Are Islam and democracy incompatible. How about Islam and ethics?

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Apr 12, 2013 at 00:39

Dear Dr Pipes:

You have rightly raised the question whether Islam and democracy are compatible. Democracy requires --by definition-- that all people are treated equal (basis for the one-man-one-vote idea). Islamic doctrines 1) refuse to separate the church and state and 2) do not mind giving special rights to Muslims. So Islam and democracy must be in conflict with each other. In fact, even Christianity and democracy are in contradiction with each other. The Christian church believes that some human beings have more rights on God than some other human beings. That belief is in conflict with democratic values. It is the separation of church and state that comes to the rescue. We are all living happy and healthy in America because there is a separation of church and state in America. And, by implication, we are all NOT living happy and healthy in the countries between Morocco and Islamabad because there is no separation of state and church in those regions. This observation is so apparent that only a fundamentalist can deny it.

This leads me to question whether Islam and ethics are compatible? Once again, every human being is supposed to maintain a separation between his/her religion and his/her secular ethics. For example, if I see a Hindu nation bullying a non-Hindu nation, I am supposed to pay no attention to the religion in this conflict. I might have heard it wrong but I have heard that Muslims are required to side with the Islamic side in a Muslim vs. non-Muslim war. In the recent times, I have seen fratricidal wars among Islamic nations but I have never seen a Muslim nation seriously siding with a non-Islamic nation in a war against another Muslim nation. Just imagine, what would have been the history of the world if United States and Britain had not fought against Germany in the second WW. Also imagine, what would have been the history of our world if Saudi Arabian or Pakistani soldiers had earnestly fought side-by-side with the US soldiers to free Kuwait in 1992? These are simple questions to ask but they will yield serious answers. So, I dare ask if Islam and ethics are compatible? I wish that someone tells me that Islam and ethics are indeed compatible.

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