The Islam of Arabs and Persians and Others

Submitted by Robert (United States), Dec 15, 2016 at 08:11

Islam is a part of Abrahamic family of religions, as many believing Muslim scholars would acknowledge.

As Non-Believing outsiders Geert and Pipes are obviously addressing other Non-Believers.

Looking as the other two Faiths, Judaism and Christianity, from a secular point of view, change happens. Judaism went through several changes including those which occurred when the Temple was destroyed, resulting in the "replacement" of the Priesthood by the Rabbinate. In the case of Christianity, in the West, the most noticeable occurrence, arguably, was the Protestant Revolution.

In Islam the was the Shina-Sunni split. In Islam, the rise of Sufism, and the teaching of Muslim Brotherhood, inspired by the writing of al-Banna and Qutb.

In Judaism, there was the rise of Hasidim, and the splintering into Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstruction.

In my view the issues of the changes in Religion should be viewed in its Geographic, Political, and Historical contexts, for a better and more informed sociological, psychological, and anthropological perspectives.

In Europe, North Africa, Asia, particularly East Asia, Islam flourished under two Empires, the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire - until the World War One.

The history of these Empires, and the timescale under which the experienced initially the domination by the British Empire, and the reactions to Modernity, and Western Institutions, Science, and Technology, shows that these Shocks are still unfolding.

We see that the Iranians (= Persians) have instituted a Theocracy. The Turks (former Ottomans) are in the process of replacing their Secularism with Islamism, of a Turkish sort. In the Arab heartland, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Iraq, ISIS and "Holy Wars" are raging against "Infidel" encroachments. And in Europe and the United States, the label "Islamophobia" has emerged as a defensive euphemistic neologism.

In summary I see this debate between Wilders and Pipes in reality as an attempt at Prophesy as to the Outcome of this Struggle. Wilders claim is that Islam, as embodied in its Holy Scriptures is Essentially Evil and that this alleged Evil will only manifest itself more clearly and obviously.

But as Wilders is the Pessimist, Pipes is the Optimist. Pipes views Islam as a Dynamic Religion and that, in effect, it has the potential to come to terms with Modernity, the West, and Globalization.

Observing that the world is in a state of war in which Muslims are dying in overwhelming numbers in comparison to other Religions, or Non-Believers, and millions are displace to live in new neighborhoods, environments, and countries, it is difficult to imagine that Islam will not change; and as Terrorist Muslims commit Suicide or are killed by Drones, there obviously is a change here enforced by Death to the Most Extreme forms of Islam. Will these Muslim Cadavers and Corpses become Martyrs to other Muslims of Islam? Being an optimist myself, I tend to think the answer is No.

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