground/language exists in the West and the effort will be to stay within its boundaries. When it comes to understanding other cultures and religions, Jung is a symbol of the best of the West: Liberal, enlightened, capable of being self-critical, always pursuing knowledge regardless of cultural prejudice, and prevailing academic fashion. The present widespread acceptance of his ideas, directly or indirectly, indicate that such a consciousness (i.e. postmodernism) is well established and growing in the West. It is a consciousness which one both relates to and even admires and to which this paper is addressed. II The
Collected Works of C.G. Jung: The Collected Works of Carl Jung are
scholarly and eloquent testimony to his life-long effort to serve as a
mediator between the Christian West and other religions. While this may
not have been his primary intention, which he maintained was essentially
psychotherapeutic and rooted in scientific psychology, The Collected Works
can, nevertheless, be regarded as a mediative corpus especially in its use
of two broad methods. The first was Jung’s attempt to view religion
psychologically. This was based on drawing a distinction between the
psychology of a religious person as posed to the "psychology of
religion proper, that is of religious contents". For Jung, the
content of a religion, that is, issues of dogma and belief, are not a
question of `facts’. Most religious assertions are impossible to prove
in the usual sense of the word. The study of any religion then must take
into account the psychology of its symbols, not just the literal dogma.
Thus, religious assertions have to do primarily with the reality of the
psyche not physics. For example, in the process of uncovering
the forgotten and neglected world of the Divine Feminine as represented by
Sophia and Mary in Judaism and Christianity, Jung repeatedly demonstrated
the line between the bias against the feminine aspects of the psyche and
the Judaeo-Christian contribution towards this bias. James Hillman and
other post-Jungians have carried this view further, showing how modern
systems of knowledge - scientific, and secular-human - are in fact still
anchored in the religious worldview of what Hillman calls "Cartesian-Christianism". One aspect of Jung’s work then, attempts
to de-link knowledge not from the Judaeo-Christian tradition as such but
from what he perceived were partriarchical accetions and the extreme
masculinization of these traditions. From this perspective, the bulk of
The Collected Works is primarily addressed to `modern man’, and thus
primarily to the West. Jung’s secondary effort was concerned with the
religions and philosophies of "the rest". that is, non-western
civilizations and cultures. The study of these other modes of religious
psychology was done not with the purpose of offering them as a substitute
for, what was a Jung, a highly frayed Christianity. Rather, it was to
illustrate the correspondence and fundamental harmony between these
seemingly alien systems and the sort of Christianity that, according to
Jung, had originally existed. Apart from commenting in depth on a range
of western and non-western sacred texts, rituals, art(ifacts) and other
religious/spiritual/cultural expressions both public and private, the main
source of his sweeping comparative vision was again twofold. The first was
mythology and its related areas such as folk tales, legends, etc. The
second was his foray into alchemy which had long been dismissed in the
West as simply a primitive forerunner to the modern science of chemistry.
His work in this area can be considered tour de force of academic and
scholarly research demonstrating the deep links of this arena with
psychological process and transformation. As he has brilliantly shown,
much of alchemy was a symbolic representation of certain psycho-spiritual
process which form the core of the `message(s)’ of many sacred texts and
practices. It would be no exaggeration to say that in
the 20th century, Jung was one of the few western authors who tried to
create a vast and challenging conceptual space for a mutual understanding
between the West and the rest. And it is this space which offers the best
prospect for a continuing dialogue. The parameters then are The Collected
Works of C.G. Jung. It consists of twenty volumes. As stated earlier, it
is primarily addressed to the inheritors of the Judaeo-Christian
worldview. Simultaneously, it is one of the most comprehensive surveys
available on the psychological study of religions. Methodology Taking Jung as a symbol representing the
best of the West, this paper will examine the precise nature of Jung’s
understanding of Islam as reflected in The Collected Works. Rather than
prematurely imposing one’s interpretation of this understanding the
first step is to examine the corpus through empirical means. One relatively standard technique is of a
content analysis. This will be done firstly by noting the numerical
frequency of references to Islam in comparison to all the major religions
examined by Jung. For example, one can note the frequency of reference to
certain primary features which constitute the most visible profile of a
religion such as the main person (Moses, Lao Tzu, Mohammad), place (Benaras,
Jerusalem, Mecca) and scripture (Vedas, Quran, Torah, Bible). These data
can then be viewed from a more comprehensive angle in terms of comparison. The second, deeper level would examine the
substantive nature of all the reference to Islam. Using methods of (con)
textual analysis one will attempt to delineate more precisely Jung’s
understanding of the psychology of Islam as distinct from other religions,
alongwith his grasp of areas of similarity. Such a cross-referential
method or a dual analytic level, which takes into account both quantity
and quality of knowledge about Islam, would enable one to gauge the extent
and depth of Jung’s understanding of the subject. The emergent
proportions would indicate the extent to which Islam can be considered the
`other’, or in Jungian terms the `shadow’ in western religious and
psychological consciousness. The data for the quantitative content
analysis have been compiled/identified from the General Index (Vol.20) Quantitative Analysis of References to
Islam. As the tables indicate, Islam has the least
number of references to it in every category. This despite the fact that
even during Jung’s time it was the second largest religion in the world
and is today moving towards having the most adherents. Apart from the
massive amount of material on Judaism and Christianity, combined reference
to Indo-Chinese traditions exceed one hundred. Whereas all other religions
have entries under related categories, the only related category to
`Islam’ is `Arabs’ which consists of 15 references and the names of
eight Arab alchemists. Even without a substantive review, the figures
indicate a certain lack of interest, indicating that Islam was the least
of Jung’s priority in his pursuit of understanding the psychology of
various religions. The order of priority suggested by the
figures seems to be constant at the most basic levels. For example, within
Jungian theory considerable attention is devoted to different religious
rituals and their psycho-symbolic significance. The low priority of Islam
in these categories is also evident if a comparison is made, for example,
among Passover, Christmas, and the Muslim festival of Eid or the rite of
the pilgrimage to Mecca, the Haj. There are two detailed references to
Passover, 14 to Christmas, 11 to Easter, many of these extensive. There
are no references to any Islamic rite or ritual. Again, in the context of
symbols, the cross, for example, has almost an entire page of references
as does the `Star’ (of both the Messiah and David). The prototypical
symbol of Islam, the crescent, is not referred to even once in this
context. Even though within the realm of classical symbols it is highly
significant and extensively documented. While there are extensive
references to the symbolic significance of the `moon’, none of these is
specifically discussed in the context of Islam. This seeming lack of interest in Islam
becomes clearer when one move on to the next level of analysis which is an
examination of the precise context and extent to which these 19 references
to Islam and its allied concepts occur. Qualitative (Con) Textual Analysis of
References to Islam. The review is based on the following
structure: Apart from Islam(is), all major related concepts will also be
noted, such as `Allah’, `Muhammad’ and other names, themes etc.
