Were it so.

Submitted by Sheerahkahn (United States), Aug 13, 2002 at 14:18

"My response, however, is that no matter what Islam is now or was in the past, it will be something different in the future. The religion must adapt to modern mores."

I wish I could agree with you, but the past speaks of the future much like a script an Actor reads for an upcoming movie. It is written, and thus the fate of the actor is set, and the movie ends as preordained by the script.
Islam's history is much the same, written in the shed blood of the nations it has spread to. No matter where Islam goes, there is war, and another historical paragraph of Islam is written in blood .

"If Turkish theologians can execute such changes, why not theologians in other countries, too?

The question I ask is how modernized is Islams faith in Turkey?
On the surface it looks solid and modern, but you talk to the people and there is an undercurrent of fear. Christians in Turkey still talk of how fearful a muslim is to discuss christianity with them, so the muslims meet in secret with their christian neighbors to satisfy their curiosity. Turkey is force feeding modernization on a medievalistic religion, much like the Shah did in Iran.

Remember Iran?
A Western loving, modernized Islamic society that was once a very staunch ally of the United States. Iran, too, had a moderinized society and modern religious doctrine much like you point out in todays Turkey. However, what is our current relationship with Iran like?

History, is unescapable, and Islams history is written in bold scarlet letters. I fear your example of Turkey maybe a short lived one.
I hope I'm wrong, but I doubt it.

Sheerahkahn

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