A religion in Islam does not exist

Submitted by Prashant (United States), Sep 11, 2021 at 11:23

Dear Dr Pipes, there has not been any opposition to the Taliban from Muslim groups around the world. Most Muslim political and religious organizations, have either remained silent about Taliban capturing Afghanistan or have only issued "brotherly" advice to them to do the right things. On the other hand, there have been hundreds of examples on the social media where people with Muslim sounding names have rejoiced over Taliban's occupation of Afghanistan.

Under these circumstances it will be stupid for the non-Muslim world to assume that the viewpoint and purpose of the Taliban is any different from the general Islamic viewpoint. No ideology can occupy nations, form governments, raise armies, kill people, and mandate what men and women should do, and, still, call itself merely a religion. If you walk like a political party and talk like a political party, then you are a political are a political party.

The privileges that people extend to religions should be withdrawn from Islam and Muslims. Islam's views on economy, politics, and Islamic attitudes toward women and non-Muslims should be criticized as if Islam were a political ideology. We should treat the Islamic nations just the same way we have treated the dictators and communists of the past. Just as we can critique the constitution of a nation openly, so should we criticize the Quran as a legal code of conduct (because it is being amply used as a political constitution).

The war with Islam is just like the cold war of the last century (only worse).

So, where lies the religion of Islam? For all practical purposes, it does not exist. It is still to be created. If everyone of you supports political causes, then everyone of you is a political ideologue. Period.

And, just like people like Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn changed the face of the Soviet communist empire in the last century, the world must wait for the emergence of an Islamic dissident who is willing and able to create a religion in Islam or is willing to abandon Islam if it cannot be separated from politics.

There is no room in our world for an ideology where religion and politics are so deeply intertwined as in Islam. We – the innocents – just cannot figure out how to treat one well and mistreat other when needed.

Governments of the world won't do it; they have elections to win. But people must do it. Go ahead, people, criticize Islam as if it were just a political party and remove the connotation from your mind that you are criticizing a religion when you are criticizing Islam. The statement 'the communists destroyed the Soviet society' is just like the statement 'Muslims destroyed the Afghan society'. No more and no less.

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