IT is often thought the main threat of radical Islamism to the West and, indeed, the world, is terrorism. It is also said to be the isolation of Muslim communities, which allows extremists to recruit people to their cause.
Such views are not mistaken but they confuse effects with causes. What the world has to recognise is that we are not simply dealing with faith, but with a political, social and economic ideology. Radical Islamism is a worldview. Its nearest parallel, despite many differences, is Marxism.
Radical Islamists claim their all-encompassing program for society is rooted in fundamental Islamic sources. They reject the interpretations of Koran and sharia law offered by reformist or moderate Muslims. We must, of course, respect the faith of ordinary Muslims, but the ideology has to be met in a different way.
Well for a start we could recognize what it is we are dealing with and not what we would wish it to be. If Nazier Ali is right then we have to deal with Islam in ways other than the Methodist church down the street. We could also stop dismissing legitimate concerns about Islam with debate ending name calling like Islamophobe etc. And claims that because we have legitimate concerns we want all Muslims put in concentration camps. We could reject debt by throwing slogans around with out analysis.
If you want to see the true face of Islam I suggest looking realistically and critically at those countries that are Islamic states and/or have Islamic majorities. How do they treat their minorities?
This simply tells us what many of us have been arguing all along. I is astonishing that so many liberals can have the evidence staring them in their benign blue eyes and fail to see the obvious truth. Islam is a theocracy and desires to see it dominant. What will it do – or not do – to achieve that goal? Larry
This is an excellent article by Bishop Nazir-Ali, with a concise and on point description of what’s at stake.[blockquote]The principle of one law for all…cannot be compromised.[/blockquote]