Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 25
Rushdie: Haunted By His Unholy Ghosts 25 the same affluence that we have. But we do not mean what we say. We want to use our inferiors for our own profit. We invest in them in such a way that the under-developed countries are maintained in subjection to us. ’ This arrogance of the West which had almost reached its zenith as far as material power was concerned was foretold in the Holy Qur’an over 1400 years ago by God Almighty in Surat Al-Kahf, Chapter 18, verses 35-36, in which He gives a parable concerning the conditions of the two major peoples Christians and Muslims : ‘And he had fruit in abundance. And he said to his companion boastfully, arguing with him, “I am richer than thou in wealth and strongest in respect of men. And he entered his Garden while he was wronging his soul. He said, I do not think that this will ever perish”’. The above verses denote that in their chequered history, Christian nations would rise to great power again and this began with the dawn of the 17th century AD when the Christian nations of Europe began to make great progress and acquire unprecedented power and prestige which reached its peak in the 19th century. Being proud of their material progress, Western Christian na- tions would give themselves up to a life of ease and luxury and in their conceit and arrogance misconceive that their power, progress and prosperity will last for ever, and being lulled into a false sense of security and complacency, they would be entirely lost in a life of sin and iniquity. And how this is proving to be true to the letter ! SU PE R IOR W E ST E R N C U LT U R E ? Going back to the subjection of the people of the colonies, the temptation had always been placed in front of the subjects to taste the fruits of the supposedly superior Western culture, education and general way of life, but at the same time keeping the subjects at