Submitted by Tom Clear(United States), Jul 18, 2002 at 16:00
Dr. Pipes,
Thank you for your work. I find it insightful and am always in agreement. However I take issue with you for the first time with the article in Election Today. I believe you stated that Islam is not in contradiction to democracy. I feel that Islam , in its very nature is in contradiction with democracy.
To estalblish this , we need to look beyond the Qur'an and into "Hadith" which as you probably know means "tradition". Almost all of Islams goverment is based on tradition. Tradition starts with "Sunna" (a rule). This is a command or example set by Muhammad. For example , the Qur'an does not dictate that men wear beards , but since Muhammad wore one , it becomes a rule. That rule becomes tradition and that tradition becomes the system of Islamic goverment. There is no compromising possible. Moderate Muslims who do not know their doctine fully might want to believe in peace and compatibility , but their religion , in the end will not allow them to if they want to truly obey it.
I do not want to get lengthy , but from here all you have to do is look at the examples of Mohammad (sunna) , study the Qur'an and the conclusion (in my opinion) is that there is no compatibility. This is the main reason Muslims are stuck in the 7th century. They must live their way of life according to the literal example set Mohammad. This explains their attitudes and dress requirement for women which would not be tolerated in a democracy. Thank you - Tom Clear
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