But Indonesia isn't Iran! one might well cry. Well, neither is Turkey - yet. Note the weasel phrasing of the proposition: 'Based on equality in law'. I submit that for islamicists, 'equality' refers only to the kind of equality a god could expect. Too bad for Indonesians that that god is apparently an oppressive git. There is a simpleminded 'legality' about this, as if trying to duck (justified) accusations of inhumanitarianism. "Look, we're just trying to enforce the law". Note, too, the collapse of humanitarian legal systems in sharia law - no access to a lawyer for two weeks. I expect this ends the nonsense about respect for the law in a system tainted with sharia. Geoff ******************************************************************************************* Imposition of Shariah on non-Muslims proposed in Aceh -27/05/06 A bill proposed by lawmakers in the Indonesian province of Aceh would impose Shariah law on all non-Muslims, the armed forces and law enforcement officers, a local police official has announced. The news comes two months after the Deutsche Presse-Agentur warned of “Taliban-style Islamic police terrorizing Indonesia's Aceh”. Shariah took effect in 2005 in Aceh, a predominantly Muslim region on the northernmost tip of Sumatra. But it only applied to Muslims. In the months following the tsunami in December 2004, the Aceh government had begun vigorously enforcing a three-year-old provincial statute on Shariah. Human rights groups have expressed concern. Alyasa Abubakar, head of the relevant local government office, declared recently: "Based on equality in law, Acehnese people have formally proposed ... to apply the Islamic Shariah Law to all those residing in Aceh, including military, police and non-Muslims." The provincial Islamic law department has called a further crackdown on 'immorality' - alcohol, gambling, women appearing in public without headscarves or venturing out at night without a male escort. Recently a young Acehnese woman was allegedly publicly flogged for kissing her boyfriend in public, while another 23-year-old has been locked up in Acehnese jail for more than two weeks without access to an attorney after being caught drinking beer. Shariah police are said to have barged into the lobby of a leading Banda Aceh hotel to arrest three women attending an international conference because they were not wearing headscarves. http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_060527shariah.shtml ******************************************************************************************
Don't be upset that Muslims are better followers of their Abrahamic sheep religion than Christians or Jews. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! - N
Islam is younger by about 700 years. It's been suggested by scholars that Islam is very close to the point where Christianity was 700 years ago. It's going through its Inquisition and witch hunts now, and eventually it will go into its Reformation and Englightenment.
Well maybe, but really the world at large has changed much more dramatically in the last 100 years than in the 5000 preceding it. To suggest that Islam is going through a similar period just doesn’t seem to fit – to me anyhow. For example, the Xians had a culture of non-religious institutions extending all the way back to Greece. Banking, Democracy, Republic, Philosophy, Landownership, Scientific endeavour, Engineering, Military expertise, Medical advancement, Sculpture, Theatre, etc… and while it was slightly forgotten under the grim hat of Xianity, it still survived as part of the collective consciousness and was quickly revived during the Renaissance. The history literally lives around one – there is no forgetting the ancient Romans and Greeks and they are “European” after all. Our entire modern society directly rests on the inheritance of those institutions. The same can not be said of the Islamic. Firstly, the Arabic on the peninsula were, up until they conquered the pathetically weak Byzantines, a tribal people with little to none of the above mentioned institutions as part of their Culture and Society. They were tribal and nomadic after all – so that is the collective consciousness they started from when they became an Empire. Which can be seen to continue today. For example, never turning away a house guest and to treat them with kindness, which is all very well for a tribal people – even essential. However, remember Rome had a population of 5 million people and had for some time. Completely different when compared with Islamic nomadic people. Another good example to think about is the Mongolians and their conquering of China. Tribal people are able to conquer, but in their conquest, they are not able to instantly replicate those institutions that have developed over millennia. So what did the Mongolians do? They pretty much left well enough alone. Ironically, that is why Islam is even around today. But what did the Islam do? They somewhat copied and incorporated as much as they could from the people they conquered (the Qur’an is about 70% identical to the Torah for example). However, they superseded these institutions with a religious one. As that was the motivation for their conquests. This works fine when you have massive resources rolling in such as during the conquests. But when the conquest is over where does the money come from? Well today its OIL but back then the Islamic controlled the two most valuable trade routes in the world – the Chinese silk and Indian spice. Much like today there was little incentive to continue advancements. When times are good many times people in charge are happy to see things remain as is (Think Tokagawa in Japan). However, what happened the instant Europeans found new trade routes? The Islamic empire collapsed. Why? Because they never had, and still do not have, those institutions that had developed in Europe over millennia. Add an almost psychotic belief in Allah and a cult like desire to see everyone share that belief, something the Ancients NEVER had, and that’s the world of Islam today. I would not hold my breath waiting for a Renaissance because there is not an underlaying culture waiting to be found. Only traditional Arab nomadic tribalism and Islamic superstition. I think that Americans are beginning to realize their folly to think they could impose 3 millenia of culture is f*cking ludicrous. Michael
Social forces are affected by technology, no argument about that. The Industrial Revolution happened about ten times as quickly as the Agricultural Revolution. The Information Revolution is going even faster, although not a factor of ten this time. The Reformation, Enlightenment, and Renaissance occurred in Christendom before the Industrial Revolution. In fact it's been argued that it was they who made it possible. It will be interesting to see how the analogous evolution plays out in Islam after the Industrial Revolution and during the next one. For those of you who may be young enough to live to see it.