specific to the Islamic religious/spiritual universe. Two broad categories
of references can be discerned. The first consist of what can be termed
block or passing references. That is, while `Islam’ or `Allah’ or
`Muhammad’ is certainly mentioned, nothing more specific is said in what
is a general statement about, for example, Yahweh, Allah, Brahma or the
`monotheisms’ etc. The second category is when more substantive
observations are made. These, in turn, can be examined for positive or
negative comments and other insights into the subject. Before approaching the data, a few points
need to be kept in mind. Firstly, while The Collected Works were written
over a period of a lifetime, they are arranged thematically. Thus, if some
volumes contain no references to Islam, it is by itself no indication of
Jung’s lack of interest in the subject. In this case, any conclusions to
be drawn must come from the whole and not any one part. Secondly, while
the main discussion will be done after the review, the rather technical
and frequently arcane nature of many contexts necessitate some brief
comments, if only to retain the reader’s interest. The references can be approached keeping
three broad categories in mind: Positive, negative and
neutral/indifferent. The last would consist of all those that have been
earlier classified as passing, since no conclusion can be drawn from them.
It should also be noted that there is one central and repeated reference
to Islam. This has to do with an interpretation of the 18th Surah of the
Quran and the figure of Al-Khidr (or Khadir). It is an interesting and
insightful analysis regarding certain psychological aspects of Islam.
Given the relatively large number of repeat references to it, as well as
the positivity which characterises them, this aspect of Jung’s writings
will be examined at length after the overall review of The Collected
Works. Vol. 1 Psychiatric Studies. No reference. (i) An extensive reference to the 18th
Surah of the Qur«n about the legend of Moses and Khidr. (See detailed
discussion). The context is the essay titled `The Origins of the Hero’
and pertains to a series of dreams of an anonymous "Miss Miller"
who was the subject of another extensive Jungian analysis titled "The
Miller Fantasies". The reference occurs in the course of tracing an
association given by Miss Miller about ‘Ahasuerus’ whom Jung links to
the archetype of the wandering Jew: Although the stories about Ahasuerus cannot
be traced beyond the thirteenth century, the oral tradition may go much
further back, and it is possible that a link with the Orient once existed.
There, the parallel figure is Khadir or El-Khadir, the "eternally
youthful Chidher" celebrated in song by Friedrick Rückert. The
legend is purely Islamic. The strange thing is, however, that Khidr is not
only regarded as a saint, but in Sufic circles even has the status of a
deity. In view of the strict monotheism of Islam, one is inclined to think
of him as a pre-Islamic, Arabian deity who, though not officially
recognized by the new religion, was tolerated for reasons of expediency.
But there is nothing to prove that. The first traces of Khidr are to be
found in the commentaries on the Koran by al-Bukhari (d.870) and
al-Tabari(d.923), and especially in the commentary on a note-worthy
passage in the 18th Surah. This is entitled `The Cave’ after the cave of
the seven sleepers who, according to legend, slept in it for 309 years,
thus escaping the the persecution, and woke up in a new age. It is
interesting to see how the Koran after lengthy moral reflection in the
course of this same Surah, comes to the following passage, which is
especially important as regards the origin of the Khidr myth. I quote the
Koran literally .....(5.194) There are no other reference to Islam or
related categories in a total text of 462 pages. Vol.6. Psychological Types. How easily the primitive reality of the
psychic image re-appears is shown by the dreams of normal people and the
hallucinations that accompany mental derangement. The mystics even
endeavour to recapture primitive reality of the imago (image) by means of
an artificial introversion, in order to counterbalance extraversion. There
is an excellent example of this in the initiation of the Mohammedan mystic
Tewekkul-Beg, by Molla-Shah. Tewekkul-Beg relates: "after these words
he called me to seat myself opposite to him, while still my senses were as
though bemused, and commanded me to create his own image in my innerself;
and after he had bound my eyes, he made me gather all the forces of the
soul into my heart. I obeyed, and in the twinkling of an eye, by divine
favour, and with the spiritual succour of the Sheikh, my heart was opened.
