There, I said it. I think of myself as a liberal humanist, so although I don’t much care for any religion this is a jarring admission for me.
The first thing that needs to be said is that I have no problem with individuals who follow Islam, any more than I do with individual Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc. That is, I think they are misguided as to the nature of the universe but I am not much interested in arguing with anyone about it unless it impinges on my freedom to opt out of religion (e.g. when Christians argue that this is a Christian country, I will argue with them about that). So, if it is not obvious to the reader, I am completely opposed to any antagonistic behavior directed at Muslims just because they are Muslims. I also have no problem with the various ways Muslim women dress, as long as they choose to dress that way. I assume that those that I see around me in the U.S. have the freedom to make those choices. I am also opposed to tightening immigration standards for Muslim countries as is currently being attempted, because I regard it as mistreatment of individual Muslims who should be presumed innocent.
But I do have problems with Islam as a cultural institution. Here are the main issues:
- Apostasy - just the notion of apostasy is anathema to me, let alone enforcing its ban by murder. This is apparently supported to this day by many religious authorities.
[QUOTE=Wikipedia]
According to Abdul Rashied Omar, the majority of modern Islamic jurists continue to regard apostasy as a crime deserving the death penalty.
[/QUOTE]
2. Lack of central leadership - it seems to me that pretty much anyone who is persuasive can get himself a following as a “religious leader” and declare that the Quran says this or that and therefore those people over there need to be killed. Even actual trained religious leaders seem to be free to have their own interpretations of much doctrine. This structure makes modernization* and reform nearly impossible. (Yes, there is lots of unreasonable stuff in the Bible, especially the old testament; hardly anyone follows any of that any more and quoting those things is a good way to ridicule the one on homosexuality that is still occasionally trotted out - viz. that scene in West Wing that everyone loves to cite. In other words, our culture has moved on from those restrictions without losing the core of the religion.)
- Treatment of women - again, it varies across Islam, but is there any Muslim country or region where women have anything like equal rights? Even the worst treatment of women is supported by passages in the Quran and/or the commentaries. If specifics are desired we can discuss that below. Also I realize much of this behavior stems from tribalism as much as religious fervor (and the two are hard to tease apart, at least for me).
There may be other serious issues but these are the ones that concern me the most. I’m not going to talk about terrorism. Just about every group on Earth has engaged in some kinds of terrorist acts in the course of time, and current terrorism is certainly not limited to Islam. So if possible I would like to keep that off the table. Discussion of Islam is important, if for no other reason that sheer numbers of adherents.
*Modernization of Islam to me means separating religion from tribalism and the politics of power. The worst excesses that are “justified” by adherence to Islam would not have to be associated with that religion if there were some body that could say “these writings were from a different time and no longer apply because reasons.”
OK, open up the gates. Prove to me that I am wrong to be concerned about these issues; or prove the opposite. I have slim hopes but it would be nice if rancor and hatred could be held to a minimum herein. I am far from an expert in Islam, commentary is welcome from those who are, either from study or practice or both.
