CHURCH vs STATE - American Society & Islam

From the Encyclopedia Britannica on Islam

In AD 622, when the Prophet migrated to Medina, his preaching was soon accepted, and the community-state of Islam emerged. During this early period, Islam acquired its characteristic ethos as a religion uniting in itself both the spiritual and temporal aspects of life and seeking to regulate not only the individual's relationship to God (through his conscience) but human relationships in a social setting as well. Thus, there is not only an Islamic religious institution but also an Islamic law, state, and other institutions governing society. Not until the 20th century were the religious (private) and the secular (public) distinguished by some Muslim thinkers and separated formally in certain places such as Turkey.

This dual religious and social character of Islam, expressing itself in one way as a religious community commissioned by God to bring its own value system to the world through the jihad (“exertion,” commonly translated as “holy war” or “holy struggle”), explains the astonishing success of the early generations of Muslims.

The period of Islamic conquests and empire building marks the first phase of the expansion of Islam as a religion. The period of Islamic conquests and empire building marks the first phase of the expansion of Islam as a religion. Islam's essential egalitarianism within the community of the faithful and its official discrimination against the followers of other religions won rapid converts. Jews and Christians were assigned a special status as communities possessing scriptures and were called the “people of the Book” (ahl al-kitab) and, therefore, were allowed religious autonomy. They were, however, required to pay a per capita tax called jizyah, as opposed to pagans, who were required to either accept Islam or die.

The object of jihad is not the conversion of individuals to Islam but rather the gaining of political control over the collective affairs of societies to run them in accordance with the principles of Islam. Individual conversions occur as a by-product of this process when the power structure passes into the hands of the Muslim community.

Of course the lines I hi-lighted (bold) are wherein the problem with Islam lies when it comes to American government or society, our Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

What we have today in Muslim Fundamentalists and the Terrorists is their belief that we are essentially "pagans." Pagans who do not accept Islam and therefore must die. Add the general hatred of our support of Israel and we have an insoluble problem.

As long as they do not accept our view of secular government being separate from moral governance (religion) we will not see and end to Muslim Terrorist's Holy War.