I beheld there in my innermost self something resembling an overturned
bowl; when this vessel was righted, a feeling of boundless joy flooded
through my whole being. I said to the Master: "From this cell, in
which I am seated before you, I beheld within me a true vision, and it is
as though another Tewekkul-Beg were seated before another Molla-Shah".
The Master explained this to him as the first phenomenon of his
initiation. Other visions soon followed, once the way to the primitive
image of the real had been opened ...... (p.31). Despite the considerably rich psychological
material, no connections are drawn between it and Islamic symbols,
imagery, theology. Instead, the reference is to "a Mohammedan
mystic". Nevertheless, it cannot be considered a negative reference
and can be categorized either as positive or neutral. This is the only
reference in a total text of 555 pages. Vol.7 Two Essays on Analytical Psychology. No reference. Vol.8. The Structure and Dynamics of the
Psyche. Truth that appeals to the testimony of the
senses may satisfy reason, but it offers nothing that stirs our feelings
and expresses them by giving meaning to human life. Yet it is most often
feeling that is decisive in matters of good and evil, and if feeling does
not come to the aid of reason, the latter is usually powerless. Did reason
and good intentions save us from the World War, or have they ever saved us
from any other catastrophic stupidity? Have any of the great spiritual and
social revolution sprung from reason - for instance, the transformation of
the Greco-Roman world into the age of feudalism, or the explosive spread
of Islam? (p.355) This is the only reference in a total text
of 531 pages. Vol.9 (Part-1) The Archetypes and the
Collective Unconscious. (ii) A footnote citing a German scholar
citing the Arab astronomer Abë ManÄër who saw symbolic parallels in
astronomy with lives of Christ and Mohammad. The text of the footnote:
"The light of Mohammad has the form of a peacock and the angels were
made out of the peacock’ sweat...." (331 n) Vol.9 (Part-II) Aion: Researches into
the Phenomenology of the Self. Harnack ascribes the Clementine Homilies to
the beginning of the 4th century and is of the opinion that they contain
"no source that could be attributed to the 2nd century". He
thinks that Islam is far superior to this theology. Yahweh and Allah are
unreflected God-images, whereas in the Clementive Homilies there is a
psychological and reflective spirit at work. It is not immediately evident
why this should bring about a disintegration of the God-concept, as
Harnack thinks. Fear of psychology should not be carried too far (p.54 n) (ii) A block/passing reference to the
advents of "Judaism, Christianity and Islam" as seen through
astrology (p.76) (iii) An interesting series of footnotes
about Islam and Mohammad in the essay "The Prophecies of Nostradamus".
They are significant for their mostly pejorative connotations of Islam, by
various western medieval authors/astrologers, and Jung himself. The first
footnote: (a) ....The quartile aspect between Mercury
and Mars "injures" Mercury by "martial" violence.
According to Cardan, (some astrological symbols) signify the "law of
Mahomet". This aspect could therefore indicate an attack by Islam.
Albumasar regards (the symbols) in the same way: "And if Mars shall
be in conjunction with him (Jupiter) it signifies the fiery civilization
of the pagan faith" (that is Islam). On the analogy of history the
evil events to come are ascribed to the crescent moon, but one never
reflects that the opponent of Christianity dwells in the European
unconscious. History repeats itself. (p.95 n) (b) A footnote to Nostradamus’ statement
"Then the beginning of that year (1792) shall see a great persecution
against the Christian Church than ever was in Africa". Jung’s note
states that this was "when Roman Christendom succumbed to Islam"
(964n) (c) Quoting Nostradamus: ".... a mighty one will come after
Mahomet, who will set up an evil and magical law. Thus we may surmise with
credible probability that after the sect of Mahomet none other will come
save the law of the Anti-Christ"(9.97) (d) A passing reference, not followed
through "The year 589 foretell Islam, and 1189 the significant reign
of Pope Innocent III...."(99). (e) There is one reference to Mohammad in
the essay on the "Prophecies of Nostradamus". "...it is
possible that Nostradamus calls the Antichrist who was to appear after
1792, the "second Antichrist" because the first had already
appeared in the guise of the German reformer (Luther) or much earlier with
Nero or Mohammad....." (p.102) (vi) Discussing how Europe accepted
Christianity only at the point of the sword of Roman legions, thereby
abandoning paganism, but which is held back only by a "thin
wall": "...Doubtless the spread of
Christianity among barbarian people not only favoured, but actually
necessitated, a certain inflexibility of dogma. Much the same thing can be
observed in the spread of Islam, which was likewise obliged resort to
fanaticism and rigidity...."(p.175). (v) Footnote mentioning "Qur’an and
18th Sûrah" (III n). None of these references in a text of 269
pages can be considered substantive. At best they are all passing/block
and hence neutral though they can be construed as negative, e.g. Mohammad
as anti-Christ, and the "fanaticism and rigidity of Islam": Vol.10 Civilization in Transition: (ii) In the famous essay,
"Woman", Jung tried to explain Christian psychology and its
tendency to self-righteously judged Nazi Germany: "...The Semitic
experience of Allah was for a long time an extremely painful affair for
the whole of Christendom... "(p.298) This is not followed through. (iii) Two passing references to Khidr as
"a human personification of Allah" (0.328). The second is more
significant: ...Living in the West, I would have to say
