It is kind of a puzzle to have so many Muslims combining western education, and the ability to function in a modern metropolitan setting combined with extreme fanaticism.
I don’t think it’s puzzling. Examine your implicit assumptions—which exactly part of your worldview would say that Western education and living in a city should be incompatible with religious fanaticism?
Constant assertion that Islam is uniquely inhumane are just the sort of thing that strengthens fanaticism.
The issue with Islam is not that it’s “inhumane”, the issue is that it is naturally a totalitarian religion. Christianity says “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”, but Islam says no such thing. From an Islamic point of view there is absolutely no reason why politics should not be subservient to faith and indeed the Christian approach is routinely called schizophrenic.
which exactly part of your worldview would say that Western education and living in a city should be incompatible with religious fanaticism?
Cultural development seems not to follow such orderly laws that we can use the word “incompatible” very often if ever. But going to a western university tends to promote individual thought over blind acceptance of whatever you were taught in childhood, and while someone who spent their live in some valley in Afghanistan or northern Pakistan, never exposed to different people, might imagine westerners as cloven hoofed devils, it is at least a reasonable point of view to suppose that going to school with westerners could lesson that kind of visceral revulsion.
I’m a little take aback, as “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” is an admonition to obey established political authority. And “render unto God what is God’s” is the possibly subversive part—though it’s only recommending obedience to a competing authority”. Also, Christian Russia, esp around the time of Ivan the Terrible was arguably the most totalitarian major state for its time (the main argument would be over China, I think). I believe Paul’s writings give ample admonitions to obey authority, and for slaves to obey their masters.
What would you say in the doctrines of Islam makes it “naturally a totalitarian religion”? I assume you have some analysis that leads you to that conclusion.
I don’t think it’s puzzling. Examine your implicit assumptions—which exactly part of your worldview would say that Western education and living in a city should be incompatible with religious fanaticism?
The issue with Islam is not that it’s “inhumane”, the issue is that it is naturally a totalitarian religion. Christianity says “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”, but Islam says no such thing. From an Islamic point of view there is absolutely no reason why politics should not be subservient to faith and indeed the Christian approach is routinely called schizophrenic.
Cultural development seems not to follow such orderly laws that we can use the word “incompatible” very often if ever. But going to a western university tends to promote individual thought over blind acceptance of whatever you were taught in childhood, and while someone who spent their live in some valley in Afghanistan or northern Pakistan, never exposed to different people, might imagine westerners as cloven hoofed devils, it is at least a reasonable point of view to suppose that going to school with westerners could lesson that kind of visceral revulsion.
I’m a little take aback, as “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” is an admonition to obey established political authority. And “render unto God what is God’s” is the possibly subversive part—though it’s only recommending obedience to a competing authority”. Also, Christian Russia, esp around the time of Ivan the Terrible was arguably the most totalitarian major state for its time (the main argument would be over China, I think). I believe Paul’s writings give ample admonitions to obey authority, and for slaves to obey their masters.
What would you say in the doctrines of Islam makes it “naturally a totalitarian religion”? I assume you have some analysis that leads you to that conclusion.