Wahhabi writers feel particularly outraged by a system premised on the assumption that an entity other than God—the people—can make laws for men and women to live by. In fact, all systems and political ideologies outside the bounds of a strictly Islamist theocracy, whether they are democracy, socialism, capitalism, nationalism, or any other, are rejected as products of infidel minds and therefore against God and his laws.
Islamists of all stripes see civil law and the concept of the separation of religion and state, both hallmarks of western democracies, as highly offensive. The Christian dictum of giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s, is utterly alien. Wahhabis reject the idea of distinguishing the realms of religion and politics. To them, the two are fused. In the Wahhabi worldview, the human agency in interpreting divine will goes unacknowledged and Islamic rule is equated with God’s reign.
The entire concept of a civil or positive man-made set of laws subject to majority approval by an elected legislature is illegitimate and unacceptable because, to Wahhabis, this infringes on God’s undisputed sovereignty and lordship over creation. The notion of God’s respect for the freedom of the individual human person who bears full responsibility for his or her decisions and actions is utterly missing from this thinking.
What they believe in, according to the author, is an uncompromising denunciation of democracy and all associated with it. Democracy is seen as part of the western cultural invasion of the Islamic world, an invasion that included nationalism, socialism, the liberation of women, the separation of mosque and state, science and technology, as well as military aggression and occupation.
Democracy pushed forth its deadly principles through a thorough plan, under the protection of the democratic system….” The “deadly principles” of democracy used to undermine Islam include the slogan “Religion belongs to God, and the nation is for everyone,” which anchors an infernal separation between religion and everyday life, including politics. The equality preached between men and women leads to the removal of a woman’s veil, then her clothes, and finally her modesty. The resulting intermixing of the sexes, declares the author, has made even animals and inanimate matter ashamed of what the children of Adam have done. “People’s power” and “people’s rule” guarantee the inevitable loss of those people. Majority opinion leads to ignorance and arrogance in that majority, and hence to its downfall. When civil law and the separation of religion and state is promoted, all religion, knowledge, and values are abandoned. This Riyadh publication also teaches San Diego mosque-goers:
“[Democracy is] responsible for all the horrible wars….the number of wars it started in the 20th century alone is more than 130 wars with more than 120 million people dead; not counting
victims of poverty, hunger and disease.” [Document No. 1]
San Diego mosque-goers are then told how democracy plundered many nations’ wealth, and how it spread “ignorance, moral decadence, and drugs.” Democracy is not vindicated, writes the Saudi author, by “the crumbs” it gives back as aid to those nations whose treasures it has stolen. “It is possible that the number of the victims of democracy exceeds the number of the victims of all previous wars in human history” [Document No. 1].
In a distortion of history, democracy is made responsible for both world wars. It is also blamed for “driving out the people of a whole nation from the land of Palestine and replacing them with people who have no relation to Palestine, neither historical, nor religious, nor by origin.” And worst of all, these fruits of democracy are labeled “justice and international law” [Doc. No. 1].
The FULL REPORT is here (in PDF) ~ READ IT & WEEP FOR OUR IGNORANCE!
posted on July 12, 2005 11:59:53 AM new
Good article Tom. Many here have rejected the idea of forcing western standards on the middle east. When there's no separation between God and politics, I don't see how democracy can take hold. Can you imagine a country trying to do this to North Americans? Instead of asking a country what they'd like to see for their future, they're told what they need by intimidation and the use of fancy words like liberation. It's a fight against religion - their kind of religion. Nothing more.
posted on July 12, 2005 08:31:26 PM new
This is one of the reasons it is necessary for us to be vigilant and police ourselves when it comes to separation of church and state.
It seems ludicrous to be picky about things like the ten suggestions in a government building, a cross in a park, or a cross on the city seal of L.A. until we turn it around. Would we be copacetic with quotes from the kookran in a government building, people yodeling prayer in a public park, or a question mark on a state seal? I don't think so.
In fact I think we should ban prayer or kowtowing much as we do smoking, with designated prayer or kowtowing areas. Preferably on the southeast side of tall buildings. Yeah, and we could ban kicking and make the same areas designated kicking areas.
I mean we don't want the US to become like the camel #*!@ countries in the middle east where men are supreme and women are owned like chattel do we?
Well, OK, maybe complete separation of church and state is a mite extreme..........
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The Islamofascist fig-puckers are fighting to spread their culture and religion, and to destroy ours
I actually agree with ya 100% -- FREEDOM OF RELIGION is important, but, to me, FREEDOM FROM RELIGION is even more important!
PROTECT me FROM the Jaesus Freaks and the Maniac Mullahs and the wacko Tom Cruises and anybody who can actually believe in angels visiting a 14yo boy in Upstate NY in the 1840's!
BELIEVE WHAT YA WANT, just keep it away from me!
THANK GOODNESS the CONSTITUTION does just that!
"I'm going to spend a lot of time on Social Security. I enjoy it. I enjoy taking on the issue. I guess, it's the Mother in me."—Guess Who? Washington D.C., April 14, 2005
posted on July 13, 2005 08:35:01 AM newTHANK GOODNESS the CONSTITUTION does just that!
Once we get a bunch of new not activist conservative justices on the Supreme Court, we may find out that the constitution doesn't do that at all. They'll know exactly what the Constitution really says, after all.
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Fue por lana y salió trasquilado...
