Another difference that people in the West don’t seem to understand is the relationship between the religious authorities and the political authorities. In the West there has always been a tension between the two. In America we talk about the separation of church and state. This concept was origianlly an idea to protect the church from being controlled by the government as it was in much of Europe.
In Islam the true believers teach that the state is to be controlled by the religious leaders. You may have heard of Sharia Law. This is the practice of putting the religious leaders in charge of the laws you live under, all of them. The political side of society serves at the convenience of the religious leaders and jumps through all hoops presented. The penalty for failure is death.
This leads to such things as “honor killings.” This is a concept out of the past. For instance, in ancient Rome, the father had total control over the lives of his family. He could kill his children if he felt he had cause. In the Twelve Tables it says that a father can sell his son into slavery three times before the child is finally free of parental control. This was a common concept in ancient society. It is still common in Islam. A daughter who dresses like a westerner and dates in the typical western fashion can be killed. If you believe the reports, they are being killed. Anyone who leaves Islam for another religion is treated as dead and often murdered for their apostasy.
There is a reason Islam means “submission.” It is expected, but keep in mind that it is interpreted in the same way that a Bedouin tribesman would have interpreted it two thousand years ago. Whether you agree with it or not, you must accept that it exists and is the interface between Islam and the rest of the world.
homo unius libri
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