It would be a mistake to view Islam as just a religion. Islam contains in its core teachings the belief that proper government is an Islamic government and that government should be run exclusively by and for Muslims. Islam teaches that government, the Islamic state, a state under Sharia law, should discriminate against non-Muslim Zimmis and force them to pay a tax – the Jizya – for the right to live as a 2nd class citizen with far fewer rights than a Muslim.
Abul A’la Maududi (1903-1979) , a prominent Islamic scholar, wrote:
“An Islamic state is essentially an ideological state, and is thus radically different from a national state.”
“An Islamic state is a Muslim state, but a Muslim state may not be an Islamic state unless and until the Constitution of the state is based on the Qur’an and Sunnah.”
From “Rights of Non-Muslims in an Islamic State” by Samuel Shahid:
According to Muslim jurists, the following legal ordinances must be enforced on Zimmis (Christians and Jews alike) who reside among Muslims:
- Zimmis are not allowed to build new churches, temples, or synagogues.
- Zimmis are not allowed to pray or read their sacred books out loud at home or in churches, lest Muslims hear their prayers.
- Zimmis are not allowed to print their religious books or sell them in public places and markets.
- Zimmis are not allowed to install the cross on their houses or churches since it is a symbol of infidelity.
- Zimmis are not permitted to broadcast or display their ceremonial religious rituals on radio or television or to use the media or to publish any picture of their religious ceremonies in newspaper and magazines.
- Zimmis are not allowed to congregate in the streets during their religious festivals; rather, each must quietly make his way to his church or temple.
- Zimmis are not allowed to join the army unless there is indispensable need for them in which case they are not allowed to assume leadership positions but are considered mercenaries.
Non-Muslims in western democracies need to fully understand that the ultimate goal of Islam and its followers is not only to make their religion the dominant religion in the world, but also to subjugate anyone who is not a Muslim under Islamic (Sharia) law.
Islam is not just a religion. It is a blueprint for a totalitarian state that allows no criticism or dissent. Not all enlightened people, those on a spiritual path, believe in concepts of dark and light, of good and evil. Nevertheless these are realities of the world, whether real or illusion, that we must live and work in.
The light seeks to give individuals more freedom. One cannot progress without the freedom to choose. All that which enslaves the individual under strong authority does not belong to the light.