Christ instead of "self", in the Near East it would be Khidr, in
the Far East Atman or Tao or the Buddha, in the Far West may be a hare or
Mondamin and in cabalism it would be Tifereth. Our world has shrunk and it
is dawning on us that humanity is one, with one psyche (p.410). (iv) In a review of a book by Keyserling
there is a reference which is not followed through" "....In
order to find the criterion for contemporary events Keyserling harks back
to the rise of Islam...." (p.497) (v) In the essay "The Dreamlike World
of India", we get– apart from the 18th Surah– perhaps the only
other psychological statement on Islam albeit in a context of calling a
"cult" what was even in Jung’s time, a world religion. Given
his perception that the "beauty" of the "Islamic Eros"
is universally invisible and " all too jealously guarded", the
great religious researcher, it seems, was either unable on uninterested in
probing the secret. After giving a rich description of Hinduism and his
personal reactions to the Indian landscape he states: In comparison, Islam seems to be a
superior, more spiritual and more advanced religion. Its mosques are pure
and beautiful, and of course wholly Asiatic. There is not much mind about
it, not a great deal of feeling. The cult is one wailing cry for the
all-Merciful. It is a desire, an ardent longing and even a greed for God;
I would not call it love. But there is love, the most poetic, most
exquisite love of beauty in these old Moguls ... I marvel at that love
which discovered the genius of Shah Jehan and used it as an instrument of
self-realization. This is the one place in the world where the - alas -
all too invisible and all too jealously guarded beauty of the Islamic Eros
has been revealed by a well-nigh divine miracle... The Taj Mahal is a
revelation. It is thoroughly un-Indian. It is more like a plant that could
thrive and flower in the rich Indian earth as it could nowhere else. It is
Eros in its purest form; There is nothing mysterious nothing symbolic
about it... the Taj Mahal is the secret of Islam...(p.519-20) (vi) Stretching the framework of categories
as far as possible further, there is, finally, one reference to `mosque’
in the context of different experiences of sacred space: ...One breathed a sigh of relief oneself
when one emerged from the haze of an orthodox church with its multitude of
lamps and entered an honest mosque, where the sublime and invisible
omnipresence of God was not crowded out by a superfluity of sacred
paraphernalia (p.132) There is also one reference suggesting that
certain features of mosque architecture are derived from Christianity.
(p.155) Except for the comments on the Taj Mahal and a mosque, the
references can be considered passing ones. The comments on the Taj allude
to significant Jungian concepts such as ‘Eros’ that are not examined
upon further here or elsewhere in The Collected Works. Similarly, the
notion that Islam has "little mind to it" is not elaborated
upon. Jung’s intrigued and rapturous response is really not explored
further either in contrasting traditions or even with Hinduism which, at
the outset, he distinguishes from Islam. Vol.11 Psychology and Religion: West and
East. (i) ... a definite framework with definite
contents which cannot be combined with or supplemented by Buddhist or
Islamic ideas or feelings...(p.9). Part-II is titled "A Psychological
Approach to the Dogma of the Trinity". In this section there is
considerable background material regarding Egypt and Greece. The one
reference here is typical of the western tendency to lump Islam with
Judaism simply on the basis of some obvious common elements:
"...modern anti-trinitarianism has a conception of God that is more
Old Testament or Islamic in character than Christian..." (p.153).
There is also a line referring to "early Christianity and the rise of
Islam" (151) Neither of these are followed through. Part-III is an analysis of the
"Transformation Symbolism in the Mass". Part-IV consists of
three prefaces written to books on religion by various authors. Part-V
consists of two essays: "Psychotherapists and the Clergy" and
Psychoanalysis and the Cure of Souls". Part-VI consists of the famous
and controversial "Answer to Job", which discusses elements of
the psychology of Judaism. None of these carry any type of reference to
Islam. The Second half of the book is devoted to
"Eastern Religions" and consists of three parts. The first
consists of essays on "Yoga and the West", a forward to
Suzuki’s "Introduction to Zen Buddhism," and essays on
"The Psychology of Eastern Meditation" and the "Holy Men of
India". The third and final part of this section is an extensive
foreword to Richard Willhelm’s translation of the "I Ching".
There is just one reference to Islam in the essay on Yoga and the West. It
is a passing one, in the historical context of the Renaissance and the by
then well-established split between science and philosophy in the West.: At the time, there arose a widespread and
passionate interest in antiquity stimulated by the fall of the Byzantine
Empire under the onslaught of Islam. Then, for the first time, knowledge
of the Greek language and Greek literature was carried to every corner of
Europe. As a direct result of this invasion of so called pagan philosophy
there arose the great schism in the Roman Church– Protestantism which
soon covered the whole of northern Europe (p.530-531). Here again, the connection between
`paganism’ and elements of Islam are ignored, despite the fact that
medieval authors frequently saw Islam as a `pagan’ belief system. Thus,
in a text of a more than 600 pages, suggesting a comprehensive approach to
religion– East and West– there are exactly four references to Islam,
not a single one of which is remotely substantive. Drawing on all related
categories the situation remains the same, that is, they are passing/block
references: i) "...Buddha and Mohammad ...
