Resurgent
Islam is perhaps the most powerful ideological force in the world, and I’d like
to address some of its doctrines which have led me to that observation.
The success
of its expansion in the Western world is due in part to a separate factor, that
of revolutionary Marxism, but that subject is every bit as complicated and will
require a separate essay.
The challenge that Islam presents to the non-Islamic world is that of a conflicting and obligatory morality, and this will be the focus of my essay.
Before discussing the doctrines, it’s important
to understand the certainty and commitment that Islam engenders for
Muslims. It has little in the way of
comparison in the West’s declining religiosity, where the integration of
religion and lived experience, once inseparable, no longer exists other than
for perhaps Gloriavale, the Exclusive Brethren, or individual church-members, with
the proviso that Muslims live in the real world. Also important is to understand that Muslims
you may know or read of, may not represent Islam. Quote, "There is no radical or moderate
Islam. There is only authentic Islam."[i]. It engenders an unmatched
intensity of belief that the vision of Islam is relevant to every moment of
human life, every shade of modern human activity.[ii]
It’s generally accepted that Islam’s most important doctrine is tawhid, loosely described as ‘oneness’ but means Islam’s concept of absolute and uncompromising monotheism. The Koran asserts the existence of a single and unchangeable truth that transcends the world; the existence of a unique and indivisible being, who is independent of the entire creation. The Koran itself is the uncreated and unchangeable word of Allah, and the foundation of Islamic law. Quote: “The social order of Islam is universal, enveloping the whole of mankind without exception. By virtue of being human, of being born, every person is an actual member of the social order, or a potential member whose recruitment is the duty of all other members.”[iii]. That social order is known in Arabic as the ummah, the brotherhood of Muslims, to which every Muslim belongs. The Prophet Muhammad said that all children are born in a state of pure human nature but then his parents make him Jewish, Christian or Zoroastrian. Muslims have an obligation to invite such people to revert to their natural state of being, that of a Muslim. The consequences for those who reject this invitation, known as dawah, will be covered later.
The simplicity of this doctrine certainly has appeal. The complexity of Christianity’s Holy Trinity, transubstantiation and of original sin are absent, and the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection rendered inconsequential. The great difficulty of converting to Judaism or Roman Catholicism is replaced with a simple sacred statement called the shahada, “There is no god except God, and Muhammad is his Prophet” made before two Muslim witnesses.
On the other hand, this doctrine divides the
world in two, in a way without equal since the post-Weimar period in Germany. One is a either a Muslim or an infidel - an enemy of Islam. The result of this partition will also
be covered later.
Islam drew on the prophetic tradition of Judaism and Christianity but proclaimed Mohammad as the last and final prophet. This was a declaration of supersessionism, that Islam was in effect the final step in monotheism. As the absolute and ultimate of prophets with a link to Allah through the Angel Gabriel he was proclaimed ‘the excellent example for a model of conduct, and of a tremendous nature’.[iv] So while Muhammad was mortal, being chosen by Allah he is, in Muslim practice, indistinguishable from his god. To humanise Muhammad is an act of lèse-majesté against the Muslim God. In recent times this has led to a prohibition on depiction or criticism, applied not just to Muslims, but the whole world.
