It is assumed that Islam is a faith that no Muslim would conceivably wish to question. consequently the option to do so is neither valid nor feasible. It is nonexistent. Looked at from this side Islam is a faith that no adherent is free to leave. And that which one is not free to leave becomes a prison, if one wishes to do so.
Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret, 3rd Ed. 1956 (2000). Oxford: One World. p 307.
2 comments:
That pretty much hits it on the head. Fear and intimidation are what holds that religion together. Normally, systems like that self- destruct over time.... and yet it has remained immune.
Irenaeus, I think that with systems like Islam you have a good portion of the people who really believe in it, so they condone and support the violence (perhaps by their silence). The problem is when you get to the place where you have very large numbers of people who no longer believe in the system and the few (and powerful) are using coercion to keep them in line. I see that in some places, notably Iran right now.
But on the whole, I think a large portion of the Islamic community really do believe in the metanarrative and see some of this violence as sacramental (an outward sign of the invisible but realy sovereignty of God).
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