Confucius and Zarthustra..." (p.10) ii) "...The importation on a mass
scale of exotic religious systems...Abdul Baha, the Sufi sects,
Ramakrishna..."(861). iii) In a comment on the Nazis:
"...our blight is ideologies– they are the long awaited
Anti-Christ.... National Socialism comes as near to being a religious
movement as any movement since A.D.622..". (A footnote informs us
that A. D. 622 is the date of the Hejira, Mohammad’s flight from Mecca
and the beginning of the Moslem era. (p.488 n) iv) "... ‘God’, can just as well
mean Yahweh, Allah, Zeus, Shiva..." (454) Summing up the review for (Volumes 1 through 11) the emergent picture of Islam contains mostly blank spaces, in the sense of an overwhelming number of passing/block references. The one exception is the analysis of the 18th Surah in Vol.9, which will be discussed separately. The only other substantive reference to the Islamic Eros as epitomized by the Taj is not followed through, nor is the subject referred to in any of the other volumes. Simultaneously, there are a number of passing, negative references such as Islam’s "rigidity and fanaticism" and Muhammad in the same conceptual category as Nero, Anti-Christ, Hitler. III Jung,
Psychology and Alchemy Taken collectively, Volumes 12,13,14,
namely, Psychology and Alchemy, Mysterious Conjunctions and Alchemical
Studies, can be considered Jung’s magnum opus. The three texts form the
core of his theories about the psyche as derived from the alchemical
traditions. As he recounts in Memories, Dreams, Reflections, the task of
retrieving the alchemical texts was foretold in a dream in which he
discovers a library of ancient manuscripts. Fifteen years later, Jung
realized that he had unwittingly amassed a similar collection of books on
the subject of alchemy. While many Jungians find Jung’s
alchemical writings an embarrassment, it would be a gross distortion to
present him without this aspect of his work. Jung devoted the last 30
years of his research on this subject, published perhaps a quarter of his
printed pages on alchemical texts and themes, and said in his
autobiography that it was alchemy which provided the true background to
his psychology. As Hillman states: Alchemy is thus not merely of scholarly
interest and a separate field of research, nor is it Jung’s quirk or
private passion. It is infect fundamental to his conception of personality
structure. Most Westerners, including many Jungians,
are unaware of the profound and living alchemical tradition in Islam. This
ignorance is due to the general decay and decline to the point of
extinction, of alchemy in the West. Hence, infect, the significance of
Jung’s researches into the subject. In any case, there is firstly no
doubt that Islam has an ancient and highly developed and active alchemical
tradition. Secondly, there is also no doubt as to the historic role played
by the Arabs who were of course, Muslims, in the (retransmission of many
types of knowledge– including alchemy– going back to the Greeks and
Egyptians. As is evident from Jung’s own work, significant alchemical
text by European authors which he ‘decoded’ are largely drawn from
Arabic writings on the subject. Thus, at one level Jung was well aware of
the highly developed alchemical tradition within Islam, as well as its
considerable strong links to the West. At least eight Arab authors are
cited in this connection. Yet there are absolutely no psychological
insights regarding Islam. The fact that, by and large, Jung’s
alchemical studies do not go further back than the 12th century still does
not explain this neglect. Nor can it be explained on the grounds that his
focus was the European/Christian psyche, since one needs to keep in mind
the all-important context of a general psychology of religion. Thus, while
he was able to skillfully extrapolate connections between western alchemy,
Judaic/Christian beliefs and psychology, and even Chinese alchemy and
religion, there is a complete absence of similar connections between Islam
and alchemy. Certainly, there are numerous nods of acknowledgement to
‘Arab’ sources in the footnotes, but remarkably no comments as to how
these were, as they undoubtedly are, embedded in the symbols of Islam.
These points become evident on a closer examination of reference to Islam
in the three volumes. Volumes 12, Psychology and Alchemy (ii) Two references to Khidr and the 18th
Surah. (See detailed discussion in the same context.). ".. In Islam,
the plan of the `temenos’ with the foundation developed under the
influence of early Christian architecture into the court of the mosque
with the ritual washhouse in the center....".(p.118). (iii) A footnote on the "Muhammedan
legend of the rock in the mosque of Omar, at Jerusalem....." (390n). (iv) A reference to
"mosque/Koran" in the dream of a female patient. Surprisingly,
neither is picked up in the subsequent analysis: "....we go in. The interior resembles
a mosque, more particularly, the Hagia Sophia: no seats, wonderful effect
of space, no images, only framed texts decorating the walls (like the
Koran texts in the Hagia Sophia.)..." (p.138) Apart from these, there are a good number
of references to prominent Arab alchemists such as Kalid, Abdul Qasim,
Geber and Senior. Some of them are central to Western alchemy since the
12th century. However, none of them are linked psychologically with Islam.
