Of course, when people "criticize" "Islam", they do not mean "all Islam", they refer to extreme elements of Islam. One of the main current problems with (not all) Islamic countries, is the fact that those countries have not yet adopted (as Turkey has) the principle of separation between religion and state. A second problem with Islam, is that it has no mechanism of evolution. The equivalent of "Chief of the Supreme Court" in Afghanistan was interviewed few weeks back, and he made clear that the Sharia will apply in post Taliban Afghanistan, just as during the Taliban regime, that means, adultery will be punished by stoning till death, thieves, will have their hands severed, and all other antiquated laws (antiquated in my view, of course, not necessarily theirs) will be adhered to. These laws stem from the same codex of laws set in the old testament, except that other religions that were based on that book, found ways to modify these narrow interpretations, and change these with time, as humanity evolves. Islam, does not have such a mechanism, and when there is no constitutional separation between religion and state, these become the source of extremism which is not just few "nutheads" but state extremism.
Zeev |
