Response to John Bastile: Islam and Secularism can co-exist - and in fact do.

Submitted by Kane Gough (Australia), Jun 30, 2006 at 06:55

One must ask John Bastile where he gets his information. And also, one must ask John Bastile to check his sources, especially as he makes the very bold claim that Islam and Secularism can not possibly co-exist with each other absolutely not ever.

Of the countries with majority Muslim populations, the secularist states, most notably Turkey, India, Indonesia (although there are still some human rights issues in Indonesia), the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Malaysia, are in fact some of the most successful Muslim countries in the world.

John Bastile should perhaps also read the Qur'an before he condemns it. He would be surprised to read that there is not, and never was, a verse in the Qur'an that orders the killing of infidels. In fact, the closest verse, Sura 2 Verse 190, specifies that 'If they (your enemies) attack you, then fight them, but do not commit aggression, for God (Allah) does not love aggressors.' Verse 193 specifies that 'If they desist, then there shall be no hostility.'

Sura 2 Verse 62 specifies that 'Muslims, Jews, Christians and Sabians that believe in God and the Last Day (the Apocalypse) will receive the rewards of God.

Sura 3 Verse 7 specifies that those people that try and twist the words of the Qur'an around to suit their own purposes (just like some radically racist Islamic groups have) should be condemned.

And also, if John Bastile had read the Qur'an, as I have, then he would be very surprised that much of it is actually based on the words of Jesus Christ, as Muslims consider him a prophet just as worthy as Moses or Mohammed, so his comments that the teachings of Jesus on co-existing with other people and with secularism are just as valid in Islam as they are in Christianity.

The biggest problem facing Secularism, as I am sure that John Bastile will agree, are racism, discrimination and ignorance. One doesn't have to be attached to this religion or that religion to damage secularism, in fact, believing that one religion is inferior to another, or suggesting that one religion is better or worse than another, is what damages secularism.

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