Naturally then, the obvious links between Islamic alchemy and Greek
philosophy also remain unmentioned and unexplored. For example, in the
essay "Religious Ideas in Alchemy": ... in the writing of the Church Fathers
the south wind is an allegory of the Holy Ghost, presumably because it is
not dry. For the same reason the process of sublimation is known in Arabic
alchemy as the "great south wind" .....when therefore Abu’l
Qasim speaks of the fire as the "great south wind", he is in
agreement with the ancient Greek view that Hermes was a wind-god. (p.383). There are, thus, numerous references to
Arabs/Arabic/Arabian alchemy; mostly in footnotes, but also other
extensive quotations from Arab authors in the text. Yet, not a single one
is directly or indirectly linked with the symbolic imagery or
psychological aspects of Islam and alchemy. Instead, the main focus is
Christianity and Judaism. This neglect becomes even more evident insofar
as other religions, apart from Judaism and Christianity, are examined in
varying detail for their alchemical symbolism, such as the Chinese and
Hindu. Thus, in the entire 483 pages of a text on the psychological
aspects of a range of religious and alchemical traditions, there is infact,
not a single substantive reference to Islam. Vol. 13 Alchemical Studies (i) The first is the context of four
categories of sources used by Jung. Category I is titled "Texts by
Ancient Authors’, consisting of mainly Greek texts and "those
transmitted by the Arabs..." The second group is texts by early
Latinists: "The most important of these are translations from the
Arabic.. to this group belong certain texts whose Arabic origin is
doubtful but which at least show some Arabic influence... of Geber and the
Aristotle and Avicenna treatises". This period extends from the 9th
to 13th century. The third group is by later Latinists from 14th to 17th
century. The last group of texts is in modern European languages up to the
18th century. (p.206) (ii) The second reference to Arabs is a
passing one: "Connections between Greek and Arabic alchemy and India
are not unlikely" (p.231). This is not followed through. Other than these, there is no mention of
Islam in the entire book, except an indirect one regarding Khidr and the
18th Sûrah (p.321) Vol. 14 Mysterious Conjunctions (i) A footnote refers to the Qur’an Sûrah
XIX regarding Marry giving birth under a palm tree. (418 n). (ii) A footnote: ‘the stage appears as
the emblem of `Mahomet Philosophus’. (p.159) (iii) "...In Athens the day of the new
moon was considered favorable for collaborating marriages, and it is still
and Arabian custom to marry on this day; sun and moon are marriage
partners who embrace on the twenty eighth day of the month" (p.129). (iv) The only reference to the Ka`ba, is
not followed through, even though it is complex and a profound symbol in
Islam: In Arabian tradition Adam also built the
Ka`ba for which purpose the angel Gabriel gave him the ground plan and a
precious stone. Later the stone turned black because of the sins of men
(p.398). The following group of references firstly
clearly allude to the significant impact of `Arabic’ (i.e. Islamic)
alchemy on the Western tradition of not only scientific knowledge, but
also gnosticism and most importantly, health and healing rooted in a
specific spiritual Weltanschauung. Secondly, they also allude to the
direct link between the Greeks and Egyptians on the one hand and Gnostic
Christianity on the other as mediated by the ‘Arabs’. Yet, the line
between the transmission of these knowledges is not once connected to
their matrix of Islam: (v) "... The Johanine interpretation
of Christ as the pre-wordly Logos is an early attempt of this kind to put
into other words the "meaning" of Christ’s essence. The late
mendievlists, and in particular the "natural philosophers"
created a new nature myth. In this they were very much influenced by the
writings of the Arabs and of the Harrites, the last exponents of Greek
philosophy and gnosis, whose chief representative was Tabit ibn Qurra in
the tenth century (p.142). (iv) "The physicians and natural
philosophers of the Middle Ages nevertheless found themselves faced with
the problems for which the church had no answer. Confronted with sickness
and death, the physicians did hesitate to seek counsel with the Arabs and
so resuscitated that bit of the Ancient world which the Church thought she
had exterminated for ever, namely the Manteau and Sabean remnants of
Hellenistic syncretism. From them (Arabs) they derived a’sal sapientia’
that seemed so unlike the doctrine of the Church....(p.243) (vii) ...In the face of all this one is
driven to the conjecture that medieval alchemy, which evolved out of the
Arabic tradition sometimes in the 13th century,... was in the last resort
a contamination of the doctrine of the Holy Ghost which never came to very
much in the church...(p.318) Islam and Alchemy The preceding statements clearly indicate
Jung’s thorough understanding of the history of western alchemy and its
fertilization and "resuscitation" through Arabic texts. The
General Index contains a separate section on ‘Arab Alchemical Writers’
cited by Jung, many of whom he called "classical authorities".
(p.288). They include Abul Qasim, El-Halib, Geber (Jabir) Kalid, Magus,
Nadi, Senior, Rhazes and Al-Iraqi. As Jung states about the most
significant roots of Hermetic philosophy in which alchemy is embedded: In the oldest alchemy known to the West the
Hermetic fragments were handed down mostly through Arabic originals.
Direct contact with the Corpus Hermeticum was only established in the
second half of the fifteenth century, when the Greek manuscript reached
Italy from Macedonia and was translated into Latin by Marsilio Ficino.
(Volume 12. p.390) While Jung indeed acknowledges, but mostly
indirectly, these historical elements of the Judaeo-Christian alchemical
and spiritual universe, he was content to regard the `Arabs’ simply as
such. This may have been appropriate (albeit at a stretch) if he had been
involved in documenting a sort of secular history of alchemy, which was
patently not the case. His principal focus was psycho-spiritual, devoted
to illustrating the parallels between alchemical language, a given
religion and psychology. As Hillman points out, Jung saw alchemy as
a "pre-scientific psychology of personality disguised as
metaphors". Alchemical formulation such as `lead’, `salt’, `sulphur’,
`mercury’ correspond with different psychological and archetypal
experiences and figures. The processes that go on in the personality are
also depicted in alchemy as a series of operations. According to Jung, by
`projecting’ what were essentially unconscious contents/ideas onto (or
into) various (alchemical materials/elements, the alchemists generated a
process which in today’s popular parlance could be called `consciousness
raising’. The names of many of these processes have found their way into
