Democrats vs fundamentalists vs militants in Iran?

Submitted by Adam Burczyk (United States), Jul 23, 2002 at 21:02

Dr. Pipes is much more optimistic than I am about Iran. The Iranian Constitution does not allow democratically elected representatives or elected executives to create or enforce laws that are "un-Islamic" in the eyes of the mullahs, who exert real power.

"Un-Islamic" laws does not mean "Anti-Islamic," it means "Non-Islamic," that is, not provided for explictly in the Koran. Any proposed law not provided in the Koran is considered verboten by many, if not most, of the mullahs in power.

Bottom Line: These fundamentalists will not allow Iran to relegate Islam to the private sphere of human activity, which is where all religions belong.

Are they misinterpreting Islam? I do not think so. The Koran binds believers into following all precepts, including those verses concerning governments and laws. This means that peaceful evolution is close to impossible without a few more generations passing, and new mullah appointments being a tad more tolerant than those in power today.

Fundamentalist Islam is discredited in the eyes of the Iranian voters. But are all fundamentalists potential killers, as Dr. Pipes believes? That is, will they kill not just democracy, but democrats, as well, to preserve power?

Regardless of the Iranian question, militant Islam elsewhere, especially theSunni strain, is gaining more and more in underground strength. The miltants desire a comprehensive Caliphate to unite all of the lands of Islam.

This utopian and totalitarian dream, ideologically centered on the Koran, and geographically centered at Saudi Arabia, is what we must prevent, at all costs. Miltant Islam + a sponsoring collection of caliphate-ready states = World War III.

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