Very interesting article about Islam written in Glazov's inimitable style!
When I was in S.E. Asia about 40 years ago, the Islam that was practiced there was rather liberal and the Moslems were, by and large, moderate Muslims and a fair number of non-Moslems were not averse to embracing Islam as their new religion. However, it is true to say that, amongst those that became Moslems, their motivation was that Islam allows a man the privilege of having up to a maximum of 4 wives at any one time.
At the time I was in S.E. Asia, no Moslem woman was stoned to death for adultery. Nor was a hand amputated from a Moslem thief.
In the 1970s, as the Saudis got richer from increased oil revenues, they exported not only oil but also their particular brand of Wahabbi Islam to S.E. Asia. Result: after about 20 years, more and more Moslems are becoming more and more observant of their religion. For example, a person will not put food in his/her mouth with the left hand because that hand is used for washing the private parts. I don't know what is the rule for lefthanders! I guess they have to learn to adapt to the law! And nowadays, women and young girls veil their faces in public. (However, they don't wear the Afghan burka or the Persian chador which would cover them from head to toe). And there is now some talk about amputation of limbs for thefts. What's worse is that there are now some extremist types of Moslems --- Moslems that answered the call of Al Qaeda.
Despite the changing face of Islam, free elections occur and democratic governments still exist in S.E. Asia today.
Of course, it should be noted that not all countries in S.E. Asia are Moslem countries. |
