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Why Islam Hates Democracy
FrontPage Magazine ^ | 6.6.02 | Jamie Glazov

Posted on 06/07/2002 8:31:08 AM PDT by mhking


Why Islam Hates Democracy

FrontPageMagazine.com | June 6, 2002

IN 1989, Iran’s Islamic tyrant Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa – a compulsory religious decree in Islam – that condemned Salman Rushdie to death. Rushdie had committed the crime of writing his book The Satanic Verses, which was, in Khomeini’s mind, slanderous to the Prophet Muhammad. In Islam, those who insult Allah or the Prophet are subject to the death penalty.

In 1992, Farag Foda, an Egyptian writer known for his secularist views, was shot dead outside his office in the heart of Cairo. This intellectual consistently called out for open dialogue with Islamic fundamentalists. The militant Islamic group al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya gleefully claimed not only responsibility, but justification. One of the gunmen, Abdul-Shafi Ahmad Ramadan, who was apprehended after the attack, boasted to police: "We had to kill him, because he attacked our beliefs."

Sheikh Muhammad al-Ghazali, a prominent and distinguished Egyptian cleric, testified at the Foda murder trial in defense of the accused. He stated that Ramadan had done his Islamic duty because Foda had revealed his apostasy in opposing the establishment of an Islamic state, in rejecting Sharia Law (the law of Islam), and in questioning the unity of the state and religion.

The circumstances surrounding the death bounty on Rushdie’s head and the execution of Foda illuminate to us one serious and critical phenomenon: Islam’s inability to join the modern world.

Question: what happens in a society where "slandering" Muhammad, which is punishable by death, can entail the smallest disagreement with an Islamic law or even the hint of the support of a Western idea? How can a culture grow when a voiced social criticism of any kind or a reinterpretation of the Koran can be easily construed as slandering Muhammad and, therefore, be punished by death?

Answer: it can’t.

The tremendous success that has driven Western civilization is secularism. Islamic civilization sees secularism as anathema. In order to catch up with the West, Islam must embrace secularism, but embracing secularism would force Islam to sacrifice its Islamic character. This is why a reformed Islam is an oxymoron, because Islam cannot reform and still remain Islam.

The very meaning of Islam is the unquestioning submission to Allah and to Islamic law. The Koran is a body of doctrine that Muslims are expected to accept unquestioningly - without scrutinizing it for any flaws. Any notion that exists outside of the literal understanding of the Koran is regarded as being associated with sin at best and heresy at worst.

Islam is seen as perfect by Muslims. It is a total way of life. It doesn’t need any new ideas or any legal revisions to complement any new learning or new needs of society. In fact, Islam regards even the suggestion of new ideas or legal revisions as being un-Islamic. And if something is un-Islamic, it could be construed as being slanderous to Muhammad. And guess what happens next?

The use of the human faculty of reason itself, upon which the Western Enlightenment was based, is considered to be a form of heresy in Islam. This is why literacy, science and mathematics have often been regarded by the ulama (the scholars in Islam) as a threat to Islam.

It doesn’t really take a rocket scientist, therefore, to figure out why, throughout its long history of being repeatedly overwhelmed by foreign invaders, foreign rule, and foreign influences, the Arab world has absorbed absolutely nothing from the outside world. Self-insulated, Islam is intrinsically resistant to change.

In the Islamic Arab world, any foreign idea is heavily suspect. Any Western notion is automatically associated with evil. Thus, if the infidels say that an object will fall because of the laws of gravity, Muslims will suspect this to be a demonic lie. But if the same laws of gravity are sanctioned by a voice that is seen as representing authentic Islam, then such laws are automatically believed.

Individualism, creativity and originality are non-existent in the Arab world. And it is no mystery why the worlds of competition and commerce have spawned economic success stories in places like Japan and other Pacific societies in the post-WWII era, while the Arab world has been ridden with falling incomes, economic lethargy and social stagnation.

The bottom line is that the very notion of any new invention or innovation (Bida) is seen in Islam as being an offense to Allah. This is why, whenever anything even remotely close to a debate occurs in the Islamic Middle East, the accusation of Bida, which remains the most popular and effective accusation in the Arab world, immediately terminates the debate. The individual accused of Bida knows where the accusation can lead.

This reality might help explain why a functional democracy is nowhere to be found in the entire Arab world.

In the eyes of Islam, the very notion of democracy is demonized. In Islam, after all, Allah is sovereign, which means that humans constructing their own laws is sinful. The Koran and Sharia Law give Muslims all the laws they need. This is why Islam sees faith and politics as a single domain and why Farag Foda had to be killed for questioning it.

In Islam, democracy, as well as the very notion of the freedom of human conscience, represents a dangerous deviation from the Koran and the Sharia. Elections are seen as a form of blasphemy. They are Satan’s vehicle to destroy the Koran.

