How Islamic Are Muslims?

[Valin]

National Review

When Muslims fail to follow Islamic precepts, the problem might be Islam, not that they are bad Muslims.

Daniel Pipes

July 28 2014

 

 

Isamic law demands much of Muslims. How successfully do they fulfill its precepts?

 

Scheherazade S. Rehman and Hossein Askari of George Washington University provide an answer in a 2010 article, “How Islamic Are Islamic Countries?” In it, they establish the Islamic teachings and then calculate how well these are applied in 208 countries and territories. They posit four separate indices (economics, the law and governance, human and political rights, international relations); then they combine these into a single overall index, which they call the Islamicity Index.

 

Perhaps surprisingly, the ten countries that top the list of Islamicity turn out to be, starting at the top, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Ireland, Iceland, Finland, Denmark, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Netherlands. The bottom ten are Mayotte, the West Bank and Gaza, Somalia, the Isle of Man, Eritrea, Sudan, the Channel Islands, Iraq, the Comoros, and Angola. Put differently, none of the top ten “Islamic” countries has a Muslim majority; but in seven of the bottom ten, one-half or more of the population is Muslim.

 

(Snip)

 

Askari blames Muslims; I blame Islam. This difference has enormous implications. If Muslims are the culprit, believers have no choice but to continue trying to fulfill Islamic teachings, as they have tried for more than a thousand years. If Islam is the problem, the solution lies in reconsidering the traditional interpretations of the faith and reinterpreting it in ways conducive to successful living. That effort might begin with an exploratory trip to New Zealand.

[Cyber_Liberty]

There appears to be a huge gap between what Mr. Pipes says Islam is, and what the actual practitioners of Islam say it is. As a practical matter, I go with what the "people" who run the religion say.

[Valin]

There appears to be a huge gap between what Mr. Pipes says Islam is, and what the actual practitioners of Islam say it is. As a practical matter, I go with what the "people" who run the religion say.

 

Assuming the Salafist/Jihadist/Wahhabists/Khomeinists are correct. The thing is nobody runs it.

All that is required is to follow the 5 pillors

[Cyber_Liberty]

So we're told. I maintain there is a distinct possibility the rulers of the states mentioned in the article may not be living up to the five pillars.

[Valin]

So we're told. I maintain there is a distinct possibility the rulers of the states mentioned in the article may not be living up to the five pillars.

 

Oh you're only saying that because its true.

 

Remember before OBL hated America he hated really hated the family Saud.

[Cyber_Liberty]

That's true about OBL. I always figured he couldn't get much traction with that, so he went the low-fastball route by just hating the Great Satan. And stuff.