secular democracy is the Islamic way forward

Submitted by Abdul Rahman Reijerink (Australia), May 27, 2006 at 06:50

true believer, what you have said is excellent.

Remember Allah says there is no compulsion in religion, whoever does so is commiting a sin.

When I went on Hajj this last year, I tried to sit in the Holiest place on Earth with my wife waiting for the time to pray, until someone did Zulm (tyranny, taking our right) on us. One of the psuedo-facist religious police came up and essentially forced us to move on because we were unwilling to sit apart. Fine the saudis don't like what we were doing that is there pre-rogative, but Allah has given them no right to force their backward tribal customs on me and my wife who was seven months pregnant at the time...

my main concern was to discharge my responsibility to look after her in the biggest crowds I have seen in my life... nearly three million people praying in one congregation (maginficent experience). As a scholar once said in the Muslim countries we have Muslims but not Islam, in the Western ones they have Islam but no Muslims... you work the meaning out for yourself, but they were wise words.

The point of all this.... there is no historical basis for these abberant tyrannical states we see today like Saudi Arabia and Iran with theocratic institutions, the state is to protect religion not enforce it. The religious authorities are not supposed to wield state power. The rights of all communities should be protected, even the athiests so long as people do not harm society at large through violence and other recognised crimes that we don't need laws to tell us are wrong, just to enforce against those who just don't care if its wrong.

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