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How compatable are Islamic beliefs and values with Western society?
It seems that there is always either a simplified view of Islamic extremism in the media, or a reactionary 'Islamophobia' labels thrown around but little actual examination of the fundamental tenets of the faith and doctrines they live by.
So hopefully there can be some civil discourse about these issues from both perspectives.
An example of gross double standards about this here.
The ban of religious attire in work places recently by the EU, which was criticized heavily by Erdogen as 'Islamophobic'.
https://www.rt.com/viral/529526-turkey-eu-headscarf-ruling/
Yet it seems he does not want to apply anything like the same standards of criticism to muslim communities both at home and abroad and any legal systems they try to enforce.
A Czeck politition had given a strongly phrased talk on it but in my view she is basically accurate in the description of the fundamental issues here and why there will always be some conflict, worth reading.
https://motls.blogspot.com/2016/05/klara-samkovas-talk-should-we-be-afraid.html?m=1
Some soundbites
"Islam....is primarily a totalitarian system of governance in which God only plays a substitutive role because the main content of Islam is nothing else than the arrangement of the state matters. As opposed to Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, or Shintoism, the heart of Islam is the law, namely the Islamic Sharia law."
"It wants to be protected according to our tradition which it exploits in this way, while it is not willing to behave reciprocally."
"From the viewpoint of Islam, the concept of religion as a private, intimate matter of an individual is absolutely unacceptable...Islam rejects the individual conception of faith in God and in a totalitarian way, it forbids all doubts about itself."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam
https://exmuslims.org/
For example in Saudi Arabia religious freedom is almost non existent.
"the public practice of any other religion than Islam is illegal and even private worship is severely restricted. Mosques are the only public places of worship and the construction of non-Muslim places of worship is outlawed. Non-citizens are required to carry identity cards, which classify them into “Muslims” and “non-Muslims” and non-citizens applying for naturalisation must convert to Islam prior to the procedure."
http://www.hscentre.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia-affront-religious-freedom/
So we have a well know Muslim leader calling an EU ruling 'fascist' simply because they block the overt display of any religious attire like the veil in workplaces. Yet he will keep his mouth totally shut regarding religious persecution and lack of rights of atheists and non Muslims in Muslim nation's which would by the same standard be far far worse.
We find similar repression of non muslims in many Muslim countries, and total silence about this from those who throw the Islamaphobia label around.
https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/morocco/
So to what degree can Islam ever be truly reconciled with Western secular values? And can these same standards be applied all around when evaluating these issues?
It seems that there is always either a simplified view of Islamic extremism in the media, or a reactionary 'Islamophobia' labels thrown around but little actual examination of the fundamental tenets of the faith and doctrines they live by.
So hopefully there can be some civil discourse about these issues from both perspectives.
An example of gross double standards about this here.
The ban of religious attire in work places recently by the EU, which was criticized heavily by Erdogen as 'Islamophobic'.
https://www.rt.com/viral/529526-turkey-eu-headscarf-ruling/
Yet it seems he does not want to apply anything like the same standards of criticism to muslim communities both at home and abroad and any legal systems they try to enforce.
A Czeck politition had given a strongly phrased talk on it but in my view she is basically accurate in the description of the fundamental issues here and why there will always be some conflict, worth reading.
https://motls.blogspot.com/2016/05/klara-samkovas-talk-should-we-be-afraid.html?m=1
Some soundbites
"Islam....is primarily a totalitarian system of governance in which God only plays a substitutive role because the main content of Islam is nothing else than the arrangement of the state matters. As opposed to Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, or Shintoism, the heart of Islam is the law, namely the Islamic Sharia law."
"It wants to be protected according to our tradition which it exploits in this way, while it is not willing to behave reciprocally."
"From the viewpoint of Islam, the concept of religion as a private, intimate matter of an individual is absolutely unacceptable...Islam rejects the individual conception of faith in God and in a totalitarian way, it forbids all doubts about itself."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostasy_in_Islam
https://exmuslims.org/
For example in Saudi Arabia religious freedom is almost non existent.
"the public practice of any other religion than Islam is illegal and even private worship is severely restricted. Mosques are the only public places of worship and the construction of non-Muslim places of worship is outlawed. Non-citizens are required to carry identity cards, which classify them into “Muslims” and “non-Muslims” and non-citizens applying for naturalisation must convert to Islam prior to the procedure."
http://www.hscentre.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/saudi-arabia-affront-religious-freedom/
So we have a well know Muslim leader calling an EU ruling 'fascist' simply because they block the overt display of any religious attire like the veil in workplaces. Yet he will keep his mouth totally shut regarding religious persecution and lack of rights of atheists and non Muslims in Muslim nation's which would by the same standard be far far worse.
We find similar repression of non muslims in many Muslim countries, and total silence about this from those who throw the Islamaphobia label around.
https://www.state.gov/reports/2018-report-on-international-religious-freedom/morocco/
So to what degree can Islam ever be truly reconciled with Western secular values? And can these same standards be applied all around when evaluating these issues?
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