The Taliban in Afghanistan perfectly represented the logical extension of this despotic, impoverished and impotent way of Islamic life. They implemented Islamic belief in the most literal manner possible: everything that was prohibited in the Koran, and everything that was not mentioned in the Koran, simply became illegal.

Thus, aside from engaging in the typical oppression of women that is found in every Islamic Arab society, the Taliban banned television, film, books, photography, music (even at weddings) and sports. They also illegalized laughing.

The Taliban weren’t too concerned about the utter emptiness and insipidity they had left in the environment of the people they ruled. After all, there were always the passages from the Koran to memorize. And, as Mullah Hassan, the former Taliban governor of Kandahar, patiently explained: "Of course, we realize that people need some entertainment. We tell them to go to the parks and see the flowers. From this, they will absorb the essence of Islam."

Flowers are indeed beautiful. But building a prosperous and dynamic society, nurturing democratic institutions, fostering economic growth, and safeguarding the sacredness and freedom of the human conscience demands much more than just the aesthetic appreciation of flowers.

It demands what the West has and the Islamic world miserably lacks.

But how does the Islamic world gain it if it cannot shed itself of how and why Salman Rushdie must live the rest of his life in hiding – escaping the fate of Farag Foda?

Jamie Glazov holds a Ph.D. in History with a specialty in Soviet Studies. He is the author of 15 Tips on How to be a Good Leftist and of Canadian Policy Toward Khruschev’s Soviet Union (McGill-Queens University Press, 2002). Born in the U.S.S.R., Jamie is the son of prominent Soviet dissidents, and now resides in Vancouver, Canada. He writes the Dr. Progressive advice column for angst-ridden leftists at EnterStageRight.com.  Email him at jglazov@rogers.com.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 1stamendment; fatwa; freespeech; hatesamerica; islam; jihad; religionofpeace
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To: Junior
No. Rather, in the West, the truth is thought to be so important and so powerful, that the laws of man shall not prohibit nor interfere with it. That's what's behind our First Amendment and the lack of a theocracy in the U.S. Indeed, all of Western civ has gone that route since the last gasp of the Byzantine Empire in the 1400's...the last successful empire based upon church and state unity, IMHO.
21 posted on 06/07/2002 9:31:39 AM PDT by =Intervention=
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To: Jack Black
You're right in that you missed his point entirely. Did you think Hamilton and Jefferson, by so advocating a state that would not dictate to men's souls (and thereby rob them of the freedom granted by God after the fall of man) were somehow advocating secularistic belief? Not hardly. Or do you claim that some forms of government are "divine" and others are "secular?" This seems almost as silly as saying rock music being made by Christians then becomes "Christian rock." No, it is still rock music, for that is the form. The spirit, the content, the lyrics, the effects, are the true distinction, not the form.
22 posted on 06/07/2002 9:36:51 AM PDT by =Intervention=
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To: oldvike
I think it's capitalism, not democracy, that they hate. Just like the damn socialists.

Actually, you are close.

For years, the Soviet Union funneled millions of dollars of arms and aid to various radical Islamic groups and regimes ("useful idiots") in its drive to foster worldwide terrorism on the road to world communist domination. In fact, if it wasn't for all that Soviet aid that went to these groups and regimes, there would probably not be problems with these groups anywhere near the scale of today. Yassir Arafat and his PLO was a major beneficiary of much of this aid (he is purported to have billions collecting interest in Swiss bank accounts), and if you study the history of Arafat and his murderous brigades, you will find that Arafat himself was never a fundamentalist Muslim, but a revolutionary Marxist. He merely utilized the underlying class hatreds to rally the fanatical Muslims under his terrorist umbrella. If you look at the photos of the intifada, you will see numerous red "hammer & sickle" flags side by side with "Palestinian" flags and green banners of Allah.

23 posted on 06/07/2002 9:39:12 AM PDT by ppaul
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To: Jack Black
This is in sharp contrast with the older European tradition of Kings ruling based on the will of God.

The Magna Carta and the Protestant Reformation changed all that. The roots of our nation's freedoms, steeped in the fundamental tenets of Christianity, are the underlying basis of our liberties. That is why the Aamerican War for Independence was not the "secularist" bloodbath like the French revolution.

