Islamic doctrine causes more problems than one might think

Submitted by Mark Durie (Australia), Mar 10, 2014 at 19:41

An interesting and thought-provoking article!

Another example is Koranic theology's aversion to doubt and its particular theology of divine relation, which have stunted the development of Islamic epistemology. This contributes to the Islamic world's reluctance to embrace to evidence-based approaches to solving human problems, and helps allow wild conspiracies and irrational world views to flourish.

A few of the items listed in the post are directly doctrinally determined, rather than being more general collateral damage from the Islamic canon.

One is female circumcision, a practice directly mandated by Islamic law which is soundly based upon Muhammad's example and teaching: he even gave instructions on how to circumcise girls.

Also the belief that non-Muslims are hostile to Muslims, deceptive and untrustworthy is taught explicitly by the Koran, not only about the Jews (cf Sura 5:82), but also about non-Muslims in general: "O ye who believe! Take not into your intimacy those outside your ranks: They will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin: Rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths: What their hearts conceal is far worse." (Sura 3:118).

Rejection of non-Muslim rule is also firmly based on Koranic principles that state that rule belongs to Allah alone, Muslims must triumph over non-Muslims, and Allah will not permit non-Muslims to rule over Muslims (Sura 4:141, 48: 28).

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