Islam is Secular

Submitted by Syed Kasim (Canada), Oct 3, 2005 at 00:48

Why ....

Yes .. Western civilisation prospered with the name of
secularism(supposedly blind to color and religion). But
Albania(muslim majority) is still the poorest country of Europe
even when they by and large chose secularism as their way of life.
And Turkey(Muslim majority secular) was not considered
as a right member of EU when inland asian Cyprus(white
majority christian) did not find any problem in becoming
a member of EU.

So, in short we can say that Golden age has not yet started
in the secular western civilization as discrimination is there
to see and feel.

When the west could create a developed Germany and Japan
in the non-muslim world and the west could not create
a single Germany or Japan in pre-western-renaissance muslim
majority countries, secularism is surely not blind to
color and religion as it is practised in world politics.

But historians by and large say that 750-1500 AD was a golden
age of Islamic civilisation.

Secularism can accommodate people of different color and religion
in a society comfortably.

Islam also theologically can accommodate people of different color
and religion in a society comfortably as it says your way of life
is for you and my way of life is for me. This is the way Islam says
"all muslims, christians and Jews would go to heaven in case they
led a reasonably good life".

But what about christianity... Jesus is the only way to go to heaven.
How can a non-christian(muslim) comfortably live in a christian society
theologically.

Muslim rulers did not impose Islam in any society in their golden age of
750-1500. Anyway Islam can not be imposed by its very nature.
People can revert. Muslim rulers' Jizya tax system itself was discouragement for
rulers to force non-muslim to become muslims which leads to reduced
tax collection for the government. And also Zakat (Charity tax) was
also there for Muslims which was far more than Jizya taxed against
non-muslims. So Zakat also discouraged the conversion.

Why did not muslim society revert when France, Britain, Spain, etc.
colonialized the muslim world.

No foreign muslim ruler conquered Indonesia to impose Islam.
Islam was promoted by merchants' reasonable good behaviour.
Indonesia used to be a Buddhist majority country. Dutch were the
foreign rulers in Indonesia.

Yes some extreme Mughal muslim rulers were there like Aurangzeb in India.
They were really bad in treatement of non-muslims. They belonged to
the post golden-age(750-1500 AD). That is why the Islamic civilization
fell politically and economically and also technologically, but not yet
spiritually as no muslim majority country in the last 1400 years reverted
back to non-muslim majority country.

So, western civilisation should invent a new ideology which should be better than
secularism and christianity in accommodating all kinds of people including
muslims if western civilisation wants to give a better service to muslim world.

Islam is by nature secular as it allows accommodation of different kinds
of people. It proved the same for 750 years.

So Islam is not a monster.

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