24 posted on 06/07/2002 9:43:19 AM PDT by ppaul
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To: ppaul
Thank you. It is always important to correct revisionist history. My ancestors did love God and carry his Word in their hearts. They made sure those of us who followed knew Him, too. He has loved this nation because His true nation loved Him and made sure His law was the "rule of law." A lot of new-comers (those after 1776) have made light of those of us who began it all, but I truly believe a part of my ancestors views what is happening now through my eyes, and they made sure I'd recognize evil when I saw it.
25 posted on 06/07/2002 10:16:46 AM PDT by Constitutions Grandchild
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To: Jack Black
While they were fairly enlightened in their time, they never envisioned a country devoid of a moral compass. We were all just conceited enough to think nobody would want to live any other way but by self-determination, hard work and a respect for the Almighty. We just didn't want anybody shoving any particular rules about how we showed our respect to the Almighty down our throats. We "assumed" rightly or wrongly that folks could make up their own minds. In the meantime,they were not averse to making a buck. Everytime another heathen moved into the neighborhood, we just moved west a little further. Problem is, we're running out of space to hole up.
26 posted on 06/07/2002 10:22:38 AM PDT by Constitutions Grandchild
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To: mhking
Islam cannot reform and still remain Islam.

That's it in a nutshell. Few people seem to understand this because most journalists don't understand this.

Little has changed since this was written for the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia:

In matters political Islam is a system of despotism at home and aggression abroad. The Prophet commanded absolute submission to the imâm. In no case was the sword to be raised against him. The rights of non-Moslem subjects are of the vaguest and most limited kind, and a religious war is a sacred duty whenever there is a chance of success against the "Infidel". Medieval and modern Mohammedan, especially Turkish, persecutions of both Jews and Christians are perhaps the best illustration of this fanatical religious and political spirit.

27 posted on 06/07/2002 11:26:46 AM PDT by Aquinasfan
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To: dennisw; OKCSubmariner; watchin; VOA; harpseal; timestax; xJones; justshutupandtakeit; TopDog2...
Ping

If people want on or off this list, please let me know.

28 posted on 06/07/2002 11:47:42 AM PDT by knighthawk
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To: knighthawk
I hate both Islam and democracy mob rule.
29 posted on 06/07/2002 11:48:57 AM PDT by weikel
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To: mhking
"We had to kill him, because he attacked our beliefs."

"Life of Brian" anyone?

Brian: "I am not the Messiah!"
Bannerchaser: "The true Messiah denies his divinity."
Brian: "What!? What chance does that give me?"

And the beat goes on...

30 posted on 06/07/2002 11:58:59 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: mhking
Part of it is just pure jealousy. Jealous of our wealth, and scared of out FREEDOMS!!
31 posted on 06/07/2002 12:13:27 PM PDT by timestax
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To: mhking
Good find.

...and thanks for the headsup knight!

32 posted on 06/07/2002 1:51:59 PM PDT by AmericanCheeseFood
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To: mhking;knighthawk
And it is no mystery why the worlds of competition and commerce have spawned economic success stories in places like Japan

There seem to be great similarities between Japan prior to and during WWII and present Muslim attitudes.

The Western nations realized the importance of secularization of Japan (the emperor's denouncement of his divine nature in 1946.).

Political Correctness run amok seems to be depriving the Western nations of the ability to make a common sense judgment that was patently obvious 57 years ago. It's the religion, stupid.

Japan's Rightist military ruling elite saw their nation as a harmonious family under a divine father, the emperor. They saw Japan as spiritual and the one divine nation on earth, which helped serve as a rationale for domination of others. The destiny of Japan, they believed, had been outlined by the gods and nothing could stop Japan from becoming the greatest empire on earth. In contrast, they believed, the Koreans were eaten by vices, the Chinese were corrupted by opium and other narcotics, and their old enemy the Russians were corrupted by their vodka. These were men from an agricultural and military tradition, and they saw the capitalist West as materialistic, egoistic and founded on exploitation and personal profit. Some Rightists in Japan were using the old notion that war was basically the work of greedy men in search of profits. This and the spiritual superiority of the Japanese was expressed by the poet Takamura Kotaro just after the attack on Pearl Harbor:

33 posted on 06/07/2002 2:33:03 PM PDT by Madame Dufarge
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To: =Intervention=
bttt
34 posted on 06/08/2002 4:09:31 PM PDT by timestax
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To: muggs
bttt
35 posted on 06/09/2002 2:37:46 PM PDT by timestax
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To: Aria
Nope. They're allowed to steal and use technology, they just aren't allowed to develop it on their own. They were great thieves of other peoples learning for most of the life of their empire.

"Slay the infidel and plunder his wealth!"

All of islam in one evil line. The mission and the reward.

Godspeed

36 posted on 06/09/2002 7:29:10 PM PDT by America's Resolve
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To: mhking
Plato "hated" Democracy.

Somehow, the West managed to survive him.

37 posted on 06/09/2002 7:32:05 PM PDT by cicero's_son
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To: cicero's_son
bump for justice!!!!
38 posted on 06/10/2002 7:14:59 AM PDT by timestax
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To: timestax
bump
39 posted on 08/04/2002 5:19:37 PM PDT by timestax
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To: timestax
bump
40 posted on 08/05/2002 5:52:16 PM PDT by timestax
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