Compulsion in religion is the ideological foundation stone of Isis and Islamist movements in general. Believing they have superior knowledge of God’s wishes for mankind, such groups feel entitled – even required – to act on his behalf and punish those who fail to comply with the divine will. In doing so, of course, they do not claim to be seeking power for themselves but merely trying to make the world more holy.
Bombing Isis and banning Islamist movements may suppress such movements for a while but it does nothing to address the ideological problem. Unless the question of compulsion in religion is tackled head-on, and in a serious way, they will resurface later or similar groups will emerge to replace them.
Although freedom of belief is a widely accepted principle internationally, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it is still far from becoming established in the Arab countries. This is true of both governments and society.
[TOP RATED COMMENT 570 votes] Yes we have to be fair, they only want to kill you if you convert away from their religion.
That's why in many cases we are great mates with some of these states. Lovely guys
[ANOTHER] Thanks Brian. I would say that a lot of the mosques in the UK fit this pattern of pointing to full shariah as an ideal but backing off when necessary. One colleague has highlighted that extremism like ISIS will make mosque teaching get off the fence and either declare for or against it. It will be hard for them to walk a path that means turning a blind eye to consequences.
[ANOTHER] Wow, an honest analysis of the attitudes regarding religion and Islamic supremacy in the Guardian. [Guardian Cif] Read more
