Coercion in Islam

Submitted by J.S. (Canada), Jan 18, 2006 at 15:52

In an academic database, I happened to read a book review by Daniel Pipes...(I did not have time to note the name of the author of the text -- I'll have to look it up again)...I believe the name of the text was "Tolerance and Coercion in Islam" (?). Apparently, the author of this text attempted to trace the Islamic position (from the 4 Sunni schools of law) on how the "rights" of non-Muslims (as minorities living in Muslim lands) has evolved over time...The question was: "Are non-Muslims afforded equal protection from murder?" When Islam was first founded, non-Muslims were granted protection, but over time, only 1 of 4 Sunni schools held to the position that non-Muslims should be granted equal protection from murder. Thus, a change of interpretation *has* occurred, but (from a "civilized" perspective) the legal interpretation has regressed, not progressed. Thus, early on, non-Muslims were granted "protection," but now, only 1 in 4 Sunni schools grant this. The author maintained that over time, the idea of Islamic exaltedness (or special privileges granted only to Muslims) took precedence over eqality.

Again, the more I read about Islam, the less impressed I am. I see nothing ethical there. it is devoid of ethics... lots of superstitions and magic, little by way of ethics. I also recently happened to read a column by David Frum -- until I had read his column I kept thinking that perhaps there was some "hope" for Islam (ie, Islam could become more tolerant, modernize, and so on)...After reading his column, I don't see how this is possible. Islam currently is an enemy of civilization, equivalent to the nazis, and this needs to be pointed out -- not whitewashed, not minimized. This is the reality -- and it has to be faced.

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