clinical psychology: Projection, dissolution, sublimation, fixation,
condensation were all alchemical terms. The two main ones - solution and
coagulation - are another way of stating the main work of psychotherapy:
taking apart and putting together, analyzing and synthesizing. Thus,
methods which modern analysis believes it has invented for furthering
personality development were already known to alchemy as description of
psychological processes, not ideals (such as making gold) to be attained
literally. The main point is that throughout the three
texts under review, the connections between religion and alchemy are
considerable. This is evident even in the thematic arrangement of
Psychology and Alchemy (Volume 12). It is divided into three areas having
the following headings: (i) Introduction to the Religious and
Psychological Problems of Alchemy. In this overwhelmingly religious context of
the study of a system knowledge and its relationship with western
psychology, along with considerable familiarity of key Arab sources, there
is no mention of the religion which informed the heart of this Arab
enterprise, that is, Islam. An even more unusual aspect is that the
majority of the Arab sources cited by Jung considered themselves, and are
considered by scholars of Islamic culture, as being deeply influenced by
the spiritual teachings of Islam. In keeping with the history of this
scholarship, Jung also confirmed the connections between Egyptian and
Hermetic philosophy on the one hand and its "resuscitation" by
the Arabs and subsequent transmission to the West on the other, As
Burckhardt has pointed out, the expression ‘alchemia’ could have been
derived from the Greek "chyma" (smelting and casting) or from
the Arabic "al-Kimiya" which is said to come from the ancient `keme’
- reference to the `black earth’ which was a designation of Egypt and
which may also have been a symbol of the alchemists’ `prima materia’ In the book Alchemy, Burckhardt shows how
it was possible for alchemy and its mythological background to be
incorporated into the three monotheistic religions. The main reason was
that the cosmological perspectives of alchemy were in resonance with the
cosmologies of these religions. The cosmological background was taken
over, alongwith the craft, simply as a science of nature (physics) in the
broadest sense of the term. The process is similar to the way Christianity
and Islam appropriated the Pythagorean tradition in music and
architecture, and assimilated the corresponding spiritual perspective: By its assimilation into Christian belief,
alchemy was fecundated, while Christianity found in it a way which,
through the contemplation of nature, led to a true gnosis. (p.18). What Jung failed to discern is the deep
resonance between Islam and the Hermetic perspective, even though he was
aware of the contributions of the Arabs to what he called the
"resuscitation" of European thought. As Burckhardt states: Even more easily did the Hermetic art enter
into the spiritual world of Islam, the latter was always ready to
recognize any pre-Islamic art which appeared under the aspect `wisdom’
(‘hikmah’) as a heritage of earlier prophets. Thus in the Islamic
world Hermes Trismegistos is often identified with Enoch (Idris). It was
the doctrine of the "oneness of existence" (Wahdat-al-Wujud) -
the esoteric interpretation of the Islamic confession of faith - which
gave to Hermitism a new spiritual axis, or in other words re-established
its original spiritual horizon in all its fullness ... (p.18, 19). Reviewing the history of alchemy,
Burckhardt confirms some of Jung’s historical observations but more
importantly, he articulates what seems obvious but was nevertheless not
evident to Jung: ....Alchemy made its entry into western
Christendom through Byzantium, and later, and even more richly, through
Arab dominated Spain. It was in the Islamic world that alchemy reached its
fullest flowering. Jabir Ibn Hayyan, a pupil of the sixth century Shiite
Imam Jafar as-Sadiq, founded in the eighth century A.D. a whole school,
from which hundreds of alchemical texts flowed forth. No doubt it was
because the name Jabir had become the hallmark of much alchemical lore
that the author of the `Summa Perfectionism’, a 13th century Italian or
Catalan, also assumed the name in its Latinized form of Jaber. (p.19) Names such as Jabir (Geber), Al-Iraqi,
Avicenna etc, are, in the context of Islamic civilization, prominent not
only as spiritual alchemists but also as scientists and philosophers.
However, as Nasr has suggested, with the possible exception of Rhazes,
these individuals functioned from within a profoundly Islamic
Weltanschauung. He reiterates: "we must remember that ancient and
medieval man did not separate the material from the psychological and
spiritual in the categorical manner that has become customary".
Jung’s rediscovery of alchemy in the 20th century arrived at a similar
conclusion, indeed, he was one of the first western scientists to
highlight the dangers inherent in the contemporary separation of the
material and spiritual. Hence his impassioned appeal for a different type
of religious psychology more suited to the emotional and mental condition
of modern Westerners. Writers such as Burckhardt and Nasr confirm
the historical aspect of Jung’s research but also place the same
information in its crucial religious context. Nasr’s review of the
alchemical tradition can also be considered a `who’s who’ of Jung’s
explorations into the subject: In Arabic or Islamic alchemy, which arose
soon after the rise of Islam in the first/seventh century, and has a
continuous tradition until today there is a very large number of texts,
written during the past twelve centuries and dealing with all phases of
the art. The most important corpus is that of Jabir ibn Hayyan, the
alchemist, who become the greatest authority on the subject not only in
the Islamic world but also in the West, where as "Geber" he
became universally accepted as the leading authority.... By the
sixth/twelfth century, following the translation of alchemical texts from
Arabic into Latin, interest in alchemy grew in the Latin West, continuing
into the seventeenth and even eighteenth centuries. The earlier Latin text
however is the "Turban Philosophorum", which was translated from
the Arabic; among the earliest students of alchemy who wrote on the
subject one may mention Roger Bacon, Albertus Magnus, Arnold of Villanova,
Raymond Lully, and somewhat later Nicolas Flamel. (p.244) (My emphasis). It is on the basis of such well-established
historic linkages that Sufism -- the most popular and widespread form of
Islam -- claims men such as Lully, Bacon and many other medieval
scientists and philosophers as being Sufis (and thereby Muslims) or
certainly having been deeply influenced by Islam. While this may not be
the right place to enlarge on this little known aspect to the present
relationship between Islam and the West, it is nevertheless worth noting
that such claims to a mutuality of vision are more frequently forthcoming
from Muslim writers rather than the West. The point here is not to suggest that
Jung’s forays into alchemy do not give `credit’ to the Islamic/ Arabic
contributions in this domain. Strictly speaking, this would be impossible
since, by an large, he does reaffirm these seminal connections, albeit
mostly through footnotes. The question is not so much credit for the
Islamic spiritual perspective but of an absence of meaningful connections
vis-a-vis Islam and alchemy, whereas these connections are brought out in
contexts of other religions. Given the unavoidable links between religion
and alchemy, and given the highly significant contributions of the Arabs
(i.e. Muslims), there is virtually no substantive reference to Islam
throughout the three volumes on alchemy, religion and psychology. One raises these points not in order to be
churlish or to insist on such academic issues regarding
citations/acknowledgement. Regardless of Jung’s neglect, other western
writers have been more accurate regarding the role of Islam and the
history of alchemy. Nor is one implying that this was somehow an
intentional omission by Jung in keeping with the perceived western bias
against Islam. The issue is not one of credit or prejudice but knowledge
about Islam in the context of substantive psychological materials (and
insights about them) which are inextricably a part of religion - and the
stated Jungian endeavour. Basically, the texts communicate nothing about
Islam, one way or another. But since it is impossible to discount the role
of the Arabs in this field, one is left with the impression that their
contribution was akin to that of holding the hot potato (of alchemy) until
it was cool enough to be lobbed back to the rightful owners in Europe as
they emerged from the Dark and Middle Age. This view, of seeing Islam and
Muslims as unthinking ("no mind") and therefore simply
mechanically holding and `preserving’ alchemy through a certain period
in history, is symptomatic of the West’s attitude about other branches
of knowledge which the Arabs conserved, explored and developed during this
period. There is nothing to explain what was present psychologically in
Islam which encouraged and resonated with this quest for preservation and
exploration of different knowledges. Thus, whether alchemy or other
disciplines, one is left with the `role’ of the Arabs but not Islam, and
the impression is of a passivity, devoid of anything other than a
mechanical wait-to-pass-it-on attitude. Such a neglect takes on added significance
when one considers the fact that unlike the Christian West, alchemy as a
science of the soul has been an uninterrupted, living tradition in the
Islamic world or, as Nasr states, a "continuous tradition up to
today". While such facts may be of no significance to a sociologist
or political scientist, they are pertinent in the context of Jung’s
survey of alchemy and its connections with religion and psychology. To sum up: The shadowy impression of Islam is
especially evident in the three texts on alchemy. Since there is scant
Islamic material, one cannot conclude that prejudice dominates Jung’s
understanding. Naturally then, there is little evidence thus far of any
substantive understanding of the religion in terms of its symbols or
psychology. In short, there is what can be called a neglect or lack of
interest in the subject. Before trying to analyze this lack of interest,
one needs to conclude the review of the remaining texts. Volume 15 The Spirit in Man, Art and
Literature No reference to
Islam or related categories. Volume 16 The Practice of Psychotherapy This is the only reference to Islam and it
is not followed through with any illustrative examples. One can note that
firstly the notion of Islamic fatalism is a stereotypical one reminiscent
of Edward Said’s observations in Culture and Imperialism about
colonialism in terms of ‘action’ versus the `passivity’ of the
colonized. More significantly, this stereotype of passive/acceptance,
‘fatalism’ is in direct contrast to the present portrayal of the
Islamic fundamentalist as a violent, agitative agent. Volume 17, The Development of Personality No reference to Islam or related categories. Volume 18, The Symbolic Life (i) In the transcript of a seminar to the
Guild of Pastoral Psychology, London, just before World War II. Prior to
expressing his views on Islam, Jung spoke of the shadow within
Christianity and the need for the West to accept, as Christ did, "the
least of our brethren". For Jung "Christ..carried through his
hypothesis to the bitter end..." How was Christ hewn? In the greatest
misery. Who was his father? He was an illegitimate child - humanly the
most miserable situation: a poor girl having a little son. That is our
symbol, that is ourselves; we are all that ... that is modern psychology
and that is the future...(p.281) The future which Jung spoke of was a
psychological, not necessarily a literal future. Strange for a man who
otherwise saw the two as inextricably linked. But perhaps it is not so
strange when the text is considered further: ... Of course the historical future might
be quite different, we do not know whether it is not the Catholic Church
that will reap the harvest that is now going to be cut down. We do not
know that. We do not know whether Hitler is going to found a new Islam.
(He is already on the way; he is like Mohammad. The emotion in Germany is
Islamic; warlike and Islamic. They are all drunk with wild god). That can
be the historic future.....(p.281) In the discussion following the seminar,
there is another exchange which illustrates the point at hand: The Bishop of Southward: Jung: We shall return to this observation
subsequently. For the moment, one can note that in an overall context of
very few substantive statements on Islam, Muhammad and Hitler are closely
linked in the European imagination. (ii) A general/passing reference,
reflective of Jung’s tolerance towards other religions: "... Nor should one doubt than the
devotees of other faiths, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so on,
have the same living relationship to "God" ...(p.663) A passing reference: ‘Yahweh and Allah are nomads ... the Christian God a triad...".(1611) (iv) The final reference to Islam is in the context of a letter to a Father Bruno, in response to the latter’s queries regarding the figure of Elijah who, according to Islamic tradition, and Jung, is a variant of the archetype known in Islam as Khidr. The figure of Khidr in fact forms the basis of the only substantive comment by Jung on Islam in the essay "On Psychological Re-birth". (Vol. 9). It is the only motif in Islam to which Jung did give considerable attention. Khidr is mentioned in five of the 18 texts. Part II |